Don’t Forget Your Melon!

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

Read More: 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_21039.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

Co-op Vacation Dates

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!

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

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

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.

Read More: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_20852.cfm

Enjoy! Marnie

New Computer! Help!!

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!

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