Sound Consumer

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.

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Sound Consumer, October 2009

The acid alkaline balance

Foods can be categorized as carbohydrates, proteins and fats, but they also can be classified by how we process them. Our bodies transform nearly all foods into acids or alkaline bases, and we need a balance to be healthy.

Foods can be categorized as carbohydrates, proteins and fats, but they also can be classified by how we process them. Our bodies transform nearly all foods into acids or alkaline bases, and we need a balance to be healthy.

October is co-op month

Join us for a delicious, seasonal meal and an interesting keynote address at our Fall Membership Meeting on October 27. Our speaker, Jon Bansen, comes to us from CROPP/Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative that provides milk and dairy products to PCC.

Join us for a delicious, seasonal meal and an interesting keynote address at our Fall Membership Meeting on October 27. Our speaker, Jon Bansen, comes to us from CROPP/Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative that provides milk and dairy products to PCC.

More floating feedlots off Washington’s coast?

Beneath sun-dappled waves that lap our shores and connect us to other nations and people are the detritus and pollutants of our modern age. Oceans are 70 percent of our planet, life-sustaining and increasingly at risk.

Beneath sun-dappled waves that lap our shores and connect us to other nations and people are the detritus and pollutants of our modern age. Oceans are 70 percent of our planet, life-sustaining and increasingly at risk.

Notes from the Cellar

Ah, October. Sigh … Over here on the dark side of the hill, we’re hard-pressed to regard the coming of autumn as anything less than a passing — of light, warmth and a generally more sunny way of being in the world.

Ah, October. Sigh … Over here on the dark side of the hill, we’re hard-pressed to regard the coming of autumn as anything less than a passing — of light, warmth and a generally more sunny way of being in the world.

Seasonal produce

If you’ve enjoyed local, organic leaf lettuce, green beans, broccoli and berries from our produce department, chances are you’ve already sampled plenty of goodness from Rent’s Due Ranch in Stanwood, Wash. This certified organic farm on nearly 50 acres of rich soil has supplied PCC Natural Markets with fresh produce since 1990.

If you’ve enjoyed local, organic leaf lettuce, green beans, broccoli and berries from our produce department, chances are you’ve already sampled plenty of goodness from Rent’s Due Ranch in Stanwood, Wash. This certified organic farm on nearly 50 acres of rich soil has supplied PCC Natural Markets with fresh produce since 1990.

Saving farmland with conservation easements, part II

Last month we discussed the benefits of buying conservation easements. The PCC Farmland Trust buys easements in lieu of purchasing property because they are less expensive and help ensure the land will be protected from future non-agricultural development. This month we continue to explore this idea, focusing on the trust’s pioneering work using easements for organic farming.

Last month we discussed the benefits of buying conservation easements. The PCC Farmland Trust buys easements in lieu of purchasing property because they are less expensive and help ensure the land will be protected from future non-agricultural development. This month we continue to explore this idea, focusing on the trust’s pioneering work using easements for organic farming.

Letters to the editor

Sustainable sushi · Grass-fed cattle · Diet sodas linked to diabetes · Plastic packaging · No soy, please · Loyal produce stand

Sustainable sushi · Grass-fed cattle · Diet sodas linked to diabetes · Plastic packaging · No soy, please · Loyal produce stand

News bites

Eat chocolate for heart health? · Trees breathe · Drop in rBGH use in California · Stressed cattle cost ranchers money · Global warming makes fish smaller · Illegal chemicals in farmed salmon · Chile salmon farms collapsing · Agritech controls GM research · EU stops soy imports · Chefs intern on a farm

Eat chocolate for heart health? · Trees breathe · Drop in rBGH use in California · Stressed cattle cost ranchers money · Global warming makes fish smaller · Illegal chemicals in farmed salmon · Chile salmon farms collapsing · Agritech controls GM research · EU stops soy imports · Chefs intern on a farm

Your co-op

Fall Member Meeting · Board outreach · Board report · Meet an organic dairy farmer · PSE green energy · Next board meeting

Fall Member Meeting · Board outreach · Board report · Meet an organic dairy farmer · PSE green energy · Next board meeting