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.

Larger view
An interactive map of Manly featuring the Manly Food Cooperative is now found in the right sidebar of this blog. You can view it as a traditional map, as a satellite view (sat) or as a hybrid of both (hyb). Zoom in or out to look around the area.

Happy hour for vegetables and fruit

Every Saturday and Thursday between 4 and 6 in the afternoon is happy hour. All fruit and vegetables will be available at a 25% discount at these times.

Thanks to edible culture for the graphic.

World Environment Day Expo Warringah

The Coop had at stall at the Warringah World Environment Day Expo which was held at Dee Why Lagoon on Sunday 27 May 2007.
There were also stalls exhibiting matters of environmental interest such as wildlife and feral animals, frogs, lizards, flying foxes as well as information on sustainable energy and water storage.
This video shows some of the interesting moments at the expo.

Tour of the Co-op

On Sunday 3. June 2007 at 2 pm there will be a tour of the Manly Food Cooperative. This is part of the Manly sustainability events being organised by the Manly Council for that day.
If you would like to come and find out more about the Co-op, please be there on Sunday at 2 pm.
Original graphic deleted.
Thanks to MNLY for this image.

Co-op Community Party

Free!
Everyone welcome
3.00 - 6.00pm
Sunday, 20 May 2007
North Steyne Surf Club
Featuring:

• Great entertainment
• local bands and musicians
• Wonderful food
• Kids activities
• Stalls
• Co-op information
• Healthy eating tips
• Environmental living tips
• Great raffle prizes

For information or to help with the party:
Ring 9976 0115
Email jaimehilbert@yahoo.ca

Bee disappearance and mobile phones

Research has found a link between the disappearance of bees and mobile phone radiation. Mobiles may be the reason why bees cannot find their way home. The towers interfere with their navigation. This suggests that the love of mobile phones may be the reason why there will be serious famines in coming years as food crops are not fertilised.
In addition it is suggested that mobiles will bring a wave of premature senility as current generations of young phone users become middle age, because they kill brain cells.
Finnish research has also established a link between long-term mobile phone use and brain tumours on the side of the brain where the phone is held.
Photo by Yewenyi

Reduce packaging

This video on the effects of plastic packaging on our oceans reinforces the efforts of the coop to reduce waste and bring your own containers.

GM corn linked to bee deaths

A recent study has suggested that the mass deaths of bees in North America and Europe may be linked to genetically modified crops. Bees fed on a diet of GM maize pollen die in large numbers if they are infested by parasites. Healthy bees appear to be not affected.
Bees play a crucial role in agriculture pollenating plants from strawberries, apples and cucumbers to almonds. Without them, the work of bees has to be done by human hand. In the USA, farmers already have to pay bee keepers to bring hives to their crop. Almond growers pay $150 per hive.
The health effect on bees does not occur until the bees are weakened from another source. Similar studies on the effect on unhealthy humans have not been carried out.
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."
Albert Einstein.

GE Farming

Victorian farmers are lobbying for permission to grow genetically manipulated crops, arguing that they need to do this to compete on international markets. In Brandenburg, Germany the same arguments are being used by farmers growing GE crops against their neighbouring organic and conventional farmers who are trying to protect their right to grow crops which are not contaminated by GE substances in the environment.
As well as the effect of GE crops on surrounding farms, the health effects if they are consumed are now just beginning to be established. It was reported here that there is a toxic effect on kidneys and livers of research animals.
GE foodstuffs contain substances which have never before been consumed by humans in their entire genetic history. We have not co-evolved with these substances as we have with other foodstuffs so our digestive systems have not evolved strategies for dealing with them. These substances have been shown to find their way into the bloodstream.
GE substances are unknown in the evolution of all life forms. No animals or plants have yet adapted to living with them. Unlike natural toxins which are processed by the organism which consumes them through specialised organs developed for dealing with them, GE substances are strangers to living beings.
Farmers cover their risks by insuring themselves against legal claims from those who can prove they have suffered losses. Insurance companies can insure against the losses of individual farmers, but the broader social damage cannot be insured and money cannot compensate adequately for permanent injuries to the body.
Maybe a better approach for future competitiveness of farmers would be to ensure their region is known internationally as GE free.

Toxicity in GE maize approved for Australia

Genetically-engineered maize which has toxic effects on the kidney and liver of laboratory rats has been cleared for use as food for humans and animals. This maize has been authorised for markets in Australia as well as other countries.
Would you know if you are eating GE maize? In restaurants, for example? Would you know that you got sick from the maize oil used for cooking or in a salad dressing?
Meanwhile in Europe, organic farmers are trying to protect their regions from the damaging effects on farming caused by the introduction of GE crops. These include contamination by GE pollen and the effects on bees producing organic honey.

Birds eye view.

You can now see the coop from the perspective of a lorikeet on this wikimapia map.

Global warming

Shopping at the coop is a contribution to reduction of global warming. Together we can prevent Manly from going under water.
The coop encourages you to think about and act on a number of things when shopping.
Bring your own containers. Wasteful packaging not only rubbishes the environment but also uses energy. Transporting packaged food requires more energy than bulk food which you pack in your own container. Remaking containers for single use wastes large amounts of energy.
Buy local produce. The coop sells a range of local seasonal produce which is organically grown. The high energy use in transporting food from the other side of the world is avoided. Is it really necessary to eat mangos in winter? Try creative cooking instead.
Use sustainable transport. Shopping by bicycle is easy in Manly. You can park at the door. So often we see multi-purpose wheeled vehicles parked illegally with the motor running while someone is shopping ("Honest officer, I was not parked there. See the engine is running!"). A car trip for a carton of milk costs the Earth.
Support responsible farming. The coop researches all its products for sustainability in all respects. You can be sure that what you are buying is not costing the future.