Mountain Lakes Organic Co-op

No baskets on the 27th

2011-12-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy New Year!

Enjoy!

Marnie

No baskets on the 27th

2011-12-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

That’s in two weeks.

More purchasing power on the website

I have started to put the refrigerator items on the website for one time and repeating orders. If you purchase through the website, you can choose the regularity of it – one time, weekly, biweekly, and monthly. If your creditcard has been charged for it, the sticker on your basket will state what items have been paid for. If you have any trouble, please call me for assistance.

This also opens up Dairy and meat purchasing capabilities to the outer pickup sites. Please be aware the items will be in a cooler with ice blocks waiting for you at the site. They are left there between 1 and 3 pm, so the sooner your pick up the better.

Christmas presents from a local green store!

Check out : http://transitioningtogreen.greenhome.com/

Enjoy the Season!

Marnie

The Holiday Season

2011-12-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

Is in full swing! I got my tree and started decorating. I have my Christmas cards and will send them out later this week. The best party of the year was this last weekend. I DO have good friends. I’m going to try to not shop in stores this year. All the presents I give will be bought online and delivered. Everything I give will also be related to food or gardening. I have no plans to get stressed out this season!

No milk available this week at all! I guess we all used so much over Thanksgiving or the stores have bought it all up for the Holidays.

We won’t be having baskets on the 27th, that’s a Basic week. I was going to go to Florida, but we are not sure these days. We may just go to the Catskills for a pretty white holiday. The road through there is still washed out from Irene. They say it’ll be finished in February. My last paper will be finished on December 19th. I will then have a Masters degree! WooHoo!!

Enjoy the Season!

Marnie

Thank you OCA and to everyone who supported OCA in 2011!

2011-11-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

Everyone who donated, everyone who volunteered, everyone who took the time to take action!

You made it possible to continue the transition to an organic future by fighting back against the biotech bullies and their government lackeys, by supporting state and federal legislative reforms, building local chapters, holding nationwide protests, and putting pressure on the corporations who control the food supply.

In 2012, we are going to have to fight even harder, but the rewards will be much greater. With the 2012 California ballot initiative, we have a real chance to hit Monsanto with the skull and crossbones they fear so much--mandatory labels on genetically engineered food.

If we can win in California in November, we'll be so close to an organic future, we'll be able to hear her breathing!

Organic Consumer’s Association is our lobbying representatives in Washington. To find out more about them and help support their efforts go to: www.organicconsumers.org/donations.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

HappyThanksgiving!

2011-11-22T07:25:00.000-08:00

Ideas for the Holidays

Skip (some of) the meat. Raising conventional livestock requires large amounts of fuel, pesticides and fertilizers, making the process a major contributor to greenhouse gases. You don’t have to make your holiday meal vegetarian, but maybe make ones that feature smaller amounts of meat as a seasoning.

Drink local. Consider getting wine from a local, organic winery, with less pesticide intensive methods. The Hudson Valley is getting quite a reputation! Or, support our nation’s growing craft brewing industry by picking up beer from a local brewery.

Dust off the china and glasses. One of the biggest generators of waste at holiday parties is the use of disposable cups and silverware. Though it’s easier to throw everything away, you’ll find that with a couple volunteers to help wash dishes or load the dishwasher, everything will be rinsed and dried in no time flat.

Organize the leftovers. Once the meal is finished, encourage guests to dispose of their scraps in a compost collection. Leftover should be packed or frozen and used for future meals. If there is too much for you to handle, the food should be redistributed for guests to take home. It’s a great way to reuse the take-out Chinese food containers.

Give gifts that grow and inspire. Consider spreading the magic of real food culture through a hands-on cheesemaking kit or a homebrewing kit. Or share your favorite cookbook of culinary fundamentals. A seasonal produce calendar can be a fun reminder of what to anticipate next year at the farmers markets. Seed packets are a cheap and creative way to help develop a green thumb.

Use wrapping “paper” that lasts. Try using reusable tote bags or light scarves. Reuse old maps, the comic pages from newspapers, and sheet music. If you do have a heap of discarded wrapping paper at the end of the night, be sure to recycle it, along with any cans and bottles.

Enjoy! Marnie

Organic Consumers Association Initiative – Label GMOs 2012

2011-11-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

Organic Consumers' best opportunity for a strategic victory against Monsanto in 2012 is the California Ballot Initiative for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Nov. 10th, 2011, a wide-ranging coalition of consumer, public health and environmental organizations, food companies, and individuals submitted the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act to the State Attorney General. The initiative requires genetically engineered foods (also known as Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs) and foods containing GMO ingredients to be clearly labeled, similar to current labels with other nutritional information.

A genetically engineered food is usually a plant or animal that has had its DNA altered at the molecular level in a lab to include genes that produce foreign compounds from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria. This genetic alteration is not found in nature and cannot occur naturally. Labeling GMO’s will allow health professionals to track any potential adverse health impacts of these foods. "Genetically engineering food can cause unintended consequences and because there have been no long term studies, we are unsure of how GMOs may affect our health."

Fifty countries including the European Union and Japan have laws mandating that genetically engineered foods be labeled, but the United States does not have such a requirement. Efforts to enact labeling laws in Congress and the California legislature have been blocked by big food and chemical company lobbyists. California voters are expected to have the chance to vote on the initiative in November 2012.

Do you shop at Trader Joe's?

Ask this California-based natural and organic food retailer to kick Monsanto out of their stores and join us in the fight for mandatory GMO labels! http: //www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23157.cfm

www.CommunityGreen.org

2011-11-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that I have been an organizer for a web based environmental group Community Green. We plan environmental events and post those of other environmental organizations that take place in New Jersey. Recently the woman who has been running Community Green from Colorado, passed the management of it to me. I’m very excited about this. It’s a good group of people and has a lot of potential.

Please visit us at: wwwCommunityGreen.org

Victory for Voluntary GMO-Free Labels!

Monsanto and Eli Lilly have successfully blocked consumers' right to know about factory-farm dairy production by concealing the use of their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, a.k.a. rBGH or rBST.

Still, when it comes to voluntary labels on non-GMO food, consumers are winning!

The first blow to biotech was in 2010 when a Sixth Circuit court ruled that milk produced with synthetic hormones is different than milk produced without it and struck down a Ohio rule that would have removed "rBGH-free" labels from dairy products.

The final blow to the Ohio rule came this week when the state agreed that, instead of revising the rule to comply with the court's opinion, it would abandon it altogether.

Miller’s Organic Farm in Madison this Saturday

2011-10-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Miller’s Organic Farm will be visiting Madison, at 42B Loantaka Way, this Sat, October 29th, from 8 am to 12 noon. It is a wonderful farm that specializes in farm fresh, 100% grass fed “real” dairy, meats, eggs, lacto-fermented food, fresh breads and more, down from an organic farm in Pennsylvania. Miller's Organic Farm is an Amish, family farm that follows the grass based farming principles promoted by The Weston A. Price Foundation. Their cows are on a high forage diet and are fed no grain to ensure a higher quality, more nourishing and better tasting food. There are no synthetic fertilizers, hormones, or antibiotics used. If you are interested in “Real” milk, raw cheeses, grass-fed, free-range, and soy-free meats, this is a wonderful opportunity.

Miller’s Organic Farm delivers to Madison, NJ on a bi-weekly basis. They carry goat, sheep, cow and camel milk as well as chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork and veal. They also carry fermented veggies and drinks, nuts, eggs, maple syrup, and many other spectacular items. Amos Miller and his son will be here this Sat to speak about their farm, answer questions and share some of their delicious products with you. The Millers do not come this way often, so don’t miss this chance.

If you would like more information please call Julie at 973-520-8614 or e-mail at ban5143@yahoo.com. Miller’s Organic Farm can be found on this web address: www.mootoyou.org/about.html . We hope to see you there!

Master massage therapist offers discount to Co-op members

2011-10-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

Take $20 off any one hour, first time medical massage with massage school Director Larry Heisler, M.A., LMT, or for any of our other services with any of our other wonderful teacher practitioners. Read about us at www.newjerseymassage.com

Philosophy: As we get older our muscles get harder, shorter and colder, eventually settling into our body pattern and determining how we move in space for the remainder of our lives. Can you say frozen in time. I’ll tell you what I say “Rigamortis sets in way before your die,” and medical massage addresses your soft tissue complaints and frozen muscular gait with great Deep Tissue, Myofascial and Neuromuscular Trigger Point massage work. It breaks up the rigamortis, unfreezes your connective tissue and activates your Acupuncture Energetic System. Pain, stiffness, poor circulation, inflexibility be gone!

NJ Massage

3699 Route 46 East, Parsippany, NJ 07054
Telephone: (973) 263-2229

NJ Massage Director Larry Heisler is a member of our Co-operative.

New Bernardsville Branch

2011-10-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the first delivery to the new Bernardsville branch! The pick up spot is just outside of downtown Bernardsville. Our host, Megan Schroeder, has been a member of the Co-op at the Madison Branch and recently moved to Bernardsville. So spread the word! The Bernardsville page on our website can be found at: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Bernardsville.html

Bernardsville Trial Baskets are now available online.

New Sorter wanted

One of my longest held sorters recently got a new job. I am looking for someone who would like to work sorting produce every other Tuesday from about 11:30 to 2, for a Basic Basket. Please call or email me if you are interested.

Enjoy! Marnie

The Book is Out!

2011-09-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

The book is out!

I've been published! I'm a published scholar now! In fact, two MSU classes are using it as a textbook this semester! It sells for about $35 on Amazon, so I don't suggest buying it. But if you do, I'd be happy to sign it for you. :-) I do suggest reading my chapter, or all of the book. The book is called "Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Sustainability" Edited by Robert W. Taylor. I wrote chapter four, Does Sustainability Mean a Lower Standard of Living.

24 Hours of Reality

Tomorrow WEDNESDAY, Sep 14th, will be a 24-hour worldwide marathon all about the reality of the climate crisis. Around the world, from New York City to South Africa to the Solomon Islands, people will use the power of the Internet to present their stories of living with climate change, and make clear the connection between extreme weather and the corporate carbon pollution that's changing our climate.

All the presentations, which will be in multiple languages, and in every single time zone, will be streamed live at ClimateRealityProject.org.

Enjoy!

Marnie

The Next Two Weeks are Co-op Vacation – August 16th and 23rd

2011-08-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

We will have no baskets those two weeks.

Enjoy!

We’re back in action August 30th.

On-line control of your membership

You can control your own basket choice & vacation dates, and payments will be automatic on your credit card.

Go to www.MountainLakesOrganic.com and click the “Member Login” link.
On that page you can then go to “New Users” by pressing the “Create Login Account” button.
Fill out the basic information asked for, and you will be taken to the “Member Dashboard”. To prepare baskets for you, you will need to “Subscribe to Co-op” and “Update credit card on file”. Follow the steps and your baskets will be under your control.
If you have any problems, you can go to the Contact us page and email your question to me, and I am here to help by phone too: 973-335-4469.

Enjoy!

Marnie

On-line control of your Membership

2011-08-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

I first want to thank all of you who signed up for the automated control! We have 1/5th of you on the list! Bravo!

Please take a moment and sign up through our website for your baskets. You can then control your own vacation dates, and payments for your baskets will be automatic on your credit card.

Go to www.MountainLakesOrganic.com and click the “Member Login” link.

On that page you can then go to “New Users” by pressing the “Create Login Account” button.

Fill out the basic information asked for, and you will be taken to the “Member Dashboard”. To prepare baskets for you, you will need to “Subscribe to Co-op” and “Update credit card on file”. Follow the steps and your baskets will be under your control.

Then, please play around and get familiar with the member’s capabilities.

If you have any problems, you can go to the Contact us page and email your question to me, and I am here to help by phone too: 973-335-4469.

Enjoy!

Marnie

Sign up for on-line control of your Membership

2011-07-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

The website is ready. Please take a moment and sign up through our website for your baskets. You can then control your own vacation dates, and payments for your baskets will be automatic on your credit card.

Go to www.MountainLakesOrganic.com and click the “Member Login” link. On that page you can then go to “New Users” by pressing the “Create Login Account” button.

Fill out the basic information asked for, and you will be taken to the “Member Dashboard”. To prepare baskets for you, you will need to “Subscribe to our CSA” and “Update credit card on file”. Follow the steps and your baskets will be under your control.

Then, please play around and get familiar with the member’s capabilities. If you have any problems, you can go to the Contact us page and email your question to the CSAware group, and I am here to help: 973-335-4469.

Co-op Vacation!

Co-op vacation weeks will be August 16th and 23rd. We will have no baskets those two weeks.

Enjoy!

Marnie

Please Read!

2011-07-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

I’m very excited! The Co-op soon will be changing over to an application where the members can control their baskets and payments online called CSAware. The software is owned by Local Harvest, which many of you know. I have found them to be a tremendous asset in running this co-operative.

Here in the beginning, you will have the choice to stay as a cash or check paying member, or switch over to CSAware. With CSAware, all your payments, except the last minute refrigerator decisions, will automatically be made by credit card each week, and you can add, change and cancel baskets in your private members account.

I have been working with the CSAware team and the website is almost complete. For ease of set up we will ask each of you to claim your membership online in the next few weeks (you will receive an email invite from CSAware). If for any reason, you have trouble with the site, you can always email or call me and I will correct the problem.

Choosing to move to this automated system, removes the guesswork from the billing. I will no loner need to send out emails asking if you paid because there is loose cash and no payment record from you. I also will not have to spend hours each week inputting the payments, and can spend that time on other aspects of the co-op that are demanding attention.

Again, If you would rather stay with paying by cash or check, please feel free to stay with the present system. CSAware is not hooked in to the website yet, but will be soon. So stay tuned!

Co-op Vacation!

Co-op vacation weeks will be August 16th and 23rd. We will have no baskets those two weeks.

Enjoy!

Marnie

Going Solar!

2011-06-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Please forgive me for the roofing. They were supposed to be done by today, but the rain last week set them back. It’s actually very exciting. Tomorrow I am getting solar panels put on my roof! I did my homework and found a reputable firm. I have a tree that is a little in the way but I can still get 1/3 of my electricity from the panels. If the tree wasn’t there it would be 1/2 to 2/3. Being from the Shade Tree Commission I couldn’t just simply cut down such a big beautiful healthy tree!

If any of you have any questions about the process or contacts, please phone me. I am very willing to help out. :-)

Co-op Vacation!

I have finally decided! My vacation weeks will be August 16th and 23rd. We will have no baskets those two weeks.

Enjoy Your Summer!

Marnie

Local Produce Has Begun

2011-06-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

The apples, kale, and kohlrabi are from NY state, Blueberries, onions, and lettuce are NJ, yams are NC, and peas are MD. As the weeks progress we will be getting more from even more local sources. We have four reputable certified organic sources and are working on a fifth that is in Andover, NJ.

The local farms are sending the produce to us in cases, not prepackaged. Items like the blueberries, we have to package ourselves, so I would appreciate it if you bring back your berry boxes. This week we are using paper cups, but I have purchased the green paper cartons for future use. Please do not throw them out! They are relatively expensive so please return especially them for reuse, unless of course they are soiled.

Thank you all for getting your vacation times to me. I will have our vacation schedule out within the next 2 weeks.

Don’t forget your watermelon!

Enjoy Your Summer!

Marnie

Local Produce Has Begun

2011-06-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

The apples, spinach, lettuce, and cilantro are from NY state, peaches from SC, Blueberries are NJ, and peas are MD. As the weeks progress we will be getting more from even more local sources. We have four reputable certified organic sources and are working on a fifth that is in Andover, NJ.

Rolls, Rolls, Rolls - Food Preparations Class

Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM

There are many ways to make a roll using some of your favorite ingredients. Spring time is the season to begin to lighten up the menu and making rolls stuffed with fresh raw and cooked vegetables and grains is a perfect way to lighten your load.

Montclair Environmental Movie Night: The Farmer and The Horse

Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 6:30 PM

Montclair Public Library - 50 South Fullerton Montclair, NJ

A story about a landless farmer, a non-conformist, and an escaped office worker...The Montclair Environmental Affairs office and Community Green present another eye-opening environmental movie from their Green Film Series.

Enjoy! Marnie

VitaMix

2011-06-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

One of our members has a connection to get the fabulous VitaMix blender with free shipping. They need to place an order with 3 or more to get free shipping. Her pricing is cheaper than the Costco pricing on their website. Contact Deb Stark at debragreccostark@weighbetternutrition.net

Variable Speed Control - Turbo Blend VS Black MSRP $549 Minimum advertised price - my retail price - $449

Without Variable Speed Control - Turbo Blend 4500 $499 - my retail price - $399

The Brand Chosen By Leading Chefs Worldwide

Variable Speed Control you control the blades allowing for flexibility and creativity - fine chop, grind or fully blend ingredients, all in one container
POWERFUL 2 PEAK MOTOR HORSEPOWER propels the blade tip speed up to 240 mph to blend even the toughest ingredients.
BPA-FREE, SHATTER-PROOF CONTAINER WITH 64 OZ. OF TRUE BLENDING CAPACITY designed to create a powerful vortex to force ingredients up from the blades and back down the center for thorough processing.
METAL-TO-METAL CONTAINER-TO-BASE COUPLING for maximum durability and long life.
SPILL-PROOF LID WITH REMOVABLE LID PLUG seals securely allowing ingredients to be added while processing.
The TAMPER allows for processing thick, dense ingredients and prevents air pockets from forming.
“LET’S GET STARTED!” DVD featuring an Eco-Lifestylist and Raw Food Author, Nut Milk Bag, and “Live Fresh” Recipe Book with easel-back design containing more than 200 raw, vegan, and vegetarian recipes.TU

Enjoy! Marnie

Summer is Here!

2011-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Please get your vacation schedules to me!

I’m putting together the summer plans and we will take a few weeks off, but exactly what weeks those are will depend a great deal on how many people take off when. We hope to start our local produce next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

I hope you all had fabulous Memorial Day Celebrations. Mine was very good. I have to say the Centennial Committee is doing a terrific job for Mountain Lake’s 100 year anniversary!

Court of Appeals Dismisses Monsanto's Appeal of Biotech Beets Case

May 20th the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a summary order concluding a long-standing lawsuit over the impacts of genetically engineered (GE) "Roundup Ready" sugar beets. As a result, previous court rulings in favor of farmers and conservation advocates will remain, including the order requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prepare a rigorous review of the impacts of GE sugar beets, engineered to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, before deciding whether to again allow their future commercial use.
Center for Food Safety (CFS) attorney George Kimbrell: "Today's order cements a critical legal benchmark in the battle for meaningful oversight of biotech crops and food. Because of this case, there will be public disclosure and debate on the harmful impacts of these pesticide-promoting crops, as well as legal protections for farmers threatened by contamination."

More: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23267.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Woo Hoo!! School’s out!

2011-05-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

For me anyway. I finished everything for this semester at 7:30 last night. Now for a few weeks of R&R in my garden and back to summer school. I didn’t want to do it that way, but if I plan to finish by December, I need to.

Anyway, the produce is being sourced closer and closer. Sorry for the asparagus from Mexico the other week. My sales rep didn’t flag me on that which she usually does. We will be starting with Karley again this summer. It looks like the week of June 14th or 21st. Please get me your summer vacation schedules when you get them!

We will be changing over the website to one that is a little more automated this summer. You will each be able to manage your own accounts with what baskets you choose and even pay safely through the site. This will be my summer project, getting this up and running. I like to make it so people don’t have to change a thing if they don’t want to.

Recycling Efforts

We like to use paper that has been used on one side for the invoices and NewsLetters. If any of you have some, please help out and just leave it in the garage when you pick up. We have had a few sources, but are finding we could use more these days. Thanks to all who supply us!

I hope you are all enjoying your spring. I like that the weather is getting into the 70’s these days. It’s my favorite temperature zone.

Enjoy! Marnie

Stop Plan for Monsanto & Biotech Industry to Police Itself!

2011-05-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Genetically modified organisms, planted on 165 millions acres of US farmland, have increased the use of toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, destroyed soil fertility and carbon-sequestering capacity, spawned super-weeds, contaminated organic & non-GMO crops, and are less nutritious and more likely to trigger allergies, in general making plants, animals and human beings weaker and disease-prone. GMO corn for ethanol has decreased grain supplies, raised food prices, and increased world hunger; while generating the same greenhouse gas pollution as conventional gasoline. Genetically engineered trees, fish, and farm animals pose similar hazards to human and environmental health.

The Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has aided Monsanto and the biotech lobby by failing to accurately assess the impacts of GMOs, as they have failed to properly assess the monumental damage of chemical agriculture. APHIS, using the excuse of efficiency and cutting costs, wants to turn over the job of conducting assessments to biotech companies like Monsanto that have vested interests in deregulation.

This is a very dangerous game to play. Tell APHIS to halt their pilot program and instead put their resources towards more vigorous review of the potential harms of GMO crops and animals.

Take Action: http://www.capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=43706521&type=AN

Enjoy! Marnie

The Beginnings of Co-operatives

2011-04-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Co-operatives as we know them first appeared in England during the class struggles of the early 1800’s. Robert Owen, known for his attempts to save the poor from squalor and reforming the child labor laws, wrote “Report on The Poor” addressing the social and economic structures of England. Though the House of Commons rejected his report, the idea of “Villages of Co-operation,” based on the Shaker communities in the United States, caught on. William Thompson furthered the concept of co-operatives, and Socialism as well, through his writing, specifically his paper in 1824, “An enquiry into the principals of Distribution of Wealth Most Conducive to Human Happiness.” Both men strongly believed human nature was basically good; happiness came from human interactions; and that man is demoralized by the inhumane environments created by the economic system. This connection between happiness, social relations, co-operation and democratic methods established the moral and methodological foundation of co-operatives as a humane alternative to the problems of capitalism. The academic ideals didn’t translate into reality very well. with over 250 failed attempts at co-opting communities before 1844, when William King produced the first successful co-operative. Starting small, he thought to first co-op a business that everyone uses, a grocery store.

Enjoy! Marnie

Rain rain rain!

2011-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

It’s time to hook up the rain barrels and capture some of that blue gold for your garden! I have three rain barrels and have only needed to use my municipal water (tap water) a handful of times in August last two years. The plants, especially the young ones don’t like tap water because of the chlorine. It’s actually very toxic to them. If you use tap water to water plants, let it sit for an hour in the watering can first, to let the chlorine dissipate. Last year I went to Rutgers and took a How to Make a Rain Barrel Instructor’s course. I have been holding classes in making rainbarrels and selling them ever since. If any of you would like me to come do a class for your town organization or club, please contact me. I also have rain barrels available for $75, with instructions for set up produced by Rutgers University.

It’s time to get out in the garden, and start planting the broccoli, peas, beans and lettuces! Plant the warm weather seeds inside, to be transplanted come Mother’s Day. Please make a conserted effort to buy organic seeds. Seeds of Change is a great company. Burpee is as bad as you can get.

The forsythia are blooming so that means its time to put down the corn gluten on your lawn as a weed inhibitor. It lets the weed seeds sprout, but inhibits root growth, so the weed eventually dies. Grass that is already established won’t be harmed. Weeds that are established will need to be pulled. Its a little more expensive than synthetic herbicides, but it keeps your soil alive and working organically. I’ll have more on this in future articles.

Enjoy! Marnie

Spring Produce

2011-04-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

The flowers are blooming. The birds are out. But this is the absolute worst time of year for produce. There is nothing local. Florida only has citrus left. Everything else has to come from California, or has been sitting in a nitrogen room so it doesn’t rot. This is why at this time of year, we have more things like coconuts, and kiwis that certainly would never grow here. All is not lost. We get to try strange fruits like cumquots. The asparagus is just starting. The berries are ripening closer every day and lettuce does well in greenhouses year round. We can begin our anticipation of the summer tastes! It’s just around the corner.

Fresh Foods for Spring Holiday Menus- Healthy Foods Prep Class

Thursday, April 14, 2011 - 12:00 PM

As spring comes so do new beginnings. The same holds true of our food choices. This is a great time to experiment with something new and fresh that you may have not thought to prepare before. This Easter or Passover meal is a great place to start. Join me as I demonstrate some fresh spring inspired appetizers that you can serve at your holiday table. We will prepare dips, spring rolls, and stuffed vegetables as well as other easy but colorful dishes that your guests will love.

Learn about a different type of healthy food preparation each month – raw foods, foods that are good for your heart, gluten free grains. We’ll prepare seasonal produce, can summer fruits, make tomato sauce, and even learn how to detox in the winter. join us each month for a pleasant afternoon social, and learn about delicious and healthy food preparation.

Come to one class or come to all...
Each MLOC class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.

RSVP today to reserve a spot. For more information contact Marnie at FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com or 973-335-4469.

Enjoy! Marnie

Your home vegetable garden - Get ready for Spring!

2011-04-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 10, 2011 – 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Where: Mountain Lakes Organic Co-op

Start your garden the organic way. Learn about garden preparation, sourcing organic seeds and soil amendments, heirloom tomatoes and herbs, and planting diversity in vegetables, herbs, and flowers to attract beneficial insects and as natural pest deterrents. Map out your succession planting schedule to ensure continuous harvests. Develop integrated pest management (IPM) skills and harvesting practices, for squash, cucumbers, peppers, and other summer crops. Learn about drip irrigation systems and rain barrels and how to keep your plants strong and healthy with consistent water in the summer heat.

Wanda Knapik, a certified Permaculture Instructor, installs vegetable gardens for institutions and residents through her company - My Local Garden, LLC.

Come to one class or come to all...
Each MLOC class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.

RSVP today to reserve a spot. For more information contact Marnie at FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com or 973-335-4469.

Enjoy! Marnie

WestHaven Organic Farm

2011-03-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

West Haven is the farm up at the EcoVillage in Ithaca. They follows permaculture principals in their farming methods. A main Permaculture principal is that your actions should have many different benefits. Crop rotation does this. One type of plant may deplete the soil of particular nutrients and leave other nutrients that another type of plant can use. The most noted example is peas and beans capture nitrogen from air and fix it in soil, which benefits other plants like tomatoes which can be planted in the plot the next growing season. Crop rotation also discourages pest growth. A fly that feeds on carrots may get established in the soil one year, but if the carrots are planted in a plot 150 feet away the next year, it’s too far for the fly to travel, find and flourish. Flowers too are not only beautiful, but can act as pest deterrents. The smell of marigolds are very good for keeping bugs away. Row covers also have multiple benefits. They keep bugs away like the flea beetle on arugula. They also extend the season, by keeping frost off the plants as temperatures begin to dip below freezing.

Planting certain vegetables with each other also has many benefits. Plants like to grow in biodiverse clusters because they benefit from each other in different ways. Various plants can deter pests, add needed nutrients to the soil, provide needed shade, provide stalks to climb and transpirate needed moisture. An old Iroquois combination is the three sisters – corn, beans and squash. Some believe plants that taste good together often grow well together like, tomatoes, onions and rosemary. But you would want to keep the dill, parsnips and radishes away from this cluster.

Which brings us to the next topic, the fertilizer, or the refuse. It can also be thought of as the link that turns something from the linear cradle to grave into the circle of life – composting. West Haven fertilizes their fields with their own compost – made from the left over plant material and chicken poop, the compost from a nearby dairy, and with cover crops. Cover crops are plants like winter oats, hairy vetch, and peas that are very good at replenishing the nutrients in the soil. When the farm was bought, the farm manager planted consecutive years of cover-crops to invigorate the soil. Each year of organic farming improves the soil more. The microbes are left to establish their own equilibrium, which also keeps the pests in check.

GreenStar Food Co-op

2011-03-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a very inspiring class trip to Ithaca, NY. We visited the EcoVillage and other sustainable projects that are happening there. The local food co-operative, GreenStar, was an inspiration. It’s a member owned grocery store. Lifetime membership costs $90 payable over up to 10 years at $9 per year. Their mission is to buy as locally as possible. Local is considered to be within 30 miles of the co-op. They label local foods with the farm it came from, and all suppling farms must be able to be visited by members. They also carry items from further away, but they will only carry items that are good for you. There is nothing from China sold there, and they stay away from items that are over packaged.

Prices are very competitive and members get a 2% discount. Higher discounts are available depending on how much they work. The co-operative format is also used to extend food cost benefits to members according to need. They believe healthy foods should be available to all. They work with the farmers too, paying for crops in the spring when the farmer need the money, much like a CSA, and taking delivery later in the season. Many items are in individual packages, but most you take only what you need, using your own reusable containers or the biodegradable bags that they provide. The co-op is extraordinarily popular. They feed 20% of the greater Ithaca community. It was so refreshing to see a successful people oriented operation. Food for thought.

GasLand viewing in Mountain Lakes

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Fermenting: Healthy Foods Prep Class

Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 12:00 PM

Mountain Lakes Organic Coop - 10 Vale Drive Mountain Lakes, NJ

Enjoy! Marnie

March Calendar

2011-03-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Montclair Environmental Movie Night: Deep Green

Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 6:30 PM

Montclair Public Library - 50 South Fullerton Montclair, NJ

The Montclair Environmental Affairs office and Community Green present another eye-opening environmental movie from their Green Film Series. What better way to celebrate St Patrick's Day than to go see Deep Green?! Deep Green offers a glimpse at green technology here in the US and abroad. read more

Organic Vegetable Gardening: Spring garden activities

Tuesday, March 22, 2011-10 am -12 pm

Van Velck Gardens - 21 Van Vleck St Montclair, NJ

From 10am -12pm Prepare your garden in the spring: organic soil amendments, composting, and critter-proofing. Learn about sourcing organic seeds, planting seeds directly into your soil in April and May (peas, arugula, lettuces, greens), garden design and companion planting. read more

GasLand viewing in Mountain Lakes

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 7:00 PM

The League of Women Voters of Mountain Lakes and Community Green Invite you view Gasland In this Oscar nominated documentary, director Josh Fox journeys across America to examine the negative effects for natural-gas drilling, from poisoned water sources to kitchen sinks that burst into flame to unhealthy animals and people. read more

Fermenting: Healthy Foods Prep Class

Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 12:00 PM

Mountain Lakes Organic Coop - 10 Vale Drive Mountain Lakes, NJ

Fermented Foods have "live" cultures and are teeming with friendly bacteria to support the balanced population of healthy flora in our intenstinal tract. These friendly bacteria in the intestine are principally responsible for digestion and assimilation of nutrients. read more

Enjoy! Marnie

Start getting ready for World Food Day

2011-03-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

In the worldwide movement to stop GMOs, World Food Day, on 10/16, has frequently been marked as a day of action. Following this tradition, Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign is calling for actions from each of our congressional district chapters, with the goal of turning out 2300 people at each event to make a million nationwide.

The first step...

to getting people involved is to get them to sign our Millions Against Monsanto petition. Which is on the table near the cash box. Please read it and sign it if you would like to know when you are being sold GMO foods.

You can also go online and sign it here: www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/action.cfm

Also...

Thank you to the OCA activist who shared a recent e-mail she received from Kraft Foods which admits "We are not rejecting milk from BGH/BST supplemented herds." BGH/BST is the genetically modified Bovine Growth Hormone developed by Monsanto and now marketed by Eli Lilly. It was the first genetically modified organism to become part of the food supply. It is well-known by federal regulators that GMO bovine growth hormone produces milk that is less nutritious, contaminated with pus, and has elevated levels of IGF-1. Elevated levels of IGF-1 are correlated with increased rates of cancer.

Let Kraft & Kellogg's know you're joining a boycott of their brands because you want to avoid GMOs!

www.capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=30612501&type=CU

Enjoy! Marnie

USDA Deregulates GMO Alfalfa

2011-02-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

The USDA has deregulated Monsanto GMO Roundup Ready alfalfa after five years of deliberation. The decision squashed a proposed compromise that would have placed geographic restrictions on Roundup Ready alfalfa to prevent organic and traditional alfalfa from being contaminated by herbicide sprays and cross-pollination.

More: www.truth-out.org/big-win-biotech-usda-deregulates-monsanto-alfalfa67373

Exchange Morals for Money

“Americans have come to consider their standard of living as a somewhat sacred acquisition, which they will defend at any price. This means that they would be ready to make many an intellectual or even moral concession in order to maintain that standard” –Richard Robbins. Over the last 120 years, as people earn more and more money, they have made many intellectual and moral concessions in order to maintain the ever rising standard of living. We have become more competitive, stressed, given up a more relaxed lifestyle to make more money. We have come to accept a number of formerly sacrilegious concepts – money not being tied to a commodity, money being created by creating debt, its now even expected to charge interest on loans. People used to value “thrift, modesty, and moderation.” As consumer capitalism grew, we have accepted that we need to spend money. We are now borrowing so we have money to spend, and, we are spending it on luxury items.

This change of ideals and morals has changed our way of life dramatically. It has altered our time, space, and class. Our holidays have become excuses to consume, weather for presents, food or greeting cards. We have left our city apartments to live in big sprawling houses, with cars and malls. And, as Macy’s board chairman states, “The luxuries of today are the necessities of tomorrow.” At the rate the growth economy ideals are spreading, there are staggering implications for the rest of the world. China and India both have populations far greater than the United States and their economies are growing rapidly. China’s GDP is growing about 8% per year. India is saving about 7% less per year. We live on a finite planet. At some point our economy cannot grow anymore.

Enjoy! Marnie

New Semester Started

2011-01-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

Last night I had my new classes. I’m taking ecology and Building Sustainable Cities. LOTS OF WORK! But very exciting classes! I’m really looking forward to them. The topics and books look great. I think one of my termpapers will be on the Local Food Movement.

Fair World Alert: Hershey Go Fair Trade!

Valentine's Day is a major chocolate buying holiday, but your gifts for your sweetheart should not come at the expense of workers rights! Forced labor, child labor and trafficking continues in the cocoa industry in West Africa. Almost all major chocolate companies have begun to commit to using independent, third-party programs to certify that their cocoa suppliers comply with international labor standards, but Hershey continues to lag behind the industry.

As America's largest and oldest chocolate manufacturer, Hershey has the responsibility to lead the industry in ensuring workers' rights, from bean to bar. It's time for Hershey to "Raise the Bar" by tracing the sources of its cocoa, working to eliminate child and forced labor, and shifting to Fair Trade cocoa.

Send a letter to Hershey and tell them it is time to go Fair Trade: www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob260.htm

Montclair Environmental Movie: Gasland

Thursday, January 27 – 6:30 PM

Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton, Montclair, NJ

The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? Join us for the films and discussion following. This is one of a series of Environmental Film Screenings put on by CommunityGreen.org..

www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/

Enjoy!

Marnie

3 Events!

2011-01-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

Group Cleanse - Healthy Food Preparations Class

Thursday, January 20 – 12:00 PM

This group cleanse will last for 8-10 days and will begin with an information session as we decide which level of cleansing is right for you. With three different cleanse options offered, we will work together to support each other through weak moments. We will close with a session on how to break your cleanse and move forward as you add foods back into your diet.

For more info contact Marnie at: FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com or 973-335-4469. www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/

Happy Hour with the Sierra Club!

Thursday, January 20 – 5:00 PM

At Egan & Sons, 118 Walnut Street, Montclair, NJ

It’s cold outside, but you can keep warm without coal. Join the Sierra Club for happy hour to support New Jersey – the Green and Clean Garden State. Bring friends! Meet new people!

www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/

Montclair Environmental Movie Night: Gasland

Thursday, January 27 – 6:30 PM

Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton, Montclair, NJ

www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/

Group Cleanse - Healthy Food Preparations Class

2011-01-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 20 – 12:00 PM

Cleansing can mean different things to different people and can take many different forms depending on how you have been feeding your body. We will work together to support each other through weak moments. This group cleanse will last for 8-10 days and will begin with an information session as we decide which level of cleansing is right for you. Mid week you will have the opportunity to check in with everyone to share your experiences and ask questions. We will close with a session on how to break your cleanse and move forward as you add foods back into your diet.

Cleansing Options include:

The Master Cleanse: A fast using home- made lemonade, pure grade B maple syrup and cayenne pepper. The book is available through the Co-op.

Blessed Herbs ( www.blessedherbs.com ) - A colon cleanse and optional 5 day fast using special herbs and their special toxin absorber packets that are taken throughout the day. The colon cleanse kit is available from the website and should be purchased prior to the start date and brought with you to the first session. The kit is on sale now buy one get one for half price so sharing can bring the cost per person to $67.00. Anyone interested in Blessed Herbs can email Phyllis and she can pair you up.

The Elimination Diet includes a variety of common foods and substances to eliminate over the 10 day period. The list includes: sugar, wheat, dairy, caffeine ect. A shopping list is included as well as recipes There is an optional day of fasting mid cleanse as well.

Schedule for Meetings:

Initial Meeting -Thursday January 20th, 12:00 pm

Mid Cleanse Check In-Sunday evening January 23rd, 5:00 pm

Final Meeting-Thursday January 27th, 12:00 pm

Any questions about cleansing: Phyllis Deering at pdeering@optonline.net. For more info contact Marnie at: FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com or 973-335-4469. www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/

A winter break from local - lets go tropical!

2011-01-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

There aren’t many local veggies out there these days, so the Big Baskets are taking a rare visit to the tropics and indulging in coconuts and pineapples, and both baskets get mangos and US kiwis. All are great in smoothies and together they make a nice fruit salad.

To open a coconut

If you haven’t used coconuts before, they are opened by poking a knife in the three circles on top. The shell is softer in one especially and you can make a hole to drain the coconut water into a container. There is usually up to 2 cups of coconut water which can be blended with the meat to make coconut milk.

I then take my hammer to the nut and a few swift blows will crack it. The white coconut meat can be pried loose with a knife from the shell and the brown skin can be peeled off with a potato peeler.

Coconut is a delicious and healthy addition to both fruit and green smoothies. One coconut is enough to make a coconut cream pie (Google “coconut cream pie”). I am looking for good coconut recipes, so if you have a favorite, please email it to me!

Enjoy!

Marnie

No Baskets till next year!

2010-12-21T06:52:00.001-08:00

Enjoy the Holidays!

Marnie

LETTERS FROM CANCUN

2010-12-14T08:47:00.000-08:00

Working to Slow Climate Change: Farmers Inspire Hope & Action

The earth's atmosphere is polluted with 390 ppm of CO2, well past the dangerous tipping point of 350 ppm. If the world's 12 billion acres of farms and pastures were transitioned to organic, we could pull 50 ppm of that carbon down from the atmosphere and store it safely in the soil. Here's how it works:

Compost, Not Chemicals

Synthetic fertilizers destroy soil life and release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Organic farming uses natural fertilizers to restore soil health and clean greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Forage, Not Factory Farms

Animals packed into factory farms generate oceans of greenhouse gas polluting waste. Animals that forage on pasture fertilize the soil with their waste and encourage the growth of deep-rooted perennial grasses that draw carbon down from the atmosphere.

Farmers' Movements, Not Monsanto

The world's 1.5 billion family farmers and 1 billion farm workers are the caretakers of the skills, knowledge and biodiversity needed to make the great transition from fossil-fuel fertilizers and factory farms to organic farming and ranching. But, their power will be lost if we can't stop transnational corporations like Monsanto from genetically engineering their plants and animals, forcing them to buy expensive chemical pesticides and fertilizers, enslaving them with debt, pushing them off their land, and stealing their water.

Zero Waste, Zero Emissions

The number one issue for farmers -- and the key to drawing carbon down from the atmosphere to slow climate change -- is soil fertility. If farmers are going to switch from fossil fuel fertilizers to organic compost, compost has to be less expensive and in greater supply. Food scraps and yard waste make great compost, there's tons of it, and it's free. We just need to rescue it from the landfills, incinerators and power generators. We can do it ourselves and we can pass local laws to make composting mandatory.

by Alexis Baden-Mayer Enjoy! Marnie

The End of the Growing Season

2010-12-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

All the vegetables today are local except the squash and garlic and this marks the end of New Jersey’s growing season. In future weeks, we will be getting some local root veggies that Karley, our grower, is storing, otherwise all of the produce will be coming at least as far as from Pennsylvania. Karley and I agreed today that it has worked out well for us and we will be working together again next year.

Milk Feedback Wanted!

I’d like to either get more people purchasing milk or stop carrying it. I’ve noticed we have been selling less milk and it goes out of date and I have to take a loss because of it. I know some of you have bought outdated cartons, and I know it’s annoying when you get home to find you have old milk. I am, myself avoiding milk because it’s not good for older women to drink. This, however, is particularly good milk, being from grass fed cows and locally farmed in PA. I like the flavor of it the most. If you have a wish for me to continue getting the milk, what type and any other comments about it, please email me.

Local Christmas Trees

One of our members has a tree farm! For a local, fresh cut Christmas tree go to the Small Wonder Tree Farm. Located at 170 Sunset Rd, Pompton Plains, NJ. Open weekends only - 9:30 till dark. They have Norway spruce, balsam, spruce, blue spruce, Douglas fir, Fraser fir and Concolor spruce - All sizes and shapes. Talk to Bob Crescitelli for directions and details.

Enjoy! Marnie

The Holiday Season

2010-11-30T18:25:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a tremendous feast for Thanksgiving. Once again, the holiday season is in full force with the decorations up, sales in the stores, and cookies in the oven. You can make your holiday a little healthier by buying a locally grown Christmas tree, learning how to juice, and sticking to raw organic fruits and vegetables - at least when you’re not at a party - or introduce them in your pot luck!

There was a lot of confusion over the Thanksgiving week off. Please, everyone watch the calendar for holidays with the Co-op: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html . We will have the last week of the year off too. We follow the Mtn Lakes school holiday schedule.

The Benefits of Juicing - Food Prep Class

This Thursday, Dec. 2nd - 12-2 PM

At The Mountain Lakes Organic Co-op

Juicing is one of the most effective ways to get vitamins and minerals into your body. Freshly extracted juices are far superior in nutrient content than store-bough pasteurized juices. They are also very healing and can be used to treat many health problems or to implemented as a cleanse from toxins in the body. In this class you will learn why juicing should become an essential part of your daily routine. Chef Zoe will demonstrate recipes for three juices - green juice, fruit juice and therapeutic roots juice. She will provide tips on how to pick, store and maximize the use of product in juicing.

Each class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.
For more info and to sign up visit the Events Calendar at www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html .

Local Christmas Trees

Enjoy! Marnie

Standard of living vs Quality of life

2010-11-16T06:53:00.000-08:00

-Another part of my term paper

My presentation is Thursday. Wish me luck!

The term standard of living is not to be mistaken for quality of life, which also includes ones health, environmental quality, and social well-being, though they are often used interchangeably. There has been quite a debate over which indicators are better to use to show how happy people are. The Easterlin Paradox is where this particular discussion begins. In 1974 Richard Easterlin published a paper “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence.” He found that, within a country, citizens happiness increased as their incomes got higher. But when comparing countries, happiness increased only until their subsistence was taken care of, and did not increase substantially beyond that, no matter what the incomes. The intensive fury we are in, to make more and more, is called the “hedonic treadmill”. In layman's terms, keeping up with the Jones’ gone wild.

The western business world, which uses the GDP to indicate well-being, did not like this finding. Our economy is built for growth. The more it grows the more healthy it is said to be - new houses, new products, citizens are labeled consumers. The Easterlin Paradox indicates that this growth is not necessary for our well-being, and it indicates that people would be just as happy with a steady state economy.

The Easterlin Paradox ‘opened up a can of worms’ and perhaps even began a new science - of measuring happiness. Since 1974, scientists have performed similar surveys arriving at similar results. Which indicators to use and techniques of measuring happiness have been argued between social scientists and economists. The point that we can live just as happily with far less, also began to interest the environmentalist. This topic of measuring happiness via GDP versus other indicators, has produced a number of reports worthy of discussion...

Don’t you want to read the whole paper?

Enjoy! Marnie

World Imbalance

2010-11-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

World Imbalance - quote of the week

"For years, humans have tried to conquer nature, but in doing so, they themselves became conquered. They lost their connection with the earth. They destroyed the land they were tilling. In Buddhist belief, there are no pesticides, no bad insects, no good ones. There is only imbalance in the world. We must restore that balance."

-Han Guojie, water-quality engineer turned farmer, quoted in "Sowing Seeds for an Organic Revolution," by William Wan in the Washington Post, November 2, 2010

San Francisco Bans Happy Meals

By Sharon Bernstein - Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2010

The city's board of supervisors votes to forbid restaurants from giving away toys with meals that have high levels of calories, sugar and fat. This effectively bans most of McDonald's Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants.

The ordinance would also require restaurants to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys.

"We're part of a movement that is moving forward an agenda of food justice," said Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure. "From San Francisco to New York City, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making our kids sick, particularly kids from low income neighborhoods, at an alarming rate. It's a survival issue and a day-to-day issue."

Just after the vote, McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud said, "We are extremely disappointed with today's decision. It's not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for."

For related articles and more information please visit OCA's http://www.organicconsumers.org/afc.cfm .

Enjoy! Marnie

The Holiday Season Begins!

2010-11-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a spooky Halloween. I gave out the organic apples as usual. I bought 500 and we ran out by 7:00 pm so the last couple hundred kids got candy. As always, Halloween in the Village is exhausting. So now the Holiday Season has officially begun! I will look into organic turkeys for anyone who is interested. Expect to hear more about them in the coming weeks.

I have some papers due in school in the next few weeks too. Here is an excerpt from my paper for the Ethics in Sustainability class:

A person’s Standard of Living is an economics term for the measure of ones income and ability to purchase the items desired. It is a measure of a citizen’s ability to consume. The term standard of living is not to be mistaken for quality of life, which also includes ones health, environmental quality, and social issues. One’s standard of living is the primary scale by which Americans judge themselves as better or worse off than others, but does not mean a person has a better “quality of life.” Yes, living sustainably may degrade one’s standard of living, but it will not necessarily degrade a person’s quality of life. People are repelled by the idea of living a “sustainable” life style because they immediately envision hard labor and the loss of material goods. However, studies have found the quality of life does not diminish until poverty levels. In some cases quality of life increases with more sustainable lifestyles. This is due to personal satisfaction with behaving in a sustainable way and working with others of a like mind...

More to come!

Enjoy! Marnie

Goodbye Harvest Season!

2010-10-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

The end of of New Jersey’s harvest season is coming. We have a couple weeks left and can only get the leafy greens, winter squashes, peppers, potatoes, and kiwi berries. We’ve already started getting citrus from Florida and California and will begin to source more from these winter growing states like the pineapples. I’ve enjoyed the fresh Jersey produce this summer. It was a bumper crop of tomatoes and the berries, cukes, carrots, peas, beans, basil, broccoli were all so delicious!

Safeguard Organic Standards

Chemical and energy-intensive industrial food and farming poses a mortal threat to life on the planet. Monsanto and Food Inc. are rapidly destroying the soil, contaminating water, reducing biodiversity, and destabilizing the climate. Meanwhile consumers are being stuffed with junk foods that make us fat and sick. Industrial agriculture's fatal harvest includes trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and filthy, disease-ridden factory farmed animal products laced with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, nano-particles and bacteria. ...

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is holding its twice-yearly standards-setting meeting in Madison, WI next week. Organic Consumers Association political director Alexis Baden-Mayer will be speaking at the meeting on behalf of our quarter-million active members and we need you to back up her testimony with letters to the NOSB on the topics that are most important to you.

There are 8 Action emails you can send at this link! If there is ever an opportunity to voice your opinion, this is it.

Take Action: www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Focus on Energy

2010-10-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

New Jersey has some issues regarding the energy we use. Now with the ability to choose our electric supplier we can switch away from JCP&L to greener sources. One of our Co-op members, Laura Nisivoccia, is a sales person for Viridian. Take home a brochure and find out how you can get green energy for less.

Coal Country & New Jersey

Wednesday Oct 20th - 6:30 pm

Coal Country spotlights Appalachian coal mining through the eyes of miners and activists. What is behind promises of "cheap energy" and "clean coal?" And what are the alternatives for our energy future?

After the film, Christine Guhl, a field organizer for the Sierra Club will make a 30 minute presentation about the coal and it's past and future in New Jersey. The focus of her presentation will be on the existing Hudson generating station and the proposed PurGen plant in Linden, as well as the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission lines.

More info: http://www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Food Prep Class: Superfoods

Thursday, Oct 21st - 12 to 2 pm

Join Phyllis, a certified Holistic Health Counselor, here at the Co-op, as she teaches us how to prepare superfoods. Superfoods are vibrant, nutritionally dense foods that have recently become widely available. They offer tremendous dietary and healing potential. They include goji berries, hempseed, cacao beans (raw chocolate), maca, spirulina, bee products, and a host of others. In this workshop we will prepare delicious recipes using superfoods and discuss their health benefits, quality sources for obtaining them and where to go to learn more so you can make them a daily part of your diet.

More info: http://www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Enjoy! Marnie

Rainbarrels

2010-10-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

We had 14 people come to the rainbarrel workshop and had fun making rainbarrels out of recycled Coke syrup shipping barrels. They still smelled like coke syrup! We bought more barrels than were sold so we have some available. At $75 they are the cheapest barrels available and you don’t have to pay a shipping fee either. Installation directions from Rutgers are included. And the barrels are white! You can help yourself to the display model. I’ll put another out when I see it gone. Or if you want more than one, please email me or write it on the invoice.

Coal Country & New Jersey

Wednesday Oct 20th - 6:30 pm

Coal Country spotlights Appalachian coal mining through the eyes of miners and activists. The Sierra Club visit miners and coal company officials who are concerned about jobs and the economy and believe they are acting responsibly in bringing power to the American people. What is behind promises of "cheap energy" and "clean coal?" And what are the alternatives for our energy future?

More info: http://www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Food Prep Class: Superfoods

Thursday, Oct 21st - 12 to 2 pm

More info: http://www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Enjoy! Marnie

10/10/10

2010-10-05T05:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 10/10/10 at 4:00 pm-

Rainbarrels & Composters

This doesn't happen often! Join thousands of people around the globe, and get out to do something for your planet today (www.350.org). Wanda Knapik and Marnie Vyff are joining forces to show you the first steps in making your garden sustainable. For a small amount we will learn how to make our own rain-barrels and get the directions to make composters for your gardens. We will talk about why these two items are essential to every environmentally friendly backyard and discuss "green" gardening techniques. Have you ever heard of permaculture? This is it!

For more information www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html contact Marnie at FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com or 973-335-4469.

Take Action on Climate Change

Please Join Organic Consumers Association and 350.org in our Upcoming Actions

On 10/10/10, OCA's climate justice ally, 350.org is organizing a Global Work Party to involve people in positive actions in their local communities to demonstrate how we can sharply reduce and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases and move back below the dangerous tipping point of 350 parts per million of CO2 in our atmosphere.

A worldwide shift of agriculture from chemical-intensive factory farms and industrial monocultures to organic practices could drastically reduce CO2, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions, and sequester a critical mass of carbon back in the soil, where it belongs. That's why OCA and 350.org are encouraging people to spend 10/10/10 working on a community garden or an organic farm in your local area.

Please go to www.350.org to find out what other organic consumers and climate justice activists in your community have planned for 10/10/10 like Mtn Lakes Organic Co-op’s Rainbarrel & Composter Workshop. See you there!

Enjoy! Marnie

Two Great Classes

2010-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

This Thursday! - Food Prep Class:

Raw Foods Dairy Substitution

Thursday September 30th from 12 to 2 pm

At the workshop we will learn why dairy posses many dangers to your health and how you can begin to substitute it with dairy-free versions. Chef Zoe will demonstrate how to make the following:

*Almond Mylk *Mayonaise *Ice Cream

We are introducing Zoe, a raw foods chef and founder of RAWbundant, an organic and raw line of foods, ingredients and specialty equipment. Zoe is dedicated to helping people live their best lives through learning about healthy nutrition and the advantages of a high raw diet. There are many wonderful videos and tips on health and nutrition that you may find useful on her blog at: http://zoevblog.com/. Samples of RAWbundant's signature dishes will be available after the workshop.

Each class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.
Find out about the individual classes and sign up through the Events Calendar or contact Marnie at FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com and 973-335-4469.

Save the Date - Global Work Party!

Rainbarrels & Composters

The Date is 10/10/10. This doesn't happen often! Make the day special and get out to do something for your planet. Wanda Knapik and Marnie Vyff are joining forces to show you the first steps in making your garden sustainable. We will learn how to make rain-barrels and composters for your gardens. We will talk about why these two items are essential to every environmentally friendly backyard and discuss "green" gardening techniques.

For more information www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html contact Marnie at FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com or 973-335-4469.

Enjoy! Marnie

Food Prep Class: Raw Foods Dairy Substitution

2010-09-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

Thursday September 30th from 12 to 2 pm

At the workshop we will learn why dairy posses many dangers to your health and how you can begin to substitute it with dairy-free versions. Chef Zoe will demonstrate how to make the following:

*Almond Mylk
*Mayonaise
*Ice Cream

Come to one class or come to all...
Learn about a different type of healthy food preparation – raw foods, foods that are good for your heart, gluten free grains. We’ll prepare seasonal produce, canning summer fruits, make tomato sauce, and even learn how to detox in the winter. join us for pleasant afternoon socials, and learn about delicious and healthy food preparation.

Enjoy! Marnie

Food Prep Class: Preserving the Bounty of the Season

2010-09-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

This Thursday from 12 to 2 pm

Its a bumper crop! Gardens are chock full of fruits and vegetables now, your co-op and your local farmers market too. It's time to learn how to reap the benefits of the produce for months to come. In this demonstration class we will learn about the different techniques for preserving fruits and vegetables; canning, freezing and dehydrating; so you can enjoy eating whole foods all year long.

Phyllis is a certified Holistic Health Counselor with over 20 years practicing in the field of nutrition. She is a coach, educator, and chef skilled in multiple food disciplines. Certified by the Institute for Food Studies and The National Gourmet Institute, Phyllis has authored healthy alternative menus for schools, taught food education, and, overall, dedicated her life to sharing and promoting health through nutrition in the public and private sector.

Learn about a different type of healthy food preparation each month ? raw foods, foods that are good for your heart, gluten free grains. We?ll prepare seasonal produce, can summer fruits, make tomato sauce, and even learn how to detox in the winter. join us each month for a pleasant afternoon social, and learn about delicious and healthy food preparation.

Come to one class or come to all...
Each class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.

To sign up rsvp or contact Marnie at:
MountainLakes Organic Co-op, llc
10 Vale Dr, MountainLakes, NJ 07046
973-335-4469
FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com

Find out more at: www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/14683056/

Enjoy! Marnie

Factory Farms, Eggs & Food Safety

2010-09-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

The recall of a half-billion eggs from two mega-farms in Iowa is accelerating the call for government action on food safety. Some news reports are confusing consumers over the safety of organic eggs. A couple facts: No USDA certified organic egg producers have been recalled. Factory farm practices that are banned in organic, including battery cages and feed contaminated with slaughterhouse waste and manure, are believed to be the cause of disease outbreaks.

Some consumer groups are pushing the Senate to vote on its version of the food safety bill passed by the House last year. Here are a few things we can to do to get moving in the right direction:

1. Congress should exempt small-scale, direct-to-consumer, local, pasture-based, and organic farmers and food processors from inappropriate food safety regulations. Support Tester-Hagan amendments to Senate Bill 510.

Take Action

2. Consumers should swear off factory-farmed animal products and eat vegetarian when pasture-raised organic isn't available. We also need to press the USDA to require pasture for organic chickens.

Take Action

3. Regulators should phase-out the worst factory farming practices. The USDA organic standards ban battery cages. Michigan and California are the first states to pass phase-out laws. Banning battery cages can cut the risk of salmonella contamination in half.

Learn More

4. Localities should lift restrictions on residents raising chickens in their backyards.

CNN Video

Enjoy! Marnie

School!

2010-08-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

Time to gather together again what is left of our beach-brains and send our kids (and some of us) back to school! My son managed to pick up a virus playing soccer in the rain last week (and eating peanut butter & fluffernutter sandwiches). So he’s off to a slow start. He got enough down time to get his summer reading done though!

New Pick-up Site in Rockaway!

The Rockaway site will be operational on Big weeks (even weeks), so all types of baskets are available there every other week. If you are interested in picking up from the Rockaway Site please email me.

Kate Gray is our new host. She is a Certified Health Counselor and Animal Rights Advocate. She decided to become a health counselor to fulfill her passion of raising awareness of nutrition and the powerful mind body connection.

Find out more about our Madison and Rockaway sites on their webpages...

www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Rockaway.html

www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Madison.htm

We are still looking for a Montville host. If you are interested please contact me to discuss what it entails.

Read about us in the latest Newspaper Article we're in!

Enjoy! Marnie

The Weather Broke!

2010-08-24T07:01:00.001-07:00

The night of August 18th, in my book, Fall started. Every year, there is always a night where the air suddenly is different, and then it stays different. The heat of the summer is over. Haven’t you been sleeping better? That's not to say we won't have the usual warmer than usual days, but the nights will be much cooler now. With the fall comes apples, and squashes, and pumpkins and pears. The leafy greens can grow locally again too.

New Pick-up Site in Rockaway!
The Rockaway site will be operational on Big weeks, so all types of baskets are available there every other week. If you are interested in picking up from the Rockaway Site please email me.

Kate Gray is our new host. She is a Certified Health Counselor and Animal Rights Advocate. She decided to become a health counselor to fulfill her passion of raising awareness of nutrition and the powerful mind body connection.

Find out more about our Madison and Rockaway sites on their webpages...

www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Rockaway.html
www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Madison.htm

We are still looking for a Montville host. If you are interested please contact me to discuss what it entails.

Read about us in the latest Newspaper Article we're in too!
www.northjersey.com/food_dining/marketplace/99916424_Responding_to_the_demand_for_fresh_and_tasty.html

Enjoy!
Marnie

Soccer has begun!

2010-08-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Soccer has begun! We are back now (more or less) from the summer. Kristian met his little sister, his father’s baby. I’ve seen the pictures and, I have to say, she is very cute!

I will make this note brief because, my sorters are still on vacation so I’m doing it all today. The supplier gave us conventional strawberries by accident, so be sure to wash them extra well, even soak them.

Enjoy! Marnie

Tomatoes!

2010-08-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes are king this week! We have a few less different items because the tomatoes are in high season right now and we are concentrating on them. The blueberries are still good here in Jersey and the melons are ripe! A great salad that is totally in season right now is the Horitaki Salad or Greek salad...

Horitaki Greek Salad

Ingredients

3 tomatoes sliced in segments
1 large red onion sliced

cucumber quartered lengthwise and sliced in 1/3’’ segments

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to make it

Combine all ingredients except olive oil and toss gently. Spread olive oil over all and sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano.

Enjoy! Marnie

Beautiful Local Produce!

2010-08-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

Things are working out really well with Jeff’s Produce, our local organic supplier! Some of you may know Karley from various local farmer’s markets. She is my contact. This week we have hugh beefsteak tomatoes, grown right here in New Jersey. The zucchini, cucumbers, beets, and chard are also New Jersey grown. She didn’t have enough melons, but next week she should!

I hope you all are enjoying your summer! I just climbed 2 mountains in 2 days in the catskills this weekend. (I’m really proud of that!) So my summer is turning out fine.

The Organic Solution to the Climate Crisis

"The future of life on this planet may depend on what we eat. Factory farmed junk food is the #1 cause of climate change, but we can save the planet by going organic.

"The greenhouse gas emissions from factory farms, deforestation, industrial crop production, food processing, and long-distance distribution make the food sector the biggest cause of climate change, responsible for at least a third of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Factory farmed meat, dairy and eggs alone may contribute as much as 51%!

"But we can change food system pollution into food system solutions. A worldwide shift to local, organic food production would drastically reduce food system emissions and turn the world's farmland into a carbon sink to capture and store 40% of global greenhouse gas pollution."

- Excerpt from Organic Consumers Association's "Food Agenda 2020: The Organic Alternative"

More and sign petition: http://organicconsumers.org/food-agenda/

Enjoy! Marnie

New Jersey Farm!

2010-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

We have solidified a deal with a new supplier of local, New Jersey veggies this week – Jeff’s Organic Produce. About half the veggies are from them and I look forward to a full season working with them!

Please don’t forget – We will not be having baskets the next 2 weeks – July 13th and July 20th. We will still have milk, eggs and cheese in the fridge so please feel free to come by and shop! Have a wonderful couple weeks!

Nitrates in Water and Food may Increase Thyroid Cancer Risks for Women

By Ward, MH, BA Kilfoy, PJ Weyer, KE Anderson, AR Folsom and JR Cerhand – Environmental Health News, June 29, 2010

Nitrates in drinking water and food increase risk of thyroid cancer and thyroid hormone disease.

Long-term exposure to nitrates through food and water may increase a woman's risk of thyroid disease, finds a study of older women in Iowa. Public water supplies contaminated with nitrates increased the risk of thyroid cancer in the women. Eating nitrates from certain vegetables was linked to increases in thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism, one type of thyroid disease.

This is the first study to show a link between nitrates and thyroid cancer in people, although nitrates have been shown to cause thyroid tumors in animal studies.

More: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_21136.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Which Federal Politicians Oppose GMO Labeling?

2010-06-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

We will not be having baskets July 13th and July 20th.

Monsanto's Minions in Congress

Each year Monsanto contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to elected officials, while their powerful allies, Food Inc. and the Farm Bureau, contribute millions more. We characterize these indentured Congress members as "Monsanto's Minions," to call attention to the fact that they would rather deny consumers the right to know whether their foods are genetically engineered or not (90% of their constituents want labels on GMOs), rather than standing up to Monsanto and the other Gene Giants: Syngenta, Dow, BASF, Dupont, and Bayer.

Is your US Representative one of Monsanto's Minions?

Find out here: http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/directory/congdir.tt?action=myreps_form

Representatives for Mountain Lakes, NJ...

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

5th term Democrat from New Jersey.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

2nd term Democrat from New Jersey. Appt. 1/2006.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ 11th District)

8th term Republican from New Jersey 11th District.

All three Oppose Labeling Genetically Modified Foods

These Congresspersons opposes consumers' right to know whether our foods contain genetically engineered ingredients.

They have never co-sponsored the bills that Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Senator Barbara Boxer have introduced to create needed regulations for the products of genetic engineering that are used in agriculture and food. These include crops, food ingredients, growth hormones and vaccines.

Enjoy! Marnie

Don’t Forget Your Melon!

2010-06-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

All Big, Basic and Fruit Bags are entitled to a watermelon from the bin just outside the door. They’re very yummy!!!

I love this kind of summer produce. I look forward to the summer fruits all year long. I made another contact at the farmer’s market last Sunday and we have another Jersey organic supplier in the works. We’re just working out delivery details.

We will not be having baskets July 13th and July 20th. If we need to take other weeks off, I will inform you by both email and this newsletter. A new doorway will be put in during those weeks connecting the garage to my back room. This is for easy access when we need to sort inside in very hot or very cold weather.

Monsanto's RoundUp "May Have Dire Consequences for Agriculture"

"Ignoring potential non-target detrimental side effects of any chemical, especially used as heavily as glyphosate (Monsanto's RoundUp herbicide), may have dire consequences for agriculture such as rendering soils infertile, crops non-productive, and plants less nutritious. To do so might well compromise not only agricultural sustainability, but also the health and well-being of animals and humans."

- Johal, G.S. and D.M. Huber. Glyphosate effects on diseases of plants. 2009. European Journal of Agronomy 31:144-152

Enjoy! Marnie

Co-op Vacation Dates

2010-06-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

I finally have some vacation dates for you! We will not be having baskets July 13th and July 20th. If we need to take other weeks off, I will inform you by both email and this newsletter.

Exams end in a couple days and my son is SO ready for summer! I, of course am scrambling to put together my own vacations! I hope your’s are better planned out. I’ll enjoy getting away, but will miss everything here! I don’t know if I can leave my garden for 2 weeks!

California Proposes Use of Methyl Iodide, Known to Cause Cancer, Late-Term Miscarriages and Irreversible Brain Damage

In February 2010, a Scientific Review Committee commissioned by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) concluded that the use of methyl iodide in agriculture would endanger public health:

Susan Kegley, a consulting scientist for Pesticide Action Network, summed it up for the San Francisco Chronicle: "This stuff just kills everything," said Kegley, a chemist, who pointed out that even low doses have caused neurological damage and fetal death in laboratory animals. "It is a known carcinogen."

"We are likely to see a greater incidence of thyroid disease with use of this chemical," said Kegley, who wears double gloves and uses syringes, a fume hood and ventilation devices whenever she handles the chemical in the lab.

Despite scientist concerns, on April 30, 2010, California proposed using methyl iodide in agriculture.

Take Action by June 29: Call Governor Schwarzennegger & demand that methyl iodide not be approved: (916) 445-2841.

Take Action:

http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=14141916

Enjoy! Marnie

WooHoo! Summer!

2010-06-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

The local vegetables have begun to arrive! New Jersey and Pennisylvania in June produce greens, peas and berries. So the rest is still from further away, but not as far away! Georgia and North Carolina are producing now too, instead of just California and Florida. We have a few New Jersey farmers lined up who provide delicious produce this season as soon as it's ready.

With exams next week and my son’s trip to the tropics around the corner, I need to know how to get a 16 year old boy to get a hair cut! I’m loving this weather!

Please read!

I Need Your Vacation Dates!

Please send me your vacation dates by email or write it on your invoice! I have to charge you for missed baskets unless you notify me. I will be taking a week or 2 here or there this summer, and will update you when the co-op will take these weeks off. I spent a good part of this last week working out my vacations, and almost have it in order.

Genetically Modified Foods Cause Sterility

"We failed to get cubs from these pairs, which were fed with GM foodstuffs. It was proved that these pairs lost their ability to give birth to their cubs." Dr. Alexei Surov, a Russian biologist describing the results of a study of hamsters fed genetically modified soy for two years over three generations. By the third generation, most the hamsters lost the ability to have babies. The pups who were born suffered slower growth and a high mortality rate. Inexplicably, some grew fur inside their mouths.

More: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_20908.cfm

Enjoy!

Marnie

Summer Plans

2010-06-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Please read!

Please send me your vacation dates by email or write it on your invoice! You will be charged for missed baskets unless you notify me. I will be taking a week or 2 here or there this summer, and will update you when the co-op will take these weeks off. I spent a good part of this last week working out my vacations, and almost have it in order.

Slow Money...
Our Second National Gathering

Shelburne Farms, Vermont
June 9-11, 2010

A new way of connecting investors to local food systems, catalyzing new forms of social investing and philanthropy for the 21st century. Join the emerging network of investors, donors, entrepreneurs, farmers, and activists who are giving birth to the nurture capital industry.

Come to Shelburne Farms, a working farm and forest and National Historic Landmark -- a setting uniquely imbued with the history of capitalism and a nonprofit organization dedicated to forging a new future through sustainability education, creating social enterprises and strengthening local food systems. Enjoy the natural beauty of Lake Champlain. Meet thought leaders and change agents from around the country who are joining in this exciting project: designing capital markets that go beyond extraction and consumption all the way to preservation and restoration… starting with food and soil fertility.

More Info: www.slowmoneyalliance.org/national-gathering.html

Enjoy! Marnie

Summer Dreaming

2010-05-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

I’m getting the hang of my new computer system. It all takes a little extra time, making the new formats, getting used to the new ways the mouse behaves, etc. I’ll be upgrading the whole Co-op system this summer. I’m beginning to think about the summer schedule too. If any of you have any suggestions, please tell me. I’d like to take a few weeks off, but haven’t made any plans yet.

It seems we are running short of bags these days. Please remember to bring them back! We don’t have enough boxes on a regular basis these days.

Monsanto, Haiti's “New Earthquake"

"A new earthquake" is what Haitian peasant farmer leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) called the news that Monsanto will be dumping 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn seeds and vegetable seeds on Haiti, seeds doused with highly toxic fungicides such as thiram, known to be extremely dangerous to farm workers. Hybrid seeds, like GMO seeds (in contrast to Creole heirloom or organic seeds) require lots of water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. In addition if a small farmer tries to save hybrid seeds after harvest, hybrid seeds usually do not "breed true" or grow very well in the second season, forcing the now-indentured peasant to buy seeds from Monsanto or one of the other hybrid/GMO seed monopolies in perpetuity. Monsanto wanted initially to dump GMO seeds on Haiti, but even the corrupt Haitian government knew that this would spark a rebellion, so Monsanto cleverly decided to dump hybrid seeds instead. The Haitian small farmers organization has committed to burning Monsanto's seeds, and has called for a march to protest the corporation's presence in Haiti on June 4, for World Environment Day.

Enjoy! Marnie

New Computer! Help!!

2010-05-18T04:57:00.000-07:00

All the updated programs ARGG!! Everything is taking me 10 times longer!! This will be brief, but soon it will be beautiful! When I figure this stuff out!!!

Alert of the Week: Safeguard Organic Standards!

The National Organic Standards Board...

... Votes for Factory-Farmed "Organic" Poultry

As we reported in the last issue of Organic Bytes, the USDA National Organic Program is only loosely enforcing animal welfare rules that require organic poultry farms to allow their birds to have access to the outdoors and "exhibit their natural behaviors." This has resulted in a wide range of farms being certified organic; everything from lush green pastures where hens roam free, scratching in the compost and nibbling greens, to giant sheds with tens of thousands of grain-fed birds that never see the light of day.

At its April 2010 meeting, the National Organic Standards Board had an opportunity to reform organic chicken and egg production by outlawing a synthetic feed supplement called methionine that confinement poultry producers have used as a crutch to help them scale up and keep costs down.

Unfortunately, despite thousands of letters from organic consumers who understand the nutritional and environmental benefits of pasture-based organic systems and are concerned about animal welfare and synthetics in organic, the NOSB voted to keep methionine on the list of allowed synthetics.

Tell the USDA: Stop Factory-Farmed "Organic" Poultry! http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=13184481

Enjoy!

Marnie

May!

2010-05-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

I’m not volunteering for anything now. I am looking SO forward to a little time in my garden!

Survey: Do You Support the Rights of Mother Earth?
During his presentation at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, President Evo Morales of Bolivia proposed a global referendum that would tackle the root causes of climate change. Below are the questions he proposed.
1. Do you agree with re-establishing harmony with nature while recognizing the rights of Mother Earth? YES or NO
2. Do you agree with changing this model of over-consumption and waste that the capitalist system represents? YES or NO
3. Do you agree that developed countries reduce and re-absorb their domestic greenhouse gas emissions so that the temperature does not rise more than 1 degree Celsius? YES or NO
4. Do you agree with transferring all that is spent in wars to protecting the planet and allocate a budget for climate change that is bigger than what is used for defense? YES or NO
5. Do you agree with a Climate Justice Tribunal to judge those who destroy Mother Earth? YES or NO
SURVEY: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/p/dia/action/public /?action_KEY=3171

May Calendar
4 Basic Basket Week
11 Big Basket Week
13 Deliciously Raw in the Spring – Food Preparations Class
18 Basic Basket Week
20 Montclair Environmental Movie Night – Dirt!
25 Big Basket Week
For more info: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Enjoy! Marnie

Compost Talk

2010-04-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

Wish me luck! Tomorrow is my term paper presentation to my class. I then have another on Saturday to the Municipal leaders in the area. My paper is on getting composting into municipalities. I’mprepared but very nervous non the less. I won’t write much here today. Enjoy your produce, and start composting if you don’t already!

Just so everyone is aware, if your bag size is too much or too little, you can change it. Just email me with your new preference. The bags work on a two week basis. The Big Bags are available every other week. The Basic Bag however are available every week. You can choose to:
switch back and forth each week;
just get a Big Bag every other week;
just get a Basic Bag every other week;
or get a Basic Bag every week.

Also, please don’t forget your invoice with your check or cash. It helps a lot with the bookkeeping.
Happy Arbor Day on Friday!!!

Enjoy!
Marnie

The Aware Nest!

2010-04-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

Finally the cold subsides. I always enjoy these 70° days weather they are in January, July or April. We have just spent two chilly weekends at lakeand river sides for the Mountain Lakes Crew Club. I am looking forward to a warm regatta!

Please notice the flyer in your basket for The AwareNest. One of our members, Regan Caton just launched this new site for local people to find green, local sources of goods, services and events. Check it out and list your green company there if you have one! www.TheAwareNest.com

Keep Nanotech Ingredients Out of Organic Food!
The USDA National Organic Program's advisory panel, the National Organic Standards Board, will be meeting in California at the end of this month. OCA political director Alexis Baden-Mayer will be presenting testimony at the meeting. It is essential that we back up OCA's position to ban nanotechnology from organic production with as many letters from OCA members as possible. This is a huge public health and environmental issue. Will the USDA permanently ban nanotech ingredients from organic food and products, or will they leave the door open to this new, dangerous, unregulated technology, with the power to literally change matter at the atomic or electron level?
Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/nanotech.cfm
Action:
http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=13948781

Enjoy!
Marnie

Looking for Denville or Rockaway Host!

2010-04-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Co-op is looking for a host for weekly Co-op pick-ups from their garage, within a mile of route 46 in Denville or Rockaway. It would need to be accessible to a number of members, like my garage is without disturbing the residents. There is minimal weekly managing. We pay you in weekly produce. If you are interested, please call me and we can discuss the details.

Cooking with sea vegetables - Food Preparations Class
April 15th, 12:00 pm
Many people think the idea of using vegetables from the sea is something strange and new. But in China, Japan and the Pacific, many varieties have part of the staple diet for thousands of years. High in minerals and protein and low in calories, sea vegetables have always been valued for their rejuvinating and purifying properties. Join us to learn about the different varieties of sea vegetables and how they can be combined with other whole foods to form the basis of a balanced diet.
Phyllis is a certified Holistic Health Counselor with over 20 years practicing in the field of nutrition. She is a coach, educator, and chef skilled in multiple food disciplines.
For more info: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Montclair Environmental Movie Night: A Chemical Reaction
April 15th, 6:30 pm
For more info: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

New Madison Branch

2010-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

For all who live in the proximity of Madison – this is the first week for our new Madison Branch of the Co-op. Daria’s space is on Chapel Street, two blocks from Main Street, and she is a lovely woman. Please contact me if you are interested in picking up your produce from her garage.
FruitLady@MountainLakesOrganic.com

Seed Exchange
Its time to start your garden (indoors)! Bring your extra seeds and take some that are here!

Green Patriot and OCA Expose 1,4 Dioxane in Household Products
March 12, at a press conference held adjacent to the Natural Products Expo West, the Green Patriot Working Group (GPWG), led by environmental health consumer advocate David Steinman, and the Organic Consumers Association announced that Procter and Gamble (P&G) and the Green Patriot have reached an agreement in principle that P&G will reformulate its top-selling Herbal Essences brand to reduce levels of the carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-dioxane. The press conference also announced new 1,4-dioxane test results for twenty laundry detergents, of which notably some of the most popular mainstream brands - including Dial, Church & Dwight Co. and Procter & Gamble - had the highest levels overall.
www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/PG-press-release-03-10.pdf

New Madison Branch - Next Week!

2010-03-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

For all who live in the proximity of Madison – We are opening the Madison Branch of the Co-op next week, March 23rd. Daria's space is convenient to downtown Madison – two blocks from Main Street, and she is a lovely woman. Please contact me if you are interested in picking up your produce from her garage.

Seed Exchange
starting this week. Its time to start your garden (indoors)! Bring your extra seeds and take some that are here!

Detox Workshop
March 18th, 12:00 pm
Join us as Phyllis, a certified Holistic Health Counselor with over 20 years practicing in the field of nutrition, will teach us about the basic ways you can detox your body and enjoy all the benefits it can bring to your life. Each class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.
Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Green Builders
Montclair Environmental Movie Night – Free
March 18th, 6:30 pm
NJN’s one-hour high definition special Green Builders profiles a cast of green building pioneers who have taken the leap into making their part of the “built environment” a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly place.
Montclair Public Library, 50 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair, NJ
Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Events next week!

2010-03-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

Detox Workshop
March 18th, 12:00 pm
Living in the modern world, our bodies can get to feeling pretty heavy inside. Between the sugars, refined flours, caffeine, alcohol, dairy, chemical food additives, pesticides, and environmental pollutants we encounter, our cells are exposed to myriad toxins and inflammation triggers.This month we will learn about the benefits of "cleaning house", your internal house that is. Join us as Phyllis, a certified Holistic Health Counselor with over 20 years practicing in the field of nutrition, will teach us about the basic ways you can detox your body and enjoy all the benefits it can bring to your life. Each class is $25 individually, or a four class package is $75.
Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Also on March 18th, 6:30 pm,
Montclair Environmental Movie Night – Green Builders
NJN’s one-hour high definition special Green Builders profiles a cast of green building pioneers who have taken the leap into making their part of the “built environment” a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly place. From The Willow School to PNC Bank to the first solar-hydrogen home, people talk about why green, the challenges, and how they fared.
Montclair Public Library, 50 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair, NJ
Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Enjoy! Marnie

Branching Out

2010-03-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Branching out

We now have a listing on Local Harvest and have gotten MANY inqueries. I’m considering opening branches in Montville and Madison. If there is anyone out there who would know the best way to go about this, please contact me.

March Calendar
2 Big Week
9 Basic Week
16 Big Week
18 Detox Workshop - Food Prep Class
18 Montclair Movie: The Disappearing Male
23 Basic Week
30 Big Week
Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Bayer Pesticide Banned – Threat to Honeybees
A U.S. District Judge from Manhattan has banned the sale of spirotetramat, a pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience that is toxic and is killing off the nation's honeybee population.
READ MORE: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_20278.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Heart Health!

2010-02-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

Heart Health - Food Preparations Class
Thursday February 25th – 12:00 to 2:00 pm
February is National heart Health Month so join us as we explore the role that whole foods play in the health of your heart. It's no secret that eating healthy foods does more than leave you feeling satiated and well nourished. It also can reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Incoporporate heart healthy foods into your life and learn how to prepare a delicious whole food based meal that your heart will love and so will your taste buds.

Info & Sign up: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Historic litigation shines a light on toxic ingredients
Do household cleaners contain ingredients linked to asthma, nerve damage and other health effects? While investigating a potential legal strategy, Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell found buried in the pages of a book of New York State statutes a long-forgotten law authorizing the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to require household cleaning product manufacturers to disclose their chemical ingredients and information about the health risks they pose. Such laws are practically nonexistent in the United States, and the New York law has been altogether overlooked. Until now.

In response, a number of firms disclosed their ingredients, but four companies—Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight, and Reckitt-Bensicker—stonewalled, and thus found themselves a few weeks ago across from Powell and her colleagues in a Manhattan courtroom as defendants. They made it clear that their lips are sealed until authorities pry them open. As a Health Campaigner wryly remarked last week, Mr. Clean went to court and pled the fifth. This case could have national ramifications.

Learn More: http://unearthed.earthjustice.org/blog/2010-february/getting-dirt-household-cleaners

Enjoy! Marnie

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

There are US grown berries again! We’ve really missed them. Don’t forget - no bags next week. Enjoy your vacation!

February Calendar
9 Basic Week
16 No Bag this Week - School Vacation
18 Montclair Movies: The Disappearing Male and Big River
23 Basic Week
25 Heart Health - Food Prep Class

Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Break the Chains of Toxic Pesticides and Child Slavery on Valentine's Day
Now is the time of year when more than 20 million Americans are buying sweets and flowers for their loved ones on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, these tokens of love aren't as sweet or pure as they may appear. Over 40 percent of the world's conventional chocolate (i.e. non-organic and non-Fair Trade) comes from Africa's Ivory Coast, where the International Labor Organization and US State Department have reported widespread instances of child slavery. Meanwhile, commercial flowers, most of which are produced in countries such as Colombia, are the most toxic and heavily sprayed agricultural crops on Earth. Supplying the global market, poorly paid workers in Third World countries put in up to 18 hour work days for poverty wages during peak flower buying times such as Valentine's Day. But don't let the bad news squelch your Valentine's plans. Show your love by choosing Fair Trade and organic flowers and chocolate for your Valentine's Day gifts.

Action exposing toxic pesticides and child slavery in the flower and cacao industries: www.organicconsumers.org/valentines/index.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

12 Steps to Raw Foods

2010-02-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

I got a great book on eating raw for Christmas and it’s a really easy read. I switched my breakfast to raw. My lunch already was. Dinner is still cooked, but I feel great! I’ve lost 4 pounds at this point and I look so forward to my green smoothy for breakfast every morning. The book is 12 Steps to Raw Foods. I’ve bought a few wholesale, so we can offer it and a few other books by Victoria Boutenko to you, each at $2.00 below retail. Phyllis, our resident Holistic Health Counselor, just gave a class on preparing fabulous raw dishes and will offer another Raw class in June too!

February Calendar
2 Big Week
9 Basic Week
16 No Bag this Week - School Vacation
18 Montclair Movie: The Disappearing Male
23 Basic Week
25 Heart Health - Food Prep Class

Learn more: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar.html

Stop Factory Farms Degrading Organic Standards
The USDA is coming out with new rules to enforce the requirement that organic cows must graze on pasture, rather than be confined in feedlots. One last hurdle remains: the President's Office of Management and Budget review.

To prevent factory dairy farms from driving ethical organic farmers out of business, and stop special interest manipulation of organic standards, we need to act today. Tell the President that you won't settle for less! If a farm's dairy cows are kept in confinement or aren't on pasture, then its milk and dairy products are not organic!
TAKE ACTION: http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=14607871

Monsanto’s Infiltration

2010-01-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

Senator Puts a Hold on Obama's Pro-Pesticide Nominee Siddiqui
President Obama is trying to get the Senate to confirm Islam Siddiqui as the US Trade Representative for Agriculture. Islam Siddiqui is one of Obama's "Monsanto men." A contributor and fundraiser for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, Siddiqui currently serves as the Vice President of CropLife, a powerful lobbying arm for the pesticide and biotech industry, representing, among others, the six multinational corporations that control 75% of the world's seeds and chemicals: Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dow and DuPont.

There is still time to block Siddiqui's Senate confirmation. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), for partisan political reasons of his own, that have nothing to do with protecting us from GMOs, has put a hold on Siddiqui's confirmation - giving us time to voice our opposition to Monsanto's takeover of U.S. Food and farm policy.

TAKE ACTION: http://www.organicconsumers.org/usda_watch.cfm

Mtn Lakes Green Cafe – A Chemical Reaction
Please join us for lunch and a movie at the Mountain Lakes Library Meeting room this Thursday, January 28th, 12-2pm. We will be showing A Chemical Reaction - a film which explores the heavy usage of chemical fertilizers, their effect on us and one town's fight to ban them. Winter is the perfect time to plan alternative strategies for your lawn care.

We will be serving a complimentary healthy lunch of organic and local foods. Please stay for a post-film discussion on the film's presentation of fertilizers and their impact on life in Mountain Lakes.

Learn more: http://www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar

Enjoy! Marnie

More about Monsanto’s Monopoly

2010-01-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

Genetically Modified Corn Found Harmful to Mammals
The International Journal of Biological Sciences reported that three varieties of GMO corn — including the so-called “Roundup ready” version — harm primary organs of rats. Rats, mice and rabbits are the primary mammals used for testing.
Jan 12th’s Huffington Post spells out the findings quite well in lay terms: www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/monsantos-gmo-corn-linked_n_420365.html
For those of you who would like to wade through the actual study: www.biolsci.org/v05p0706.htm

Introduction to Raw
Thursday, January 21, 2010 12:00 PM
Eating only raw foods is considered by many the healthiest diet. There are innumerable people who have cured themselves of cancer, thyroid problems, alergies, diabetes, etc just from cutting out cooked foods. Phyllis Deering, our resident expert, will teach us the basics of eating raw and show us how to prepare tasty recipes to add more raw foods in to our diet.
Learn more: http://www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar

Montclair Environmental Movie Night
The Story of Stuff and Trashed
January 21, 2010 6:30 PM at the Montclair Public Library
Join us as we examin a fundamental element of modern American culture – the creation and disposal of what we call “waste.”
Learn more: http://www.MountainLakesOrganic.com/Calendar
Enjoy! Marnie

Take the Organic New Years Resolution...

2010-01-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Boycott Chemical & GMO Foods... Eat Organically
Organic Food is More Nutritious
On the average, organic food is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food's shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production.
Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil. UK and US government statistics indicate that levels of trace minerals in (non-organic) fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991.

Organic Food is Pure Food, Free of Chemical Additives
Organic food doesn't contain food additives, flavor enhancers (like MSG), artificial sweeteners (like aspartame and high-fructose corn syrup), contaminants (like mercury) or preservatives (like sodium nitrate), that can cause health problems.
Eating organic has the potential to lower the incidence of autism, learning disorders, diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, allergies, osteoporosis, migraines, dementia, and hyperactivity.
More: www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob206.htm

Also, check out the Calendar for our movies and cooking class this month! www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html

Happy New Year! Marnie

Last Basket of the Year

2009-12-22T08:17:00.000-08:00

I hope your holiday season is going well. I’m a bit crazed and forgetting basic things as I make sure the holiday things get done. Par for the course. I thought this was a great Holiday card...

And remember NO BASKETS DEC 29TH (next week).

Study Reveals Hazards of Monsanto's GMO’s
Three Major GMOs Approved for Food and Feed Found Unsafe
In the most comprehensive study yet of the health effects of three of Monsanto's genetically modified corn varieties, researchers from CRIIGEN and the French universities of Caen and Rouen have highlighted a number of new side effects linked with their consumption. Their study clearly underlines adverse impacts on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs.

We don’t want to forget to boycott Monsanto with The Organic Consumers Association. For all their reasons and Actions go to: www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob204.htm.

Happy Holidays and see you next year! Marnie

Holiday Events!

2009-12-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

My Term Paper is due this evening so I'm here redesigning the Coop Newsletter. That makes sense. Right? I'm actually in pretty good shape, I think. I know December is VERY busy, but we have two VERY exciting events coming up the Candlelight Holiday Party and Montclair Environmental Movie Night: No Impact Man. I hope to see you at at least one of the events!
And remember NO BASKETS DEC 29TH (a Basic Week).

Holiday Candlelight Party
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 6:30 PM
At the home of Marnie Vyff, 10 Vale Drive, Mountain Lakes
Enjoy hearty good food in the warmth of candle light and good friends. The candle light is part of the global 350.org Candle Light Vigil. The weekend for these vigils falls in the middle of the two-week Copenhagen talks. This is a symbolic act toward a greener world. See 350.org for more.
Please bring a Dinner Dish & a Festive Candle.
rsvp Marnie at 973-335-4469.

Montclair Movie: No Impact Man
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 6:30 PM
Montclair Public Library, 50 S Fullerton Ave , Montclair, NJ
Join us as we participate in New American Dream's nationwide pre-DVD release community screenings of the documentary, No Impact Man, and a post-screening discussion about how to simplify our holidays this year. During the two-weeks of the historic UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (December 7th-18th), they're bringing people together to talk about the impact of holiday spending on their lives and the environment.
Learn more here:
www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop/calendar/11930786/

Happy Holidays! Marnie

The Countdown Begins!

2009-12-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. Mine was very good except that I drove to North Carolina and back. I can't believe it! Another year is almost over! We have lots of good things happening this month and their are NO BASKETS DEC 29TH.

December Calendar
1 Basic Week
6 Candle Making Workshop
8 Big Week
11 Holiday 350 Candlelight Vigil Party
15 Basic Week
16 Montclair Movie: No Impact Man
22 Big Week
29 No Bags this week

Monsanto's Control Over Seed Market Prompts Antitrust Inquiry
By Peter Whoriskey - The Washington Post, November 29, 2009

For plants designed in a lab a little more than a decade ago, they've come a long way: Today, the vast majority of the nation's two primary crops grow from seeds genetically altered according to Monsanto company patents.

Ninety-three percent of soybeans. Eighty percent of corn.

The seeds represent "probably the most revolutionary event in grain crops over the last 30 years," said Geno Lowe, a Salisbury, Md., soybean farmer.

But for farmers such as Lowe, prices of the Monsanto-patented seeds have steadily increased, roughly doubling during the past decade, to about $50 for a 50-pound bag of soybean seed, according to seed dealers.

The revolution, and Monsanto's dominant role in the nation's agriculture, has not unfolded without complaint. Farmers have decried the price increases, and competitors say the company has ruthlessly stifled competition.

Now Monsanto -- like IBM and Google -- has drawn scrutiny from U.S. antitrust investigators, who under the Obama administration have looked more skeptically at the actions of dominant firms.

More: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/28/ AR2009112802471.html?hpid=topnews

Enjoy! Marnie

Environmental Movies in Denville!

2009-11-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

So today is the fiinal produce delivered from Starbrite Farms. We will be getting the produce through the winter from Four Seasons and I will look for a different local source for next summer. I haven’t been totally happy with the quality of all of Strbrite’s vegetables and I had no way to return unsatisfactory goods. That won’t happen again. I am very releaved to be done with this. I know some of the produce was very good and we got to try a few new things like the celery root (big Bags only) this week. My biggest issue was with the unusual vegetables on the Basic Bag weeks. We’ll keep those bags more regular in the future!

This Thursday at 6:30pm – "Coal Country"
Nov 12 - 6:30 PM at Nature’s EnerQi, 21 Bloomfield Avenue, Denville
Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. Produced by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller, Coal Country brings us inside the lives of Appalachian residents who are directly threatened by mountaintop removal, a destructive mining practice where mountaintops are blasted away to expose the coal; the waste is then dumped in the waterways of nearby communities. As it takes us through each stage of coal mining and processing, Coal Country reveals the shocking true cost of America's over-reliance on coal.
For more information: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html or contact Marnie Vyff at 335-4469.

Go Organic to Avoid rBGH, Monsanto and Eli Lilly's Genetically Modified Bovine Growth Hormone

Dr. Sam Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, warns:
• rBGH makes cows sick.
• rBGH-derived milk is contaminated by pus.
• rBGH-derived milk is chemically and nutritionally different than natural milk.
• Milk from cows injected with rBGH is contaminated with Bovine Growth Hormone, traces of which are absorbed through the gut into the blood of people who consume this milk or products made from it.
• rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of a potent cancer tumor promoter called insulin-like growth factor number one (IGF-1), which is readily absorbed through the gut.
• Excess levels of IGF-1 in the human body have been linked in numerous scientific studies as a cause of breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
Dr. Epstein and other scientists recommend boycotting rBGH-tainted milk and dairy products and purchasing organic products instead. According to The Hartman Group, a well-respected firm analyzing consumer, organic milk is now a leading priority for health-minded consumers. Demand for organic milk has grown at an annual rate of 20% until recently, while overall milk consumption has dropped by 10%.
"Nevertheless," Dr. Epstein emphasizes, "only a few schools make organic milk available, nor do most state governments, under low- income food programs, particularly by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children."
-Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., "Cancer Expert Counters Reckless Claims That Hormonal Milk Is Safe," October 14, 2009
MORE: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19391.cfm

Boycott Genetically Engineered rBGH
Following up on our successful campaign against Yoplait and Dannon, the Organic Consumers Association is now asking our members to boycott ice cream companies that still allow the use of genetically modified bovine growth hormone (Dreyer's, Edy's, Nestle, Haagen-Dazs, Klondike, Good Humor, Breyer's).
ACTION: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19530.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

The Green Cafe is Back!

2009-10-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

This Thursday at Noon ? "Addicted to Plastics"
Directed & Produced by Ian Connacher
Thursday, October 29th ? 12:00 to 2:00 pm
At the Mountain Lakes Public Library
The Green Caf? events are our Mountain Lakes League of Women Voters Green Community Meetings which are also social, environmental luncheons. You can enjoy a medley of organic and local foods while learning about ways we can have a smaller impact on our planet. Plastics are perhaps the most ubiquitous and versatile material ever invented, but such progress has had a cost.
Addicted To Plastic is a global journey to investigate what we really know about the material of a thousand uses and why there's so much of it. Addicted To Plastic encompasses three years of filming in 12 countries on 5 continents, including two trips to the middle of the Pacific Ocean where plastic debris accumulates. The film provides expert interviews on practical and cutting edge solutions to recycling, toxicity and biodegradability. These solutions - which include plastic made from plants - will provide viewers with a new perspective about our future with plastic.
For more information: www.mountainlakesorganic.com/Calendar.html or contact Marnie Vyff at 335-4469.

Enjoy! Marnie

MidTerms!!

2009-10-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have my mid term exam this evening so my letter is short. I must study!!!

ALERT UPDATE OF THE WEEK
Obama's Biotech & Chemically Dependent Friends
Organic Consumers Association network members sent 100,000 emails to Obama last fall opposing Tom Vilsack's appointment as USDA Secretary, because the former Iowa Governor had served as a leading advocate for Monsanto, genetic engineering, and factory farming. We also generated nearly 40,000 letters opposing former Monsanto lobbyist Michael Taylor's appointment as a senior adviser to the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner on food safety.

So far, we've been able to keep Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff (notorious for his support of Monsanto's controversial gene-altered Bovine Growth Hormone) out of the Administration, but President Obama has just nominated two high-profile biotech advocates, closely connected to Monsanto and corporate agribusiness, to key USDA and trade positions.

Obama has tapped Roger Beachy, long-time president of the Danforth Plant Science Center (Monsanto's nonprofit arm) as chief of the USDA's newly created National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). And Islam Siddiqui, currently the VP of Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America (a major front group for GMO and chemical agriculture), has been nominated for the post of Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative's office. CropLife's regional partner, the Mid America CropLife Association, was the group that infamously chided the First Lady for refusing to use pesticides on the White House garden. Siddiqui gave the maximum personal contribution to Obama's campaign and held a major fundraiser for Obama at his McLean, Virginia home early last year.

LEARN MORE & TAKE ACTION: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19325.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Event Week!

2009-10-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

This week we have one event Wednesday & two events Thursday! I hope you can join us for at least one of them...

Wednesday, Oct 14
Fall Vegetable Garden Program – 7:00-9:00pm
Learn about composting, extending your growing season and what you can do in the Fall to prepare your garden for the coming Winter and Spring. Inspirational speaker Wanda Knapik, from My Local Garden, will share her tips and lead a discussion on Fall in the garden. Free.
Register with the library: http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/
Bernardsville Public Library, 1 Anderson Hill Rd, Bernardsville 908-766-0118

Thursday, Oct 15
The Secret Life of Whole Grains – 1:00-3:00pm
Whole Grains: These powerhouses-loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants-offer ready energy, great taste, and protection against many diseases. Learn how to prepare warming nutritious meals for the fall. Again, our local food expert, Phyllis Deering, will teach this class in Marnie's Kitchen.
The $15 class fee covers the expert and food supplies. Please RSVP! Mtn Lakes Organic Coop, 10 Vale Drive, Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046 973-335-4469

Montclair Environmental Movie Night – 6:30-9:00pm
Kilowatt Ours & Unlimited – Bring your kids or a friend!
A double feature of eye opening films about our energy use. Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America, the new National edition of the Award winning film is a solutions-oriented exploration of energy issues and opportunities in the United States. Unlimited: Renewable Energy in the 21st Century energy experts introduce promising technologies being used right here in New Jersey.

Enjoy! Marnie

My 25th Reunion

2009-10-06T09:16:00.001-07:00

My 25th Reunion

I remember going to my dad’s 25th when I was a teenager. This weekend its my turn! I loved my college days and there’s something really nice about Providence, RI in the fall. Some old best friends are going up too. I’m really looking forward to it.
I’ve been reworking the Coop website and have added a few bells and whistles, please visit it! www.MountainLakesOrganic.com.
The recipe section is expanded. Now whenever we get interesting vegetables, we have some good recipes to try out!
With fall, we have had a bunch of new members join. I’d like to just remind everyone of a few things. Some of you saw the list last week, but I need to print it for the Basic week too:
• Please don’t forget to write on your invoice or a slip of paper anything you get from the fridges. I need to know for inventory purposes.
• Please put your name on that slip too just so I know who to credit in my accounting program.
• Please do not leave your car idling while you get your produce. Its toxic, a waste of money, bad for global warming, and against the law.
• And please don’t forget to bring back your bags. Thanks to all of you who do!

Stop GMO Sugar!
OCA congratulates our longtime ally, the Center for Food Safety, for gaining a federal court ruling against genetically engineered sugar beets. Despite the ruling, American Crystal, the nation’s largest sugar beet processor, is apparently still planning on using Monsanto's GE sugar beets. American Crystal President David Berg told the New York Times he thought customer acceptance of GE sugar was "a big non-event."
A big non-event?
Tell American Crystal that you're joining the boycott. Avoid Monsanto's GE sugar by buying certified organic food (GE is banned from organic) and boycotting all non-organic brands that refuse to take a GMO-free stand.
TAKE ACTION NOW: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/

ORGANIC NEWS OF THE WEEK
Organic Valley Measures the Toxic Burden of Non-Organic Foods
Organic Valley, America's largest organic farmers' co-op, has launched an online calculator called "Organic Counts!" which shows how Organic Valley farmers and consumers collectively kept 89.5 million pounds of synthetic fertilizer and 1.25 million pounds of synthetic pesticides from America's soil and water from 1988 to 2008.
To create the Organic Counts! online calculator, Organic Valley entered its production data from the past 20 years, as well as parallel data from the USDA to show the average amounts of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used in industrial agriculture per acre each year.
Public health costs directly associated with pesticide poisoning amount to billions of dollars per year. Exposure to pesticides and synthetic fertilizers have been linked to infertility, Parkinson's, cancer, birth defects, obesity, and learning and behavioral disabilities.
More than one million children in America age five and under ingest at least 15 pesticides daily. Early childhood exposures to pesticides are a leading cause of autism, obesity, asthma, brain cancer and other childhood diseases.
LEARN MORE: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article _19214.cfm

Thank You and Enjoy!
Marnie

A Few Reminders

2009-09-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

With fall, we have had a bunch of new members join. There are a few things I?d like to remind everyone of:
• Please don?t forget to write on your invoice or a slip of paper anything you get from the fridges. I need to know for inventory purposes.
• Please put your name on that slip too just so I know who to credit in my accounting program.
• Please do not leave your car idling while you get your produce. Its toxic, a waste of money, bad for global warming, and against the law.
• And please don?t forget to bring back your bags. Thanks to all of you who do!

Also, I've been reworking the websiteand have added a few bells and whistles, please visit it! www.MountainLakesOrganic.com

ALERT OF THE WEEK - Keep Nanotechnology Out of Organic!
A major reason why consumers shop for products that are certified organic is to avoid hazardous and unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), toxic chemicals, and now the most recent, and likely most dangerous hi-tech poison of them all - nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is now a multi-billion dollar Frankenstein monster industry churning out a vast menu of untested and unlabeled products containing tiny nanoparticles including non-organic vitamin supplements, food packaging, processed food, cosmetics, and sunscreens.
The United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has been debating an official ban on nanotechnology in organic. When it meets November 3-5, 2009 in Washington, D.C., the NOSB will consider a recommendation supported by the the OCA and the organic community that would "prohibit nanotechnology in organic production, processing, and packaging."
Nanotechnology is inherently dangerous. Mounting scientific evidence indicates that nanomaterials produce dangerous "free radicals" which can destroy or mutate DNA and can cause damage to the liver and kidneys. Nanotech particles not only injure and kill lab animals - they can kill you as well.
Every day, new evidence of the dangers of nanotechnology emerges:
Workplace nanoparticle exposure was linked to seven cases of serious and progressive lung disease in China including two patient deaths.
Nanoparticles present in a chemical found in sunscreens - titanium dioxide - are being examined as possibly causing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
Tell the USDA that you want the National Organic Standards Board to take a strong stand against the use of nanotechnology in organic. Please act before the October 19 deadline.
TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=13948781

Thank You and Enjoy!
Marnie

Organic Consumers Association

2009-09-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

I found a number of interesting stories this week from The Organic Consumers Association. All is well otherwise, so I decided to focus on them. They are a great organization and can use your help keeping “Organic” politically clean. Take a moment, go to their site and see whats going on!

ORGANIC NEWS OF THE WEEK
Organic Sales Growth Down to Seven Percent in '09
The "natural" food phenomenon worries many in the organic industry. So-called "natural" products aren't regulated and don't have to meet any special standards, so they can be marketed more cheaply than genuine certified organic food. Many formerly organic brands are trying to fool consumers into thinking natural and organic are the same.
Early this year, for instance, WhiteWave Foods added "natural" Silk soy milk to its line of organic products. This summer, WhiteWave (a unit of Dean Foods) broadened its Horizon line of organic products with its first "natural" offering: Little Blends, a yogurt for toddlers. In August, it began test-marketing Milk Breakers, a six-ounce single serving of "natural" milk with added protein.
This year, for the first time since at least 2004, sales of “natural” foods and beverages will likely grow at a faster rate than sales of organic foods, according to Nutrition Business Journal.
The organic industry is fighting back. In September, Organic Valley will debut an online calculator that lets consumers see how many chemicals they avoid by using organic milk.
“We’re holding on when some other sectors are sinking,” says Theresa Marquez, chief marketing executive for Organic Valley. “Our future is organic.”
LEARN MORE: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19127.cfm

VICTORY OF THE WEEK AND CALL TO ACTION
Eliminating Labeling Fraud in Organic Personal Care Products
A committee of the USDA National Organic Standards Board wants to "Solve the Problem of Mislabeled Organic Personal Care." The Organic Consumers Association is very encouraged by the committee's proposal to make sure that any use of the word "organic" on a personal care product is backed up by third-party certification to USDA standards for products that are "USDA Organic" or "Made With Organic Ingredients." This is what OCA's Coming Clean campaign has been pushing the USDA to do for the last 5 years. Unfortunately, the USDA has been hostile to the idea and even USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, an advocate for organic agriculture, has resisted consumer pressure on this issue. So, the long struggle for USDA enforcement of organic standards in personal care continues. The first step is getting the full NOSB to adopt the committee recommendation. The deadline for sending comments to the NOSB in advance of their November 3-5 meeting is October 19, 2009. Please take action today.
TAKE ACTION: www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

Organic Milk Linked to Fewer Allergies Including Eczema and Asthma
By Julie Knapp, Eco Child's Play, Sept 15, 2009
Organic milk may cost more, but it may also pay off in the end. A re-cent Dutch study suggests that children are one third less likely to suffer from allergies before age two if they're raised on organic dairy products.
In the study, children and breastfeeding moms ate organic milk, cheese and yogurt. The study author said the connection between choosing organic dairy and less incidence of eczema was clear. The risk for other allergies and asthma also decreased.
So why is organic better?
Read full article: http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/09/15/

Enjoy! Marnie

Fresh - The Movie

2009-09-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow – Wednesday, September 16, 6:30 PM
At the Montclair Public Library, 50 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair NJ
The Montclair Township Environmental Affairs office and Community Green present another eye opening film. FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are reinventing our food system. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision of our food and our planet’s future. The film addresses an ethos that has been sweeping the nation and is the call to action America has been waiting for.
FRESH empowers us to realize that our individual actions in fact do matter. Throughout the film we encounter the most inspiring people, ideas, and initiatives around the US. The movie showcases real people, connecting audiences not with facts and figures or policy analysis, but with personal stories of change.
This is one of a series of Environmental Film Screenings put on by CommunityGreen.org. For more information contact Marnie Vyff at 335-4469 or marnie@ecoLOGIC-design.com.

Tell your friends. These classes are open to everyone, not just coop members. At the end of September (Sept. 24th) we’ll be having a fall garden prep/composting class with Wanda Knapik, a permaculture expert from Bernardsville, who plants vegetable gardens for residents and schools. I have redone the website so the Events classes are on our coop site, on the calendar page. Check it out at: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com
I started my fall semester at Montclair State this last week. I’m taking Environmental Change/Communication and changed my Ecology class to Economics. I like my teachers so far and the semester looks good!

ALERT OF THE WEEK
Whole Foods Threatens to Sue OCA
Whole Foods sent a letter dated August 26, 2009, signed by one of its attorneys, threatening to sue the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), under the bizarre pretense that a petition we've been circulating violates Whole Foods' "intellectual property rights." Here's OCA's response to CEO John Mackey:
"Given all the bad publicity that you've gotten lately for admitting that Whole Foods Market (WFM) retail stores are purveyors of 'junk food;' that WFM needs to sell a lot more certified organic products (rather than conventional items greenwashed as 'natural'); that WFM's '365' private label products need to be thoroughly tested for GMO contamination; that you don't think all Americans deserve government subsidized access to health care; or need labor unions; perhaps you may want to reconsider suing the largest organic consumer watchdog organization in the United States..."
Read the full text of OCA Director Ronnie Cummins' letter to John Mackey: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19057.cfm

Please help put the pressure on Whole Foods and Whole Foods' main distributor, United Natural Foods Incorporated (UNFI), to:
   1. Stop prioritizing the sales of conventional foods and products (greenwashed as "natural") and instead double WFM and UNFI's sales of certified organics from 1/3 to 2/3 of their total sales. This would increase US organic sales by approximately $3 billion (15%) annually!
   2. Give smaller retailers and coops that seriously promote organics (more than 1/3 of sales organic) the same UNFI discount that Whole Foods receives.
   3. Apply Domestic Fair Trade principles to the UNFI and Whole Foods supply chains by guaranteeing workers' rights to freely organize themselves into unions for collective bargaining.
   4. Support health care reform to provide universal health care coverage while reducing costs, relieving employers of health care responsibilities, and encouraging wellness and prevention through nutrition and complementary natural medicine.
TAKE ACTION: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27761

Enjoy! Marnie

Join us This Thursday...

2009-09-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

Easy Delicious Summer Preserves II
In 2 Days! Back by popular demand! We can save the delicious flavor of plums and strawberries for the middle of the cold dark winter in different easy methods including brandied preserves to dish up over ice cream, jam and freezing techniques.
The cost covers the professional, the organic ingredients and the jars. Join us at this pleasant afternoon social, to learn the secrets of preserving summer fruits in Marnie's kitchen. For more info call 973-335-4469. Please RSVP.

Tell your friends. These classes are open to everyone, not just coop members. At the end of September (Sept. 24th) we’ll be having a fall garden prep/composting class with Wanda Knapik, a permaculture expert from Bernardsville, who plants vegetable gardens for residents and schools. I have redone the website so the Events classes are on our coop site, on the calendar page. Check it out at: www.MountainLakesOrganic.com
I start my fall semester at Montclair State today. I’m taking Environmental Change/Communication and Ecology. The syllabuses look frightning with the amount of work I’ll have to do.

VICTORY OF THE WEEK
USDA Disowns "Organic-Biotech" Report After OCA & Allies Protest
Last week, we asked you to take action to oppose a cynical attempt on the part of the USDA to promote genetic engineering as potentially allowed in organic production. The target of our ire was a report issued by the USDA Foreign Agriculture Information Network, "The Unexplored Potential of Organic-Biotech Production," that argued, "Governments should change their regulations to allow producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops grown with organic methods."
Thanks to thousands of letters of protest, the report was removed from the USDA Web site and replaced with a disclaimer announcing that "the report does not represent the policy of the United States Government."
More: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18878.cfm

Farm Workers' Rights Now!
Farm workers should have the same labor rights that other workers are guaranteed, including:
   * Overtime pay
   * A minimum wage
   * Restrictions on child labor
   * The right to join labor unions and bargain collectively
Unfortunately, farm workers are denied most of the basic protections that our state and federal labor laws guarantee other workers.
This could change in California where farm workers are literally dying in the fields because they often have no water to drink nor shade to rest under and where agribusiness as usual routinely involves lack of enforcement of laws on pesticide poisonings and sexual harassment. SB789 "CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers" has reached the Governor’s desk. This bill will make it easier for farm workers to organize a union and protect themselves. No deaths from heat or thirst have ever occurred on any farm where farm workers have a union contract.
NATIONAL Action: www.organicconsumers.org/fairtrade.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

It’s Fall so Start your Vegetable Garden!

2009-09-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

The tomato sauce we made in the class was spectacular! That’s a sauce to spend the extra time on! Oh, we give up so much for convenience! I’m making more tonight!
Are you all ready for fall? I love my son, but I’m looking SO forward to school starting! We made it through August with hardly any unbearably hot days. There was a little too much rain, otherwise it was perfect summer weather for me. Next spring I’ll be moving part of my vegetable garden into the front yard too. I’ve been wanting to do this for years and the ‘social thing’ has held me back. But I think I can make it look good enough now. Its certainly better than the crabgrass thats taking over! Now is the time to start it. I’ll be putting in the much in the next week or two.
At the end of September (Sept. 24th) we’ll be having a fall garden prep/composting class with Wanda Knapik, a permaculture expert from Bernardsville, who plants vegetable gardens for residents and schools. Check it out at: www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop

Excerpts from the Starbrite Newsletter
The weather has continued to present challenges during this past week. The frequent rain does not give the ground ample time to dry out enough for me to prepare ground or plant seeds. In addition high winds which accompanied...

I’m sorry but there was nothing nice in this newsletter. The vegetables are great from Starbrite, but I think I may forgo the newsletters. John makes them way too negative. We know farming is difficult, relying on the weather and all. I think he need to realize #%$@ happens. So lets get on with it and have a nice day! He does deliver good produce after all.

Roundup Researcher: “If I know something, I will not shut my mouth.”
Dr. Andrés Carrasco, an embryologist who works in Argentina's Ministry of Science's Conicet (National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations) responding to criticism over his research which found that Monsanto's Roundup herbicide caused brain, intestinal and heart defects in amphibian fetuses.
GRAIN: Seeds of Information, July 2009
www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18944.cfm

ALERT OF THE WEEK
Tell the USDA GE Frankenfoods & Nanotechnology Aren't Organic
Last week, we gave you news of a report issued by the USDA Foreign Agriculture Information Network, "The Unexplored Potential of Organic-Biotech Production," that argues "Governments should change their regulations to allow producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops grown with organic methods."
www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18878.cfm

In May, we alerted you that the National Organic Standards Board was considering an official ban on nanotechnology in organic, but felt stymied by their concern that "Under the current definition, most nanotechnology would not fall into the category of excluded methods."
Action: http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=13184481

Every day, we post new evidence at OrganicConsumers.org that genetic engineering and nanotechnology present dangers to human health and the environment...
Please take action to (1) oppose the USDA's cynical attempt to promote genetic engineering as potentially organic and (2) push the National Organic Standards Board to take a strong stand against the use of nanotechnology in organic. Genetic engineering and nanotechnology aren't organic!
Action: www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Join us This Thursday...

2009-08-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

Italian Secrets of Preserving Tomatoes
There is nothing like New Jersey local tomatoes – especially when you combine them with age-old Italian home recipes. Phyllis Deering, our resident professional, will teach us her grandmother's secrets to making amazing tomato sauces at home. Now when the tomatoes are coming off the vine faster than we can count. As good as they are, we just can't eat them all, today. Join us on Thursday, August 27th at 1:00 pm.
The cost covers the professional, the organic ingredients and the jars. Join us at this pleasant afternoon social. For more info call 973-335-4469 or go to www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop. Please RSVP.

We have reached the mid-point of our season with Starbrite and I am working on some changes. Hopefully this basket will reflect some of those changes. Our Basic Basket members have generally wanted more basic vegetables rather than the full array. I have expressed this to John and we are working on it.

Excerpts from the Starbrite Newsletter
We have arrived at the mid point of the season. While it has been one of the most challenging years ever, I am fairly satisfied with what we have been able to provide thus far. I only hope that you, the shareholders feel the same. I strive to make each year better than the last as I learn from my mistakes and improve my soils and growing systems. In almost every year there are crops that flourish and others that fail. Last year there were no sweet potatoes because I was unable to buy plants. This year we have planted about 2500 plants and they are doing well. Last year we had a bumper melon crop, in spite of problems with the crows drilling holes in many of them. This year I am sad to report that the deer have destroyed my entire main planting of melons. I have planting melons in the open, with no fencing for 12 years and have never had a problem until this season. We are beginning to harvest quite a few ground cherries, so depending on availability these may be in your share this week or next. These members of the tomato family are closely related to the tomatillo and share the paper husk that surrounds the fruit. Simply squeeze them out of their husk and eat them out of hand, in salads or make a sauce with them. They make great snacks for kids as they are quite sweet.
Enjoy! Marnie

The Tomatoes are Starting to Come in so Join us...

2009-08-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

By Popular Demand – Another Fruit Preserving Class

2009-08-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

A number of members couldn't make the July date and asked if we could do the class again. Phyllis can do it Aug 28, Sept 2, or Sept 3.
If you are interested in participating, please respond by Thursday Aug 13th to tell us your date preference.
Easy Delicious Summer Preserves
As the summer heat builds, the peaches, plums, and apricots are abundant. We can save their delicious flavor for the middle of the cold dark winter in different easy methods including brandied preserves to dish up over ice cream. A local professional will teach us the secrets of preserving using some of her favorite recipes.
The $15 cost covers the professional, the organic ingredients and the jars. Join us at this pleasant afternoon social, to learn the secrets of preserving summer fruits in My kitchen. Call for more info 973-335-4469.

Also...
Italian Secrets of Preserving Tomatoes
There is nothing like New Jersey local tomatoes – especially when you combine them with age-old Italian home recipes. Phyllis Deering, our resident professional, will teach us her grandmother's secrets to making amazing tomato sauces at home. Now when the tomatoes are coming off the vine faster than we can count. As good as they are, we just can't eat them all, today. Join us on Thursday, August 27th at 1:00 pm.
The cost covers the professional, the organic ingredients and the jars. Join us at this pleasant afternoon social, to learn the secrets of homemade tomato sauce in Marnie's kitchen. For more info call 973-335-4469 or go to www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop. Please RSVP.

Enjoy! Marnie

Please Remember to Bring your Bags Back!

2009-07-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

The Fruit Preserving Class was a great success! There are a few who could not make the date, so please email me if you are interested in us doing it again. Also, we will have a Tomato Sauce Class at the end of August so save the date: Thursday, August 27th.
More info: www.meetup.com/MountainLakesOrganicCoop
Please remember to bring back your bags!!!
Starbrite uses reuseable boxes, so were not getting the many cardboard boxes that we get with 4 Seasons. This means we’ve been running short of boxes to use for you if you forget to bring back your bags. So please try to remember now at least while we work with Starbrite!

Starbrite Newsletter Excerpts...
Hello Everyone, We received some much needed rain this past weekend and fortunately the hailstorms that were about missed us this time. The ground is still quite dry, which is good for digging potatoes but not for much else. We have been busy putting up trellis for tomatoes and for many people’s favorite, the Rattlesnake pole bean. The beans have been coming in heavily, so we have an ample supply for the shares this week. Unfortunately one variety that I planned which was supposed to be a green bean has produced yellow wax beans, so we have more wax beans than green beans at the moment. This week you will be receiving Ailsa Craig sweet onions, a wonderful heirloom variety. These we will send with the green tops still attached, which can be used like a scallion. We will also be shipping radicchio, most of which is the trevisio type which has a form like a small romaine lettuce. We are continuing with the rotation of cukes and summer squash (zukes).

Enjoy! Marnie

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

Louise Fry and I wrote this article for the MtnL League of Women Voters...

Most of the food Americans eat travels over 1500 miles to reach the plate. Produce from California travels over 2000 miles. For every California calorie we eat, 87 calories of fuel are used trucking it here. Food is shipped out of convenience with little consideration for distance. At the height of apple season here in the Northeast, a local organic co-operative received a box of apples from their supplier, shipped all the way from New Zealand. Its not even apple season down there.

There are certain things like the import of bananas, chocolate and coffee that we simply can’t grow here, so we just try to eat less of them. But the apples could have come from New York State or even Washington State. Barbara Kingsolver in her book – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – states that the US exports 1.1 million tons of potatoes and imports 1.4 million tons of potatoes.

There is a growing movement of people trying to consume mostly locally grown and produced food. They call themselves “Locavores”. As the idea catches on their are more local farmer’s markets each year, as well as other ways to buy locally like CSA’s. Also, keeping your own kitchen garden is theraputic as well as a solution to the problem. Not to mention a great learning experience for your kids. There is nothing more local than your own backyard.

In New Jersey alone there are about 100 farmers markets. (See www.buy-freshnjwj.org) There are also 150 pick-your-own farms in New Jersey. (See www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh). The CSA, Community Supported Agriculture farm, allows a family or a group to buy a share of the harvest throughout the season. Often, the client is asked to participate in one or more days of farming activities, which, again, can be very educational for the children. (Visit www.localharvest.org/CSA).

Of course, not all produce is available throughout the year. Locavores learn to be content with consuming/shopping for seasonal foods. Some foods that can be harvested locally in the fall and keep into the winter are: wild mushrooms (Know what your picking!), squash and hazelnuts even in Mountain Lakes! Ask your grocer to carry more local foods and to label what is local too. Some food stores are committed to labeling the country or state of origin for their fruits and vegetables.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

I hope all goes well for you all this evening. I’m looking forward to giving out my apples. I’ll tell you how it went next week.
Asside from being healthier to eat less meat, Now we see its also better for the environment. About a year ago I cut my meat intake by a half and I found I have more energy too. I replaced that meat with more vegetables.

SURVEY OF OCA READERS: IS IT OKAY TO EAT MEAT?
Researchers from Cornell have published a study that reopens the debate over whether it's better for the environment to be an omnivore or a vegetarian. According to the study, a low fat carnivore diet with a limited amount of meat, dairy and/or eggs is actually a more efficient use of the land. The explanation is relatively simple: if you are trying to sustainably produce the maximum amount of food nutrients on a plot of land, the high value soil is better suited for food plants, whereas low value land can create more food via grazing livestock or wild game than by planting crops. Researchers noted that the average modern meat eater consumes levels of meat and dairy that are nearly three times what would be considered "efficient". Although specific geographical areas may result in varying equations, the study's land analysis found that the amount of omnivore intake for environmental efficiency is 2 cooked ounces per day. That amounts to around the size of two decks of cards every three days. Learn more and share your opinions about this study in OCA's web forum. Please take our quick poll there too, so we can determine how many readers are vegan, vegetarian, omnivore and carnivore: http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=447
RELATED FACTS: YOUR DIET IMPACTS ENVIRONMENT MORE THAN YOUR CAR
13 PERCENT = The percentage of greenhouse gases created by all trucks, SUVs, cars, airplanes, trains and other transportation.
18 PERCENT = The amount of greenhouse gases created by livestock production.
Source: United Nations
Moral of the story: If you are an average U.S. meat eater, reducing your meat consumption to 2 ounces per day is roughly equivalent to doubling your vehicle's fuel efficiency, in terms of greenhouse gas reduction.

Enjoy! Marnie

It's Time to Help!

2007-10-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Organic Consumers Association is THE organization that works the hardest to keep organic ORGANIC. They have set out on a conquest to enforce the Organic Standards where the USDA will not. If you want truely organic foods in the future these standards MUST be inforced. I have made a donation to the cause and I ask each of you to do so as well...

ORGANIC CONSUMERS SUE AURORA DAIRY IN 27 STATES FOR VIOLATING ORGANIC STANDARDS
Acting on behalf of organic food consumers in 27 states, class action lawsuits are being filed this week in U.S. federal courts in St. Louis and Denver, against one of the nation's largest organic dairies. The suits charge Aurora Dairy Corporation, based in Boulder, Colorado, with allegations of consumer fraud, negligence, and unjust enrichment concerning the sale of organic milk by the company. This past April, Aurora officials received a notice from the USDA detailing multiple and "willful" violations of federal organic law that were found by federal investigators, specifically not providing mandatory pasture access and bringing non-organic cows onto their massive feedlots. Unfortunately the USDA gave Aurora what the OCA considers a "slap on the wrist," rather than taking away the corporation's USDA Organic certification.

Commenting on this week's class action lawsuit, Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the OCA stated: "If the USDA refuses to properly enforce organic standards, then organic consumers have no choice but to act as their own enforcement body, using the courts to punish those corporations, like Aurora, that put profits ahead of organic integrity." Two weeks ago Aurora threatened to sue the OCA, Cornucopia Institute, and the Center for Food Safety if we didn't back off. Now it looks like Aurora will have to face the consequences of their "willful violations" of organic standards in court. OCA would like to thank the hundreds of organic consumers across the country who have joined in on this class action lawsuit. We would like to also thank the several hundred OCA network supporters who have sent us over the past two weeks more than $15,000 to carry on this important legal battle. But now we need your help more than ever. If you can afford to help us fight this David versus Goliath battle over organic integrity, please send us a donation now.

To Donate: http://www.organicconsumers.org/donations.htm
For more information on this historic lawsuit see: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_7757.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Thanksgiving Turkeys

2007-10-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, it’s that time again! However, we are no longer with the supplier who sold us the Organic turkeys for Thanksgiving previous years and our present supplier does not deal in meat. I have sent out some inqueries to other farms and suppliers, and I hope we will be able to secure some. If you are interested in an Organic turkey for Thanksgiving please tell me so I can have a count. I won’t actually order them without running the prices by you.
Please remember to bring back your boat bags for refilling, we tend to get a little short of boxes. Thanks.

Core Truths on the Major Benefits of Organic Food and Farming
The Organic Center's groundbreaking 108-page coffee table book is still available. Core Truths provides an overview of the science showing that:
- Organic often tastes better
- Organic produce contains, on average, 30 percent higher levels of antioxidants
- Organic farming can cut mycotoxin risk by over 50 percent
- Organic food dramatically reduces pesticide exposure
- Organic farms typically use less energy
Only $30 (plus $5 shipping and handling in US). http://www.organic-center.org/CoreTruthsOrderForm.pdf

Enjoy! Marnie

Halloween!

2007-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have a real thing about sugar. I believe it is an addictable drug that affects our taste buds, our health and our behavior. (I know how irresistable it can be!) Come Halloween, for years I have been giving out little plastic toys as well, for those kids who don’t want candy. I hate to see sugar forced on them, and I have been greatly encouraged by their squeals of happieness at the toys. But now, as I become more environmentally aware, I realize that though the plastic toys aren’t forming sugar addicts, they aren’t good for the environment.

So this year I am taking the plunge, I am going to give out Organic Apples. I know the stigma that is attached to apples, but each one will have a little tag stating where it came from (me) and that it is organic. The parents can always throw it out, but I will not be contributing to the degradation of our children. If any of you are interested, I can order you apples through the coop at the rate of $50 per case of 100 apples. I will need to know your case count by October 29th. They will be delivered here on Halloween day.

VICTORY OF THE WEEK: KELLOGG CLEANS UP ITS ACT
Caving to the threat of a lawsuit over the company's marketing practices, Kellogg has announced a new sweeping policy that will shift the company's nutritional guidelines and set a new standard for the food industry. Under the new guidelines, all products marketed to children under the age of 12 must contain a maximum of 200 calories, 2 grams of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of labeled sugar and 0 grams of labeled trans fat per serving. Currently, 50% of Kellogg products marketed to children fail to meet their new criteria. The company says implementation will begin immediately. 27% of Kellogg's advertising budget goes to marketing to children under the age of 12.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5651.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Water, Water Everywhere...

2007-10-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

I talked all about the quarterly reports and forgot to put them in the baskets! That’s why you have your report this week instead of last week. I did manage to get a few in the baskets that were still here after 6 pm last week. So, the report is as of last week! This week is in addition to it!

The League of Women Voters is putting out a little Eco-Tip each month in their newsletter. I think it’s a great idea. I have designed the little logo for it (below), but have chosen our “Eco-Tip” from the Organic Consumers Association as usual.

FIND OUT WHAT'S IN YOUR TAP WATER AND MOVE BEYOND TOXIC PLASTIC BOTTLES
Although it's common knowledge that industry, factory farms, government agencies (especially the military), and municipalities are polluting our drinking water supply, this awareness has led to a widespread phobia of tap water that is ironically exacerbating the water pollution problem. It takes five times as much water to make the plastic bottle than the amount of water the bottle actually holds. Last year, Americans consumed 1.5 million barrels of oil to make disposable water bottles. That's enough to take 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The average American adult spends nearly $200 each year on bottled water. And of course recent scientific studies indicate that hormone disrupting chemicals are steadily leaching out of those billions of non-recycled plastic water bottles that Coke and Pepsi are selling us, and poisoning us. But how do you know if the water coming out of your home or workplace's faucet is actually okay to drink in the first place? Obviously, in some cases it's not, but here are some links to help you find out if your fear of your tap water is really justified:

OCA REVIEW OF TOP TAP WATER SAFETY TESTING OPTIONS
1) Water suppliers are required to supply an annual drinking water quality report. The report you tells where your water comes from and what's in it. To get your local municipality's report, check here: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/ Advantages: The report is free and relatively thorough. Disadvantages: Water suppliers aren't required by law to test for all contaminants.

2) The Watersafe Test Kit is an affordable tool that identifies harmful levels of eight different common contaminants in water: bacteria, lead, nitrates, nitrites, chlorine, pH, hardness and two common pesticides. Advantages: It's only $20, and it's a home kit that you can use anytime and anywhere you like. Disadvantages: Although the kit tests for the 8 most ubiquitous types of contaminants, there are other less common pollutants it does not assess. http://www.nextag.com/watersafe-test-kits/

3) NTlabs provides consumers with the most thorough laboratory analysis of drinking water we can find at such an affordable rate. Advantages: The Watercheck includes a 75 item check for: bacteria, heavy metals, inorganic chemicals, trihalomethanes, 44 volatile organic chemicals, and 20 pesticides, herbicides and PCB's. Disadvantage: The cost is $159, but you may actually save money if you find out you don't need to be investing in bottled water and filters http://www.ntllabs.com

Enjoy! Marnie