PCC Sound Consumer
February 2008
The organic advantage
by Karen Lamphere
Shoppers who buy organic food do so for many reasons, including a belief it’s better for you, wanting to avoid pesticides, and a desire to support better environmental practices. But is organic food really more nutritious? Is there proof? Overall, is organic food worth the higher price?
GROWing a community one banana at a time
by Cristina Vaamonde
It’s one thing to enjoy delicious organic, fair trade bananas as a consumer. It’s another to see first-hand how PCC’s bananas sold under the GROW label are produced and what the GROW program means to the farm community that produces them.
Building community with Bikes for Education
by Marilyn Walls
The relationship between the Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care Company and PCC is all about providing quality products and building community — from one co-op to another. Now Alaffia and PCC are working together for Alaffia’s Bikes for Education program. It involves collecting used bikes and shipping them to the Alaffia community in Togo, Africa, so the children can get to school.
Taking stock of seed in February
by Kathryn Gardow, PCC Farmland Trust Executive Director
Every February, many of us take stock of our seeds from the previous season and begin to plan our summer garden. Farmers do the same thing, considering what sold well last year and what varieties are available this year. But where the seeds come from is very important.
The online version of the Sound Consumer contains feature stories and regular columns. Information from the "Fresh and natural" pages in the printed version can be found in the products area of the Web site or in our recipe database.