that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
~Wendell Berry
SAVE A FARMER
Hi folks.
This here is Steve Litsinger. Many of you already know him, but plenty of you are likely still unaware of the decades of constant work he has put in to grow our local and organic food system in Northern Nevada.
In the late 1970s, on the verge of a move away from the Great Basin, he and his wife Marcia made a last minute decision to stay in Nevada and set down roots. Thanks to this one seemingly insignificant move, followed by a lifetime labor of love, our community is stronger today than it would be had they moved on to greener places.
Throughout the 1980s, they built up their small scale farm, Churchill Butte Organics, where they live completely off-grid growing bio-intensive crops as sustainably as humanly possible.
In the 1990s, their farm established and inspiring other farmers statewide, they took on major legislative efforts, including a monumental push to establish a NDA (Nevada Department of Agriculture) Organics Program.
After befriending a few young foodies in Reno in 2005, they helped start a budding radical organic buyers' club that called themselves the Great Basin Community Food Cooperative.
For years they ran a small CSA and supplied fresh organic vegetables to many families in the community as well as to the co-op. In 2015 they took their minimal extra time to replace the defunct NDA Organic certification program with Nevada's first independent organic certifier, Basin and Range Organics.
Late last week, Steve suffered a massive heart attack. He was airlifted to Renown from their tiny permaculture farm in Stagecoach, his heart stopping once along the way and once the next day. Thanks to a defibrillator and an unstoppable sense of humor, Steve survived.
To help pay their hospital bills and continue serving our community as farmers and cultivators, farmer and friend Jake O'Farrell started a GoFundMe campaign to help our friends and mentors through this ordeal. If you want to thank the people who are responsible for putting food on your plate in the most thoughtful and inspiring way possible, this is a great way to do it.
The co-op will match every dollar raised up to $1,000.
Donate Here
PLASTIC BAG BAN
Last year, the country of Kenya enacted what is likely the world's most stringent ban on plastic bags. Their ban focuses on manufacturers and retailers, and offers a five-figure fine for using or distributing plastic bags, as well as potentially four years in prison!
Many East African nations are taking up some degree of bans on plastics, and there are many great reasons to do so - the plastics that will soon be more abundant in our oceans than fish, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (estimates that peg it at the size of Texas are now on the LOW end), the 97.5% of albatross chicks that are fed plastic instead of food, or the fact that scientists can't research how plastic affects the human body because (this is true) - they can't find a control group that doesn't have plastics in their body.
We just have to say - well done, Kenya! I've traveled in eastern Africa and seen how pervasive plastics have become in the environment when curbside pickup is not a thing and plasticbags are free to migrate through the serengeti. This is a major step forward, and one highlighted by a very very important quote from this BBC article:
"In its ruling last week, the [Kenyan] High Court dismissed a case filed by two plastic bags importers urging it to drop the ban. The court ruled that environmental concerns were more important than commercial interests."
Let's hear that again: "The court ruled that environmental concerns were more important than commercial interests."
Aah, what a refreshing take on the interplay of economics and environmentalism.
So where does that leave us? Well, America is certainly a long shot from understanding the necessity and beauty of that court ruling, so we're doing everything we can on a local level. To start, we are voluntarily implementing the same bag fees that California has already successfully adopted.
Beginning EARTH DAY 2018, instead of offering a five cent credit to shoppers who bring in their own bags, we will be charging five cents for every bag or tub customers take with them. It may be harder at first, but we want to reflect the true cost of plastic, both monetarily and environmentally.
Thank you all for joining us on this difficult and necessary journey, and thank you for bringing in your own bags whenever possible! Together we can make a worthwhile and significant dent in plastic pollution.
REGENERATIVE ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
What does organic mean? Well, on one hand, it's the only federally regulated (in other words, illegal to misuse) certification around healthy and sustainable growing. It's believable and legitimate, unlike many other health claims you might find on a label.
On the other hand, it's a massive way for large companies to add value to their products, and it's in their best interest to cheapen the standards as much as possible (which is why the Organic Consumers' Association is currently suing the USDA for failing to uphold expected organic standards).
Many small farms have committed to organics because they want to make the world a better place and not just to make more money. These farms are industry leaders are working on furthering organics by creating a Regenerative Organic Certification program. Unlike the USDA organic, this budding concept will include animal welfare (I know, right? How is that not already a part of organics?) AND social justice for the farmers and farm workers. It's a comprehensive approach and a step towards raising the bar for healthy farm standards.
Right now, it's just a concept with some big names supporting it, but it's one worth keeping an eye on in this ever-shifting food system we live in.
NO MORE PLASTIC RAZORS!
There are few tragedies as maddening as the multiplying load of non degradable material set out for disposal, never to be used again. That's why a beloved former employee @briannalittleheart insisted that we start carrying Albatross Stainless Steel Razors.
Not only do they supply a perfect shave, but they're also built to last. Forever. Along with these shavers also comes a pack of 10 flimsy butterfly razorblades. They also have a program where they collect used blades that you send back and recycle them into other steel products. When you buy a new pack of blades, they only come out as being 15 cents a piece, too!
Not only a slicker more unique product, but it will also save you money, as well as save the Earth from enduring yet another piece of wasted plastic.
LOCAL WALDORF SCHOOL HOSTS BIODYNAMIC WORKSHOP
LOCAL FARM AND ORCHARD FOR SALE
SEEDLING SALE SAVE THE DATE
EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Open every day from 7:30am-9pm
Our mailing address is:
240 Court St Reno, NV 89501
775.324.6133
info@greatbasinfood.coop
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