Co-op Discussion Group on Food & Sustainability

The Earth Institute of West Michigan, part of the Northwest Earth Institute, offers discussion group courses on environmental issues. Their newest course is called Menu for the Future, it's a 6 session discussion course exploring the connection between food and sustainability.

Discussion groups meet weekly or biweekly for 6 sessions to discuss each section of the book. The cost for the course is the price of the book.

Menu for the Future will tackle subjects such as the effects of modern industrial eating habits, GMOs, farming for the future, food and health, the creation of a more just food system, and the benefits of eating local.

We would love to start up a WM Co-op Discussion Group! If you are interested please email Tara.

Visit www.nwei.org for more info.

Get more involved!

The WM Co-op is holding a special meeting on Tues. March 25th, 7pm at Media Rare.

We will be forming subcommittees to tackle various issues related to the co-op, such as:
Marketing/Education
Products/Producers
Membership/Volunteers
and Vision for the Future

Subcommittees will be made up of members of the co-op with one board member as a representative on each.

All members are invited and encouraged to attend!! If you wish to become more involved with the co-op this is a great opportunity!!

We really hope you can make it!!

Thanks!

Good news... for once!

There has been so much doom and gloom in the farming business lately, it's nice to finally read a story where someone is doing something right.

A story appeared in the Associated Press today about an apple orchard in Clayton Township that is bringing a unique approach to their beetle problem.

Instead of using pesticides, this farmer, Jim Koan, is using hogs to patrol his apple orchards and eat fallen apples that contain the larvae of a very destructive beetle. The article claims that "Left in the orchard for three days, the pigs gobbled down 98 percent of the fallen apples. Tests showed virtually all the larvae were digested." This keeps the larvae from erupting and infesting more apples, which is what makes them fall.

A tree fruit pest-management specialist at Michigan State University, Dave Epstein, claims that "The little guys moved through like a pack of Hoover vacuums."

I love the last quote in the article where the farmer, Jim Koan says "I think if my granddad was alive today and he saw how excited I am about doing this and this information that we're gaining on this, he would just look at me and say, 'Jeez, you're stupid. You didn't know that?'" It's just goes to show you how FAR farms have gotten away from doing things the right way, and how they are slowly but surely coming back to their roots, understanding that the way their grandfathers and great grandfathers did things worked pretty well.

You can find the whole article online.