Forum

The Coop's new forum is now up and running. Register and join in the discussions on various themes concerning sustainable lifestyle, as well as issues for the Coop, or just general chatting.

Petrol or packaging?

It has been reported lately that increasing petrol prices and mortgages are straining the budget. Some people are downgrading their diet rather than riding a bicycle, and buying “edible food-like substances” from the supermarket instead of pure organic whole foods.
Unlike other organic food shops, the coop has unpackaged goods at a lower price, so why pay for the attractive packaging? Also the coop is a non-profit organisation and this flows into the lower cost of goods.
Bring your own beautiful, clean containers.
On the topic of “edible food-like substances”, this video of Michael Pollan informs about good food, nutrition and culture.

Packaging not popular among shoppers

A worldwide survey taken in November 2007 by the Nielsen Company indicates that concern about packaging waste has grown more than any other environmental concern. Forty percent of respondents were "very concerned" about rubbish from food packaging.
Major food retailers are now acting to cut back on packaging in response to customer concerns.
Half of the people in the survey were willing to cut back on packaging if it was not important in keeping food clean.
Overall cunsumers are shifting to paper, cardboard and glass because they can be recycled.
New Zealanders were the most willing to give up packaging, but people from Japan and Thailand were the least willing to reduce it.
Unlike most other organic wholefood shops, the Food Coop has waste minimisation as a primary focus.

The Story of Stuff

If you are looking for good reasons why you use organic products, look at this video from the Story of Stuff. Learn about poisons in products, toxic breast milk and unsustainable production.

Packaging art

For some interesting art based on packaging and its statistics see the work of Chris Jordan.

New trading hours

The coop is now open late on Thursdays and closed on Mondays.
Trading hours on Thursdays are from 10 am till 8 pm.
Organic wholefoods in Manly, Sydney. Natural food.

Christmas and New Year holidays

The Coop will be open as usual between Christmas and New Year. The shop will be closed on the following days only:
closed - 24, 25 and 26 December
closed - 31 December and 1 January
Otherwise the coop's usual opening times apply.
There are lots of special Christmas goodies available at present so come in and have a look.
Wishing you a good time in the holiday season and a green new year.
Thanks to edible culture for the image (and recipe)

Recyclable plastic bags in the oceans

The majority of the rubbish that ends up in the oceans comes from the land, not from ships. Only a small amount of plastic waste ends up in landfills. Huge areas of the ocean surface are now covered in plastic garbage with disastrous consequences for sea animals, fish and birds as well as water quality. One of the main components of this waste is plastic bags. Others are fishing tackle, balloons, six-packs, smoking accessories and packaging of all sorts.
Recyclable plastic bags are used in many shops, including many in Manly which claim to make a contribution to the environment by using them. Many of these bags claim to biodegrade quickly, to break down or even to be compostable. However when they reach the sea, they do not break down at all in salt water and are just like other plastic garbage.
They do not compost in the ocean or on the beach. Researchers tied these plastic bags to moorings in a harbour. "A year later you could still carry groceries in them." (p 117 Weisman)
Reusing containers is preferable to any kind of throw-away plastic containers.
Image from dotAtelier.

Saturday opening times

The coop is now open from 9 am tll 5 pm on Saturdays, with a happy hour for fresh vegetables between 4 and 5 pm. Come and get your wholefoods and organic produce earlier on Saturdays.

tags technorati : organic wholefoods

Meat and global warming

Eating meat contributes more to global warming than all forms of transport put together. The greatest single contribution you can make to a liveable future is to stop eating meat altogether.
Eating animals accounts for 18 percent of global warming emissions, whereas cars, trucks and planes contibute 13 percent. Just as driving a smaller car can make a contribution so can cutting back on meat. If each American skipped one chicken meal per week, it would be equivalent to taking half a million cars off the roads.
The Live Earth Survival Handbook says: “refusing meat” is “the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint”.
If all the 4WD meat eaters of Manly would ride a bicycle and grill vegetables at their BBQ, maybe their children could survive just a little longer in the long hot decades of mega-summer ahead.
image from mnly

Insecticides and the mass death of bees

Researchers have identified an Australian virus as a possible factor in the death of bees. Bees are essential in fruit growing industries to pollenate almonds, apples blue berries and lemons. They are worth $US14 billion to US agriculture.

The honey which is produced by the bees in the American plantations is so heavily contaminated with pesticides that it is treated as a waste product and is not consumable.

Could it be that the death of the bees has something to do with collecting all those toxic substances? Might the toxins make them susceptible to illness, such as viruses? Would the bees be better able to resist illness if they didn't have to carry around so much poison instead of pure pollen and concentrate it in the honeycomb in their hives?

Unpackaged food.

The Manly Food Coop is the place in Manly to buy unpackaged food. As well as fresh food and vegetables from organic farmers, organically grown dried food in bulk and goods in recyclable containers are available. Environmentally-friendly cleaning agents can be purchased in bulk.
Bring your own containers or use recycled containers and environmentally-responsible paper bags at the shop.
Members enjoy shopping at a cheaper rate and energy point can be earned for various jobs which need to be done to further reduce the prices you pay.
Unpackaged goods reduce the load of your shopping on the environment. You don't need to throw away all your containers and buy them again next time.