Dedicated since 1961 to informing and inspiring the PCC community through the co-op’s vision of advancing the health and well-being of people, their neighborhoods and our planet.
This month and throughout the summer, we are honoring the local farmers who bring bounty to our tables. By being intentional about buying locally grown, organic produce, we play a vital instrument in the orchestra of each year’s harvest. Not only do we feed each other today, but we plant the seeds for the generations of tomorrow. To all the family farmers out there — a heartfelt thank you from your biggest fans!
This month and throughout the summer, we are honoring the local farmers who bring bounty to our tables. By being intentional about buying locally grown, organic produce, we play a vital instrument in the orchestra of each year’s harvest. Not only do we feed each other today, but we plant the seeds for the generations of tomorrow. To all the family farmers out there — a heartfelt thank you from your biggest fans!
Café Ambrosia considers itself an ally of PCC and the Farmland Fund in our mutual concerns about organic agriculture, the environment, your health, and the welfare of animals. Café Ambrosia is also part of this sustainable and ethical business paradigm.
Café Ambrosia considers itself an ally of PCC and the Farmland Fund in our mutual concerns about organic agriculture, the environment, your health, and the welfare of animals. Café Ambrosia is also part of this sustainable and ethical business paradigm.
Awhile ago Beth Sawin and Phil Rice, researchers at the Sustainability Institute, put together a graph that I can’t get out of my mind. It shows Midwest corn yields doubling from about 60 bushels per acre in 1950 to 120 bushels on average today. Despite the doubled yield, gross earnings per acre have stayed essentially constant. The net return to the farmer, after the costs of growing the corn, has also stayed constant, right around zero. If it weren’t for government farm payments, the average corn farmer would have been working for decades for free.
Awhile ago Beth Sawin and Phil Rice, researchers at the Sustainability Institute, put together a graph that I can’t get out of my mind. It shows Midwest corn yields doubling from about 60 bushels per acre in 1950 to 120 bushels on average today. Despite the doubled yield, gross earnings per acre have stayed essentially constant. The net return to the farmer, after the costs of growing the corn, has also stayed constant, right around zero. If it weren’t for government farm payments, the average corn farmer would have been working for decades for free.
Life used to be so simple. You used to walk to the corner drugstore, order a strawberry milk shake and if it was the right time of year, the soda jerk would slice up some fresh berries from the farm down the road and proceed to whip up your treat. It’s not like that any more. According to author Eric Schlosser, in his new book, “Fast Food Nation,” when we ask for a strawberry shake in one of America’s more popular fast food restaurants we may be asking for a culinary wild ride, indeed.
Life used to be so simple. You used to walk to the corner drugstore, order a strawberry milk shake and if it was the right time of year, the soda jerk would slice up some fresh berries from the farm down the road and proceed to whip up your treat. It’s not like that any more. According to author Eric Schlosser, in his new book, “Fast Food Nation,” when we ask for a strawberry shake in one of America’s more popular fast food restaurants we may be asking for a culinary wild ride, indeed.
This month includes a day set aside for honoring our fathers. Would yours be pleased with a gift made in his name — or in his memory — to save organic farmland forever? Check out this month’s featured fundraising efforts by Café Ambrosia, Seeds of Change, the Betty Hughes matching fund and Good Nature Publishing!
This month includes a day set aside for honoring our fathers. Would yours be pleased with a gift made in his name — or in his memory — to save organic farmland forever? Check out this month’s featured fundraising efforts by Café Ambrosia, Seeds of Change, the Betty Hughes matching fund and Good Nature Publishing!
