PS to Organics Post: Walmart's "Organics" may be a Lie

Yesterday as part of my post on the Organics movement in the Northwest, I noted that Walmart had apparently established an organics section of their grocery departments.

I just read in the news today that a lawsuit has been filed against Walmart by Cornucopia, an organics watchdog group, alleging that Walmart is actually selling non-organic food as organic.

Buyer beware....

It’s a Crunchy-Granola Organic World Out Here

I have spoken before about Cascadians’ passion for nature as well as their populist ethic of community activism and service. One facet of Northwest living where these all converge is in the organic farming phenomenon.

(Left: Farmland in the Skagit Valley cover cropped to attract migrating snow geese)

By 2004, Washington State alone had well over 40,000 acres of certified organic farmland, with thousands more in transition, producing over $200 million worth of organic food. Organic produce, dairy and meats are in high demand in the Pacific Northwest for many reasons:

• Desire to avoid non-natural additives (pesticides, hormones, chemical fertilizer, genetically engineered/modified ingredients)
• Higher nutritional value of organics
• Perception of better taste and longevity of the food
• Recognition that non-organic farming is damaging to the environment and not sustainable (air and water pollution, soil erosion, energy use, etc)
• Recognition of the importance of biodiversity, which large agribusiness threatens and organic farming promotes
• Farm worker safety
• Preservation of family farms

Much of the organic food raised in the Northwest is consumed here, not only because of the demand, but also in recognition of the benefits of eating locally raised foods. Reasons for this are similar:

• Fresher, and therefore more nutritional, food
• Less energy is used in transportation to market
• Desire to support local, family-owned business
• Desire to support the organic use of local farmland rather than non-organic to reduce local pollution.

Prior to the recent inclusion by large grocery chains, organic food producers already had established distribution channels in the Northwest through farmers markets, farm subscriptions and through Puget Consumer Co-op, the largest consumer-owned natural food co-operative in the United States, founded in 1953.

Now, due to 20% annual growth in demand for organics nationwide, large grocery chains and national food manufacturers are jumping on the band wagon and one can even find, so it's told, an organics produce section in Walmart. (They are doing this, however, while at the same time trying to quietly erode organic standards and the definition of sustainable agriculture to make more profit, but I digress...)

Since the costs of non-organic foods are often hidden, organics have a higher price tag than non-organics. This initially created a barrier to the market place. However, as peoples’ awareness and concern over agricultural chemicals and the other impacts of non-organic farming have grown, so has a willingness to pay a higher price to buy better food. The industry is still fighting this uphill battle, as well as the non-organic industry’s use and dominance of agricultural subsidies from the federal government, which creates a further price advantage.

As a result, community activism and volunteerism have been needed to help organic agriculture survive and grow. One way this happens is through land trusts. Land trusts are non-profit organizations that fundraise to buy and hold land for specific conservation purposes. Farmland trusts are one form of this type of organization. The PCC Farmland Trust specifically designates the use of its land for organic farming. It is a great benefit to the community as well as the farmers because when organic farmland is preserved, so is the beauty and environmental health of the environment. Additionally, safe and local food sources are assured.

Another way that organic farms are supported is through volunteer workers. Volunteers commit to living and working on a given farm for a period of time in exchange for housing, meals, the experience and a hands-on education on organic farming. World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is the leading matchmaking organization for farmers and volunteers. Other opportunities (such as academic study programs) also exist.

It may seem hippy-dippy to some, but organics and community support of organic agriculture is mainstream here. It's a win-win all the way around, from the numerous fabulous farmers' markets in town, to the scenic farmlands close to town, to an industry that keeps its dollars in the local community, to a cleaner environment. Life is organic here, naturally!

Campfire Girl

Well, here we are on day four after the big, Seattle windstorm and parts of the city, including my neighborhood, are still without power. It has been an inconvenience, but not a hardship. My husband and I are fortunate to have a fireplace and a gas-powered water heater. Although there have been invitations from friends to stay with them in heated and lit homes with operative stoves, refrigerators, stereos and DVD players, we have declined. We keep believing that it just CAN’T go on much more than a few hours. We live in the city, for heaven’s sake. But… what do we know? (There are also the pets to consider, and the cat does not cotton to slumber parties away from home.)

Nonetheless, we keep waking up to yet another cold morning. And with flashbacks to episodes of “Little House on the Prairie,” we stoke the fire, pop an enameled coffee pot in the flames, and make our morning coffee by hand. It’s amazing how much energy it takes to keep a room warm with a fireplace in cold weather: gathering and hauling wood, setting/starting the fire, keeping it stoked, gathering and hauling more wood. In some ways the cold temperatures that followed the storm (below freezing at night and not above 40 during the day) are a blessing as all our food is in coolers outside. A lot would have been wasted otherwise. However, keeping ourselves and the animals above freezing has been a continuous task in the mornings and evenings.

Performing this daily ritual has me thinking back to my days as a Campfire Girl. Growing up in Cascadia at the time I did, Campfire seemed a much more relevant girls’ club than Girl Scouts. Campfire was largely focused on outdoor and survival skills. Being outside and in nature as much as I was as a kid, it was truly useful to understand how to use a compass and read a map, to identify plants (what to not touch or nibble), what to pack even if you were going out for a little day hike (whistle, 1st aid kit, jackknife, extra food and water, matches, etc), and how to build a fire, particularly in wet and cold conditions. Terms such as “tinder” and “kindling” have come floating back, as have recollections of how to set a fire the right way so it will start easily without over-fueling it (which is wasteful as well as potentially dangerous in the woods), and how to improvise a cook stove over and around the flames.

Granted, given that I AM a city-girl now and that most of Seattle is back on the grid, we have used our outage as a likely excuse to dine out each night. Another bright-shiny silver lining to our predicament. I am hoping, however, that we won’t be out again tonight. And, with all due respect to my old camp counselors and Laura Ingalls-Wilder, we won’t forgo dining out to bake chicken in tin foil in the embers. I would like my lights back please. I prefer my camping in small doses.

On Wind and Community

Another storm will be sweeping into Puget Sound and the Seattle area tonight. Officials are exhorting us to have three days worth of ready-to-eat food and battery-powered lights and radio as we will have winds up to 60 miles per hour (90 in some areas) along with another deep soaking of rain. Electricity, phone and other line-based services will likely be taken out by falling trees. That is, the trees that have not already fallen from winds earlier this week.

Left: Looking toward Bellevue. The calm before the storm.

The wind and rain combination is a dangerous one, particularly in the Northwest where up to 100' foot tall Douglas Firs dominate the landscape. Pacific Douglas Fir trees have very shallow root systems. When rain soaks the ground it softens, making it easier for a tree to topple. Ironically, but logically, it is the largest that are at greatest risk of being uprooted.

In the forests this is not such a problem, of course, as it is simply part of the ecology cycle. It is also less likely to happen in a forest, as the trees absorb the force of the wind as a large group. The bulk and root systems intertwine, acting as buffers and reinforcement. In the city and suburbs, these giants are often standing solo or in small clumps, making them far more vulnerable to the elements.

The vulnerability that comes with isolation stands true for our human community as well, particularly at times like this. Caring for and about our neighbors, in both the specific and general sense, uplifts and provides a greater quality of life for everyone, including ourselves. We create connectedness and relationships. The act of reaching out makes others feel not only safer but more willing to reach out themselves. And, in the act of service, we serve ourselves by exercising our integrity, our generosity, our humanity. We become better people simply from the satisfying act of helping.

On Being a Niiiiice Driver (or, Seattle's 6 golden rules of the road)

When you merge into freeway traffic in Seattle, or when someone lets you into a packed lane (and they will), for the love of God, 1) give them the friendly thank you wave. The friendly thank you wave is a staple of Northwest drivers, as is the 2)"Sorry, yes I was an idiot," apologetic grimace-smile (clearly mouthing, "sorry!") when you've accidentally done something dangerous or rude. They go a looooong way. Trust me. If you don't, the driver behind you who was just then nice enough to let you in, or saved your sorry petutie from a fender bender will say, out loud with no one to hear, "YOU'RE WELCOME!" And next time? You are blocked out. With the "sorry I'm an idiot" response when you've made a mistake, you are immediately forgiven (with a tense smile). But if you don't, a Seattlite might even Honk at you. Seattlites never-ever-ever honk.

Seattlites are passive-aggressive drivers (Among our many PA tendencies). There are several unwritten rules of "nice driver" etiquette, and you best be minding them. If there is a merge 1/4 mile up the road and the main lane is filled with cars but the merging lane empty? 3) Merge now. If you cruise on up to the merge point, no one will let you in. No one will look over to acknowledge your existence. They will link bumper to bumper and make you sit until someone back behind decides you've been blockaded long enough to learn your lesson, waving you in with the tense smile.

Note: If you realize your mistake half way to the merge, slow waaaayyy down, turn on your blinker, and give the driver next to you the "Sorry, I'm an idiot" smile while pointing to their lane. She will let you in. Then, for the love of God, give the friendly,"Thank you" wave.

4) Do not tailgate. If you do, it's likely the person in front of you will simply slow down further. However, alternatively 5) do NOT hold up traffic in the fast lane. If you do, a string of cars (even the Volvos) will pass you on the right and merge back into your lane RIGHT in front of you. The pickups and SUVs will (justifiably) tailgate.

6) Do not cheat in the HOV lane. Calling the 800-RAT-FINK line to the state patrol is a favorite pass time of Seattle drivers stuck in rush hour traffic. We are a community of rule-followers and want to make d**n sure everyone else is too. You also risk the bumper blockade (see rule #3) when the lane ends or if you come upon the state patrol.

There are more rules, of course, but these six are crucial if you want to avoid disapproval. And, that is something one wants to avoid in Seattle: disapproval...tsk tsk tsk.