Sound Consumer archive
June 2010

Northwest food adventures

by Eli Penberthy, Associate Editor

It’s no secret that the Pacific Northwest is home to some of the best food in the world — in fact, it’s probably a big reason why we choose to live here! You’ll always find your favorites at our neighborhood PCCs, but sometimes it’s fun to visit the source and see where some PCC foods come from firsthand.

USDA researcher raises GE alarm

by Trudy Bialic, Editor

It’s one thing for environmentalists to say genetically engineered crops are dangerous but now scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are sounding the alarm, too. Microbiologist Robert Kremer has analyzed farm soil for 20 years, the last several studying soil quality and genetically engineered (GE) plant growth.

What I learned from the bees: patience

by Todd Hardie

Ninety percent of flowering plants and 40 percent of the foods we eat depend on pollinators — mostly honeybees. They pollinate everything from almonds and apples to tomatoes and watermelon. Bees also are wonderful teachers.

Recipes from the June issue

Organic berries are one of summer’s great pleasures and juicy strawberries, bursting with flavor, may be our favorite.
Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries · Mixed Berry Coulis · Strawberry Rhubarb Galettes

Truth, transparency and trust

by Goldie Caughlan, PCC Nutrition Education Manager

Truth, transparency and trust: keys to PCC’s policies, quality standards and products. Are you a dedicated label-reader when you shop at PCC? Or is your “yellow or orange alert level” only fully engaged when you are shopping elsewhere, in mainstream or other conventional grocery stores?

What's new in store — June 2010

From gluten-free ice cream sandwiches to vegan cheesecake, raw honey to local strawberries, we have a variety of products new in store.

Notes from the Cellar

On a mission

by Jeff Cox, Beer and Wine Merchandiser

“Au revoir ... à Septembre” ... and just like that, she’s gone. Agent MC shoulders her purse, turns and strides purposefully, bags in tow, toward the Air France counter. Mission accomplished. Turn the page. Next.

Full Circle Farm

Green may be the color of spring, but it’s also the shade of some of our favorite early summer delights: bunches of spinach, tender salad mix, baby bok choy, and several varieties of chard and kale. This month we’ll get all these from Full Circle Farm.

Saving farmland, generating questions

by Kristin Vogel, Communications & Education Associate

This saving farmland business, it’s complicated stuff. In essence our mission is simple, but realizing it is fraught with complexity. There is the enormity of the task, of course: attempting to save farmland from inside a giant system that does not, generally speaking, value farming.