Sales & Specials Location & Hours Related Links Contact Us Newsletter Home 
2001 » Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter | Special Edition
2002 » Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter | Special Edition
2003 » Winter
Inside this issue:The co-op is now hosting free seminars and workshops open to the public on various alternative healing therapies and related topics. These classes offer an opportunity to meet local practitioners and gain knowledge on a variety of subjects. Thanks go outto May Lin and Valerie Cherin for our first workshops in April on Falun Gong and basic massage techniques. In the following months, we will host seminars on herb gardening, homeopathy, herbalism and more. Check out the calendar in back of this newsletter for dates and times, or look for our flyers in the front of the store for details. Classes are held here at the store and are free and open to the public. Hope to see you there.
Change is good...
Break out the swimsuit, beach chair, and sun screen, summer is here! While everyone is enjoying the warm weather at the beach, at the Co-op we are taking advantage of the traditionally slower months to make improvements to YOUR store.
One exciting new feature is our new coffee bin display located near the bulk spices. The bins were supplied by Equal Exchange, a coffee company that practices fair trade in a market rampant with underpaid farmers. We will continue to offer the same quality coffee in a more user-friendly way.
Another improvement to the store that makes it easier to shop are the new shelving units in the non-food section. Located near the fresh breads are our new shelves that more prominently display our environmentally safe cleansers and detergents. We will also use that space to sell the previously hard-to- find recycled paper products at everyday low prices from Seventh Generation.
Moreover, we are making improvements behind the scenes in order to make our paid staff more efficient and able to serve you better. Three new computers were purchased that bring us out of the dark ages. The two older computers will be used by the buyers and floor staff. We are getting new carpet in the office, as well as new furniture.
This summer we will attempt a reset of our check out lanes. They tend to be cramped and hectic on busy days. Seeking advice from professionals in the industry, we will design new check out lanes in order to make your visit more enjoyable.
The future also holds more worker- and shopper-friendly shelving units and possibly more bulk bins. We plan to purchase a point-of-sale system in the next year, offering a multitude of benefits for both staff and customers.
With the positive trend in the financial structure of the Co-op, the Board of Stewards and staff are designing ways to make YOUR store a better place to shop. If you would like to be a part of the vision for YOUR store in the future, you can attend any Store Meeting (and earn work credit) held the second Thursday of each month, 7 p.m., here at the store. Be a part of the success! Share your knowledge and resources with the staff and membership in order for us to sustain for years to come.
Curbing usage of credit cards not only helps the Co-op, but it offers the individuals an opportunity to not support global credit card corporations. Each credit sale puts more money and in turn more economic power in the hands of corporations. As a co-op we would encourage everyone to be, at least, aware of where one is casting one's vote with the use of a credit card. So hey, if you have cash on you think about not using that credit card and casting your vote against corporate economic control.
"Be the change you want to see in the world." - Ghandi
At Newark Natural Foods Co-op, part of our vision is to market locally produced goods and foods that merge with our interests for a sustainable society. The Staff and volunteers make decisions based on sharing knowledge, resources, and opportunities within our community. The decision to carry Rumbleway Farm's all natural meats was an easy one!
What makes meat 'all natural'? Just like there are many ways to farm vegetables, there are different classifications for raising animals. "All natural does not necessarily mean organic. For example, certified organic beef comes from grass fed animals that are not dipped, sprayed, given antibiotics, or dosed with insecticides. To be certified organic, a farmer must also not use artificial fertilizers on the pasture. Infact, in the United Kingdom, only long standing organic herds are said to be free of mad cow disease.
Organic chicken and pork have different criteria, however. Farmers may only call a chicken organic if the farms themselves are organic. No chemicals may be used on the farm, and the feed grain must be organically grown. Allowing the animals room to roam is not necessary in order to label chicken and pork organic. We do not have many sources for certified organic meats.
On the other hand, we do have a local source for all natural meats: Rumbleway Farm! They practice sustainable agriculture and allow the animals to live and grow in as natural a setting as possible. They use all natural products to feed the animals, and do not use hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides.
Moreover, the animals are kept free roaming for at least half their lives. Rumbleway Farm is located in Conowingo, Maryland and has been practicing sustainable agricultural practices since 1992. The farm, founded in the 1800's, is run by Mark and Robin Way. They raise chickens, turkeys, rabbits, cows, and pigs. We carry most of their products in the freezer near the cash registers.
Why is it important to eat all natural meats? Other than ethical issues, there are health issues as well. Some claim an unnatural setting (i.e. no free roaming) may cause the animals to get sick and thus need antibiotics. Also, conventional farmers use antibiotics to help animals grow and improve their immune systems in order to make the feed less expensive. Some professionals claim antibiotics in the animals are creating drug-resistant germs that wind up in the food we eat. This resistance is considered one of the top concerns for America's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Also, conventional farming practices tend to produce less nutritious meat; animals that are fed natural feed may have fat contents that are richer in omega fatty acids.
For more information, look for Rumbleway Farm brochures at the register. Other companies we carry that "Just Say No" to antibiotics are Horizon Organic Dairy and Applegate Farms. Also, you can find out more information about natural and organic meat through the internet.
Check out:
http://www.malabarbelties.com/naturalbeef.html
http://greatbeef.com/index.html
http://www.prariefare.com/farmweb/moonstone/moonbeef.htm
http://www.natural-beef.com/services.htm
http://www.colemanbeef.com/
Although the little we hear from the news media about mad cow disease can be frightening, the topic tends to be hushed up before serious questions are even asked. But this should come as no surprise considering the incredibly huge industry cattle farming has become in Europe and the United States. Yet information about the nature of mad cow disease and how it is spread is being revealed by a handful of scientists, doctors, and cattle ranchers, even though we don't read about it our newspapers.
My source for this article is a 40-page publication called Mad Cow Disease Can Kill You, a detailed compilation of the information revealed to date on this very mysterious and controversial phenomenon. In it, author Vance Ferrell describes the effects of mad cow disease on animals (including humans) and the risks of contamination.
According to Ferrell, mad cow disease first appeared in livestock in the 1970's, when sheep began to exhibit strange behavior. This strange new disease was called scrapie and the cause was unknown. Ferrell states, "In 1970, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Institutes of Health collected thousands of scrapie-infected sheep, examined them and... found no bacteria or virus responsible for the problem." As more sheep became sick, farmers began selling them to rendering plants where they were processed into animal feed. Thus the diseased sheep became food for other livestock animals, including cows.
The practice of feeding animal protein to herbivore livestock began as a means of fattening up animals quickly, which it does, along with a lot of unfortunate consequences, only one of which being that contaminated meat spreads disease to healthy animals. Although previous studies revealed no bacteria or virus behind scrapie, cattle and other animals (as future laboratory tests would prove) began to get sick.
However, because symptoms often do not appear for several years after exposure to contaminated meat, and because there is no way to test for the disease while animals are alive, the extent of the problem was not immediately noticed. If a cow sent to slaughter appeared to be healthy, there would be no reason for expensive disease testing. And so, diseased meat entered the marketplace, and humans are now exposed to contamination.
What we now know about mad cow disease is that rather than being caused by familiar infectious organisms, it is proteins, called prions, which are doing the damage. Once prions enter the nervous system, they manipulate other proteins and begin to cause irreparable damage. Autopsies on sheep, cows, and humans who have died from mad cow reveal the brain riddled with holes. Thus the formal name for mad cow is spongiform encephalopathy, or sponge brain. Symptoms may not appear for years or even decades. Eventually an infected individual may exhibit problems with co-ordination, memory loss, muscle twitching, fixed facial expression, stumbling and confusion. Symptoms gradually become more acute and since there is no treatment or cure, mad cow is always fatal.
Ferrell also states that mad cow is 100% inherited. An infected individual showing no signs of disease will pass mad cow to all offspring. This is known as vertical transfer, and what it implies is that "the infectious agent must be in the cow's blood and will therefore be found in virtually all parts of the animal-all beef products."
Today, although the USDA has imposed a ban on meat in animal feed, the use of animal blood is still permitted. Also, there is some question as to how often feed regulations are actually followed. The implications are that the cattle industry cannot guarantee that seemingly healthy cattle going to slaughter are not disease carriers.
What's more, prions cannot be destroyed below 800 degrees F. Cooking does not destroy prions. Because of this, most labs will not autopsy if mad cow (known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans) is suspected. The labs would be nearly impossible to quarantine. For this reason, most deaths in the U.S. caused by mad cow are misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's.
Ferrell's advice is that to avoid contracting mad cow, it is necessary to avoid all animal products: meat, dairy, bone meal, gelatin capsules, glue on envelopes and postage stamps, chewing gum, whitener in refined sugar, cosmetics made with animal products... He also mentions that there have been reported cases of chickens, pigs, fish, and even deer and other wild animals dying of mad cow.
Much is still unknown about mad cow disease, and we are as yet unsure of the extent of damage that has already been done. As with most controversies, we're sure to find out in years to come what information is being withheld from us now.
A copy of Mad Cow Disease Can Kill You by Vance Ferrell is available in the co-op's reference section for further study.
Where'd the detergent go? We have new shelving for our non-food section. Check out the rearranged sections. Cleaners and paper products against the wall, where the candles and stuff used to be, and the candles and incense are now over with the housewares, next to the teas.
Notice the new package for Flax & Soy granolas, same great cereal, in a new box. The old packages have been reduced 25%, while supplies last. Try the new Flax and Soy Bars, in chocolate and apple/cinnamon.
Eden Baked Beans with Sorghum and Mustard are back by popular demand.
A note about our deli sandwiches. Our Sunneen sandwiches are only delivered on Tuesday. There's nothing we can do about that, but if we're always out of your favorite by the time you get to the Co-op, let us know by Friday and we can add to the next order for you. Keep in mind that if you do special order Sunneen products, however, that you must pick them up promptly.
Marinades can serve several purposes. Let's talk about marinating for the grill. Marinating tofu and tempeh can help enhance flavor. Marinating vegetables helps keep them from drying out or burning.
I love to grill veggie shish-kebabs. To keep chunks of tofu, tempeh or fish from sticking to the grill, wrap a piece of marinated onion or pepper around the chunk to protect it. Roasted peppers are excellent for this, protecting the food and infusing that smoky flavor at the same time.
Some basic ideas to keep in mind when marinating:
Some prepared products that can jazz up the marinade: (Blatant plug...)
To use a marinade on tofu, tempeh, or vegetables, cut into 1 inch chunks (larger pieces of onion or pepper for tofu wrapping) and place the chunks in a shallow baking pan, add the marinade and water to cover. Do not taste the marinade once the raw maet had been added. Give everything a stir and refrigerate for a few hours, the longer the better. If you're using bamboo skewers, now is a good time to soak them in water. Soft veggies and tofu should be picked out and wrapped with onion, then skewered so the onion is held in place. Alternate with sturdier veggies like cauliflower, mushrooms, and broccoli. Grill until done, turning frequently. Baste with the marinade as the kebabs cook.
You can turn the marinade into a glaze by adding about 1Tbsp of cornstarch or arrowroot and stirring. As you baste, the marinade will thicken on the kebabs, making a sauce. I recommend against basting or glazing with the marinade if you've marinated any sort of meat, chicken or fish, just to be on the safe side. Enjoy!
I would like to address an issue that has plagued my mind since my teen years. When I became a vegetarian, my family questioned my judgement to choose only plant life as my source of food. When talking about it at family gatherings my grandfather told me: "You can't always eat what you want." I know that in my grandfather's time this was true, growing up in the south during the Great Depression and being relatives of people who chose to survive the horror of the slave trade in this country. None the less, having been told you do not always have a choice in what you want to eat is very disturbing. Looking at the condition of our world with all the industrial pollution, population growth and our psychotic world leaders, we seem to be sitting on a time bomb.
With that in mind, I would suggest that as a community cooperative we should in a time of uncertainty or crisis, or cataclysmic event, come together and produce our own food. As a community, we should encourage other communities to do the same and start outreach programs to become united with other co-ops. We need desperately to be in common and comprehensive of each other's cultures. Many people have not learned how to respect other people, or would rather disrespect other because they do not respect themselves!
I know that it is not easy to get a world community or people who share the some thoughts and ideas that are in the Coop's Vision Statement, but it is urgent. It is urgent because we are all we can trust. Big corporations and a bought- out demented judicial system are trying to make all of us a part of their despicable new world order. Which undoubtedly will make most of us into a bunch of mutant, mental and physical slaves, maybe all of us have already fell victim.
If you think because you are recycling, you are doing your part, you are wrong. Recycling is the last resort of a short hierarchy. Remember those days when you were going to school and had no money and walked and biked everywhere and saved every dime for beer and maybe you only had two pairs of shoes and one tight pair of dress ups that still lived at your parent's house? I sure do, they are still here - sort of. My point is: you did without to supply what was important. While it's nice and convenient to drop off grocery bags, juice bottles, soda cans and laundry containers at the recycling center, it should really be a last resort, not a feel good solution. Recycling and reusing may take some planning.
I mean you have to take the groceries into the house in something but there isn't a reminder to take your canvas bag to the store until you hit the check out counter, but what can you do with six new plastic bags a week? There are only two wastebaskets that fit in the house. The amount of energy it takes to reuse these bags, though, is miniscule compared to the manufacture or recycling resources it entails. And while Kmart may frown at your Wal-Mart bags and Wal-Mart refuse to allow any other store's bags, perhaps you can do without a bag at all. I am amazed by the amount of bags stores want to give away. It is great that they are reusable and recyclable, but do I really need one for a single purchase that most of time is already so packaged it takes a knife and a crowbar to set it free. To really look at what you need and buy only that, to go for the least processed and packaged goods and to buy quality until it wears out.
This is really quite a change from the consumerist advertised sales and service oriented society which we live, but it would probably feel pretty comfortable to our parents and grandparents. It's not [as] easy to spend the time making breakfast in the morning, instead of toaster pastries, packing lunch instead of giving out the bucks for fast food. Demanding quality for ourselves instead of disposable commodities is a vital necessity that is lacking. We want, it's available, we buy it, then trash it when it is done. Instant total [empty] gratification. Recycling is just advance garbage; it requires manpower, time and energy to process, in some areas at a higher cost than trashing it.
Yet, it is very popular idealistically. Who has time when we need to work for the money for the S.U.V. payment and it's gas requirements, the oversized house payments and the heat bill, before and after school care, professional trendy wardrobe, new TVs computers, and dinner delivery, the time and stress management classes and a shopping bill of overpriced quick foods, and still have time to watch "Who Wants To Be A Scbmuckinaire".
It is totally unreasonable to expect to be seen reusing my paper shopping bag while wearing last years jacket while getting out of my second hand paid for low gas usage car. Nobody else is.
One of the benefits of membership at the op-op is access to our video rental system. Our small video library currently includes instructional videos on cooking, holistic health, and exercise. Children's videos and documentaries are also available. I personally recommend The Basics of Healthy Cooking with Annemarie Colbin and Aveline Kushi's Cooking for excellent instruction on whole foods and macrobiotic cooking techniques. Also, those considering switching to a vegetarian diet may want to check out Diet for a New America with John Robbins for important information concerning the meat industry in today's world and its effect on human and planetary health.
Rentals are only $2.50 per week so be sure to take advantage of this service.
Over the last decade, genetically engineered ingredients have quietly crept into our food supply. The process of genetic engineering creates organisms that have never before existed in nature by mixing genes from species that will not breed in nature, such as fish and strawberries. In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that foods containing these Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) did not require special labeling or safety testing.
According to Censored 2001, a book chronicling the most important, neglected stories of the year, the only non industry-sponsored study of genetic engineering showed evidence of organ damage, thickening of the small intestine, and poor brain development (55). In this experiment, conducted by Arpad Pusztai at the Rowett Research Institute in Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, rats were fed potatoes bio-engineered to contain lectin, a sugar binding protein, in order to make the plants pest resistant. The control group was fed standard potatoes mixed with lectin from the same source, and they did not show the adverse effects. This indicates that it was the genetic engineering, and not the lectin, that caused the damage.
The Rowett Institute then halted further research, fired Pusztai and denied that the study even existed after receiving $224,000 from Monsanto, a United States biotechnology corporation. The study that supposedly did not exist showed up in an internal audit, and the British medical journal Lancet published a paper Pusztai co-authored supporting his findings. However, there was little coverage in the US press and there are currently no non industry-sponsored studies on the safety of genetically engineered foods being done in the United States or in Great Britain.
