New initiatives from Whole Foods
Posted by David Roberts at 2:31 PM on 29 Jun 2006
I wrote a post a little while back about the exchange going on between food writer Michael Pollan and Whole Foods Market honcho John Mackey. The subject has been some claims about Whole Foods' relationship to "industrial organic" made in Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Read that previous post for background.
Mackey has written another detailed letter to Pollan. It's interesting throughout, but the big news comes at the end, when Mackey announces a series of new initiatives the company is undertaking. They will be attempting to build up a system of animal-compassionate small farms, buying more local food, setting up a loan program for small farmers, opening their parking lots for local farmers to sell directly to consumers (!), and increasing consumer education on the subject of local food. Pretty radical stuff.
I haven't seen this picked up in the mainstream media yet, but I expect it will be.
Here's the relevant part of the letter:
[full story at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/6/29/143121/559 ]
Friday, June 30, 2006
Detroit Free Press: Humanitarian crisis is looming in Gaza
Fighting threatens water supply, power
June 30, 2006
FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES
The 1.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip will face a humanitarian crisis within days unless fighting between Israelis and Palestinians stops, United Nations officials said Thursday.
"We are heading into the abyss," Under-Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in New York.
Israel destroyed Gaza's only power station on Wednesday, leaving 40% of the population without electricity and the other 60% dependent on power from Israel. Fuel for generators that power 130 water wells will run out in three days, leaving thousands without access to water, Egeland said.
"With no water and also considering the weather, it will be a life-threatening situation rather quickly," said Christer Nordahl, deputy director of the UN refugee office in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli jets hit the power plant, along with key bridges, as the precursor to a slowly building invasion of the Gaza Strip intended to secure the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a French-Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants Sunday in a cross-border raid.
Sami Abadiah, a power plant engineer, said it could take at least six months and $11 million to rebuild the plant. And that's if Israel allows replacement equipment into Gaza.
Maged Abu Ramadan, Gaza City's mayor, said he's relying on generators to keep some power flowing. But when fuel runs out, he said, the streets could begin filling with raw sewage, and residents may have only dangerously dirty water to drink.
A short-term solution would be for Israel to allow more fuel into Gaza and increase the amount of electricity flowing to Gaza. But Israeli officials said they're more concerned with getting their soldier back.
[full story at http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060630/NEWS07/606300371/1009 ]
June 30, 2006
FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES
The 1.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip will face a humanitarian crisis within days unless fighting between Israelis and Palestinians stops, United Nations officials said Thursday.
"We are heading into the abyss," Under-Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in New York.
Israel destroyed Gaza's only power station on Wednesday, leaving 40% of the population without electricity and the other 60% dependent on power from Israel. Fuel for generators that power 130 water wells will run out in three days, leaving thousands without access to water, Egeland said.
"With no water and also considering the weather, it will be a life-threatening situation rather quickly," said Christer Nordahl, deputy director of the UN refugee office in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli jets hit the power plant, along with key bridges, as the precursor to a slowly building invasion of the Gaza Strip intended to secure the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a French-Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants Sunday in a cross-border raid.
Sami Abadiah, a power plant engineer, said it could take at least six months and $11 million to rebuild the plant. And that's if Israel allows replacement equipment into Gaza.
Maged Abu Ramadan, Gaza City's mayor, said he's relying on generators to keep some power flowing. But when fuel runs out, he said, the streets could begin filling with raw sewage, and residents may have only dangerously dirty water to drink.
A short-term solution would be for Israel to allow more fuel into Gaza and increase the amount of electricity flowing to Gaza. But Israeli officials said they're more concerned with getting their soldier back.
[full story at http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060630/NEWS07/606300371/1009 ]
seattletimes.com: Cowgirls rehabilitate and ride "throw-away" horses
Cowgirls rehabilitate and ride "throw-away" horses
Sadie and Buster were the ugliest horses Susan Hammon had ever seen. Thin, malnourished and easily agitated, they stood for sale at an Enumclaw horse auction in March 2005 ready to head to a slaughterhouse. These were not the elegant animals Hammon had envisioned as part of the competitive riding team she and her friend were starting in Sammamish.
But she saw hope flicker behind the horses' eyes. So she and her teammates purchased the two Arabians for a total of $300.
Full story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003095358_horse30e.html
seattletimes.com: Feel lonely? You're not alone
Feel lonely? You're not alone
By Ely Portillo
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- Americans, who shocked pollsters in 1985 when they said they had only three close friends, today say they have just two. And the number who say they have no one to discuss important matters with has doubled to 1 in 4, according to a nationwide survey released today.
It found that men and women of every race, age and education level reported fewer intimate friends than the same survey turned up in 1985. Their remaining confidants were more likely to be members of their nuclear family than in 1985, according to the study, but intimacy within families was down, too. The findings are reported in the June issue of the American Sociological Review.
Full story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003080031_lonely23.html
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
WP: Bush's Use of Signing Statements to Reinterpret Law Is Criticized
Bush's Use of Tool to Reinterpret Law Is Criticized
By Jonathan Weisman
A bipartisan group of senators and scholars denounced President Bush yesterday for using scores of "signing statements" to reserve the right to ignore or reinterpret provisions of measures that he has signed into law.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062700145.html?referrer=emailarticle
Friday, June 23, 2006
MSNBC.com: Apple iPod factories reportedly 'sweatshops'
Apple iPod factories reportedly 'sweatshops'
Apple Computer Inc. is having an iPod-related public relations headache this week, following a report by a British newspaper on working conditions at Chinese factories where the popular music player is built.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Grist: Fee to be carbon free
Fee to be carbon free
Posted by Clark Williams-Derry at 4:42 PM on 30 May 2006
Summer is upon us, unofficially at least. So to usher in the driving season, may I introduce Carbonfund.org, a new way to offset your personal carbon emissions from driving -- as well as from flying, and heating, cooling, and powering your house.
Obviously, Carbonfund.org isn't the only carbon offset program in town; Terrapass is more established and better known. But one thing about Carbonfund.org is unique: it's cheap. I mean, really, really cheap. A ton of CO2 costs just $5.50 U.S., which is, oh, about a quarter of the current price on the European Union carbon futures market, and substantially less than other carbon offset programs I've found (see here and here for a rundown).
In fact, Carbonfund.org is so cheap it made me wonder: is it for real? With some caveats, I'm inclined to think it is.
continued at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/5/30/164235/746
Posted by Clark Williams-Derry at 4:42 PM on 30 May 2006
Summer is upon us, unofficially at least. So to usher in the driving season, may I introduce Carbonfund.org, a new way to offset your personal carbon emissions from driving -- as well as from flying, and heating, cooling, and powering your house.
Obviously, Carbonfund.org isn't the only carbon offset program in town; Terrapass is more established and better known. But one thing about Carbonfund.org is unique: it's cheap. I mean, really, really cheap. A ton of CO2 costs just $5.50 U.S., which is, oh, about a quarter of the current price on the European Union carbon futures market, and substantially less than other carbon offset programs I've found (see here and here for a rundown).
In fact, Carbonfund.org is so cheap it made me wonder: is it for real? With some caveats, I'm inclined to think it is.
continued at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/5/30/164235/746
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
