Should the Coop Carry Genetically Modified Foods?

Volume HH, Number 18 September 5, 2013

O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E P A R K S L O P E F O O D C O O P

Established1973

By Lily Rothman

The first week of Septem-ber has long been associ-

ated with a very specificapple: the stereotypical RedDelicious presented toteachers on the first day ofschool, a nice-looking applebut not always the tastiest.This choice of apple makessense, considering theweather one expects for this

time of year. The last balmydays of summer, after all, arenot the time for the tart andcrispy local apples thatCoop shoppers can soonexpect. At least here on theEast Coast, it will be a fewmore weeks before the bestapples, the kind that fill theproduce aisle when theweather gets a little cooler,

Early Rosh Hashanah Means Fewer Apple Choices

Should the Coop Carry Genetically Modified Foods?

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 3

Next General Meeting on September 24The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on thelast Tuesday of each month. The August General Meeting willbe on Tuesday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m. at MS 51, 350 FifthAve., between Fourth and Fifth Sts. Enter on Fourth St. cul-de-sac. The Fourth St. entrance is handicap-accessible.

The agenda is in this Gazette, on the Coop website atwww.foodcoop.com and available as a flier in the entryway ofthe Coop. For more information about the GM and about Coopgovernance, please see the center of this issue.

By Kristin Wartman

Should the Coop carry genetically modifiedfoods? According to the Coop’s mission

statement, “We offer a diversity of productswith an emphasis on organic, minimallyprocessed and healthful foods. We seek toavoid products that depend on the exploita-tion of others. We support non-toxic, sustain-able agriculture.” Based on these principles, isit antithetical to our mission statement tocarry products that use genetically modifiedorganisms (GMOs)?

Indeed, the environmental policy of theFood Coop clearly states that the Coop will“sell no products that are genetically engi-neered or contain products of genetic engi-neering, except that salesof genetically engineeredproducts shall not be dis-continued, unless there isa similarly priced equiva-lent product that is notgenetically engineered.Genetically engineeredproducts for which thereare adequate substitutesas described above shall be replaced as quick-ly as possible by the substitute product.”

Some of the more obvious products cur-rently on our shelves that do contain GMOsare: Crispix, Raisin Bran, Goldfish and someKashi products. But rooting out GMOs is hard-er than you might think. That’s because GMOshave made their way into places you might notsuspect: anything containing non-organiccanola oil, non-organic soybean oil, any prod-uct containing non-organic sugar derived fromsugar beets, non-organic soy products and anyproducts containing non-organic corn are alllikely to contain GMOs. Ingredients derivedfrom GMO corn can also be present undernames like, xantham gum, natural flavors,ascorbic acid, citric acid and cellulose.

In addition, non-organic milk, meat, eggs orfarm-raised fish are all likely to contain GMOssince those animals were likely fed GMO corn.

GMO corn is so pervasive that many expertsbelieve that even organic corn has been taint-ed with GM proteins. Cross-pollination bywind, bees and birds makes GMOs hard tocontain in the wild, and given that 88 percentof corn grown in the U.S. today is geneticallymodified, it is tough to avoid.

Allen Zimmerman, the Coop’s producebuyer, is fairly certain however, that the Coop’sproduce is GMO-free. “It’s hard becausenobody identifies whether their produce isGMO or not,” Zimmerman said. “But wheneverthere is a crop that is likely GMO, I don’t orderit and I wait until I can buy organic.” Zimmer-man said that he stopped carrying Hawaiianpapaya since it is GMO, and instead buys Mex-

ican papaya, which hesays has “no hint” ofGMOs. As for the corn theCoop carries, Zimmermansays he is fairly certainthat the integrated pestmanagement corn fromupstate New York is GMO-free. “We know these farm-ers and they are next to

other farmers that we know don’t use GMOcorn. This is in the heart of organic New YorkState so the chance of contamination is low.”Zimmerman added that there is nothingabsolutely certain about anything labeled“organic,” since anything can be contaminatedbut the best the Coop can do is “avoid thethings we know and trust the people wetrust—and I think we’re doing a pretty goodjob.”

As for the packaged foods on our shelves,shoppers have to be pretty savvy to discernGMO products. With no uniform labeling sys-tem required in the U.S., it can be difficult totell where GMOs lurk. “I know it is really hardto distinguish them sometimes,” said memberSarah Benesch. “People need to be educatedbecause I don’t think they know—they think,Oh it’s organic, it’s not GMO—but we know

ILLU

STRA

TIO

N B

Y D

IAN

E M

ILLE

R

IN THIS ISSUEPlow-to-Plate Movie Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Wordsprouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Coop Calendar, Governance Information, Mission Statement . . 9Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Photo Essay: Tuscany and France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Exciting Workslot Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Community Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

CoopEventHighlights

Thu, Sep 5• Food Class: Healthy Indian Cuisine 7:30 p.m.

Fri, Sep 6• Film Night: Darkon 7:30 p.m.

Tue, Sep 10• Safe Food Committee Film Night:What’s For Dinner 7:00 p.m.

Sat, Sep 14• Wordsprouts:Back-to-School Discussion 4:00 p.m.

Sat, Sep 28• Coop 40th Anniversary Party2:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue.

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2

Rooting out GMOs is harderthan you might think.That’s because GMOs

have made their way into placesyou might not suspect.

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM

2 � September 5, 2013 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY

Read the Gazette while you’re standing on line OR online at www.foodcoop.com

that soybeans are completelyinfected now.” She added, “GMOsare in all soy products now, so doesthat mean we shouldn’t carry tofu?That’s a good question. And I don’teat corn anymore because it’s allGMO, so I just stay away from it. Aslong as products are marked GMO,people would at least know.”

Other members were surprisedto learn that the Coop carries GMOproducts. “I didn’t know that wecarried them,” said Coop memberMelody Wells. “But I assume thatsome of the packaged items areGMO. I think that we should atleast have them labeled clearly asproducts that contain GMOsbecause I would really like to knowif what I purchase has any GMOingredients.”

Coop member Michelle Lau alsothought that the Coop specificallydid not carry GMO products. “Intu-itively, I don’t think we should carrythem,” Lau said. “I do know that inEurope they are banned. It justseems like it’s not a sustainableway of growing food and it doesn’tsupport local populations.” Shecontinued, “But I don’t knowenough about the health effects orthe research behind them. To forman opinion I need to be moreinformed. But my first instinct is tosay, ‘No, I don’t think we shouldcarry them.’”

Members Jul ien Greco andChristopher Eckel both said that aslong as products containing GMOswere labeled clearly, they had noproblem with the Coop carryingthem. “For me, it’s not an issue ofwhether we should restrict them,it’s an issue of how we should labelthem—whether there’s a section for[GMOs], or a naming conventionthat’s very easily recognizable,”Eckel said. “Just something wherepeople can be informed and makethe decision themselves.”

“I think that it ’s okay to carrythem as long as the products arelabeled,” Greco said. “This gives thecustomers the option and providesthe transparency to see what theyare buying. I am not opposed toselling them as long as they arelabeled.”

Still other members thought thateven selling GMOs is contrary towhat the Coop stands for. Quite afew members were under theimpression that shopping at theCoop was “safe” and that potential-ly harmful products weren’t on ourshelves. “One of the nice thingsabout the Coop is that you cancome here and you know that theproduce you buy has beenresearched and I feel that it is goingto be safe for me and my family toconsume,” said member BlancaQuintanilla. “I know that we carrysome products [with GMOs] andthat just makes me have to read allthe labels when I’m shopping and itjust slows the process of shopping

down. With the Coop, you just wantto come in and go out since it isusually very crowded. I’d rather nothave to worry about reading all ofthe labels when I want to buysomething at the Coop.”

Greg Todd, the facilitator of theCoop’s GMO committee, said thebest way for shoppers to avoidGMO products is to look for thenon-GMO certified stickers on theshelves. Todd said that between500 and 600 products are currentlylabeled as such. “This is the mostcertain way to assure that you arebuying a non-GMO product,” hesaid. “You can also buy USDA certi-fied organic but that is a little lesscertain.” Otherwise, Todd advisedshoppers to avoid products con-taining known GMOs like corn, soy,canola and sugar from sugar beets.

Even though the U.S. does notrequire labeling of GMOs, manymembers felt that the Coop shouldbe operating at a higher standard.“ I know that in the U.S. i t ’s notmandatory that products belabeled as GMO,” said Wells. “Butthe Coop stands for a kind of pro-gressive community and an alterna-tive to mainstream markets, so Ithink it would be the intelligentthing to do to at least clearly labelthe foods so that people know whatthey are buying.”

But according to Todd, labelingall products containing GMOs atthe Coop is close to impossible.“Currently there is no third party toverify that what we suspect to beGMO is in fact GMO, and we arejust operating on what we believe,”Todd said. He added that back in2000 the committee read 8 ,000labels for GMO ingredients andsent letters to manufacturers ask-ing about GMO ingredients in theirproducts. “We got a five percentresponse rate,” Todd said. “Thesecompanies don’t want us to know.”Without confirmation that prod-ucts do in fact contain GMOs, Toddsaid that Coop staff is concernedabout getting sued. “We got push-back from the staff. They are notwilling to label foods that are sus-pected to contain GMOs without100 percent certainty.”

Member Sara Rottenberg wasonce on the GMO labeling commit-tee. “It would be great if there wereno GMOs whatsoever because thenwe could just know that what we’rebuying is not GMO,” Rottenbergsaid. “Labeling would be great too,but it would be even better if peo-ple could just come to the Coopand know that everything they arebuying is non-GMO. It’s very diffi-cult at this point to get everythingnon-GMO. But I think we could livewithout it and I think it is importantto strive to live without out it and Ithink that it is really dangerous theway that the U.S. is not labelingGMOs.”

Others were concerned aboutsome of the health risks that havebeen associated with GMO crops.“I don’t think we should carry GMO

products because I don’t real lythink they ’ re safe and I ’m con-cerned about what kind of impactthey will have on my health andthe health of other people,” saidmember Chr is t ine Robinson.“Because even i f there doesn ’ tseem to be any immediate effects,I ’m concerned about long-termexposure.” Robinson added that

since the Coop has a reputationfor having high standards for thequality of food it sells, she thinkswe should maintain our standardsand not se l l GMOs. “ I f we candecide not to sell GMOs and main-ta in a pro f i t and mainta in ourmembership then that meansother stores or businesses coulddo the same thing.” ■

PHO

TOS

BY W

ILLI

AM

FA

RRIN

GTO

N

Modified FoodsC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM


appear in stores. This year,however, demand for applesin this less-than-ideal sea-son will be higher. RoshHashanah—the Jewish NewYear, a day on which applesare a traditional festivalfood—will begin on theevening of September 4,welcoming in the Hebrewyear 5774.

Observers who feel likethat’s particularly early aren’timagining things. This year’sRosh Hashanah date on theGregorian solar calendar, thecalendar used in everyday lifehere in Brooklyn, is the earli-est possible day that it canbe. Jewish holidays begin inthe evening—Rosh Hashanahbegins on September 4 buttakes place on September 5and, for Jews who observe twodays of the holiday, Septem-ber 6—and the last time thatevening was September 4 wasnearly 50 years ago. The dateon which the holiday falls isdetermined by the placementof an earlier holiday,Passover, on the lunar calen-dar, but the calendars canonly get so far apart beforethey are realigned by leapyears. Next year’s RoshHashanah won’t start untilSeptember 24—but, in themean time, Jewish Coopmembers who wish to cele-brate with local apples facefewer options.

That’s because Coop mem-bers who feel like the appleson offer in the summer aren’tas good aren’t imaginingthings either, says Coop pro-duce buyer Allen Zimmerman.

“Nature determines whenthe apples are ripe, never the

market,” says Zimmerman.“My experience working inproduce at the Coop for 25years is that almost everyfirst week of September isthe same.”

The apples served on RoshHashanah aren’t just any

fruit. Paired with honey, theycarry deep meaning.

Nature’s hand in the pro-duce selection means that,while pears may be plentifulcome the New Year, apples willbe few and far between.Though Zimmerman says thatapples are popular at theCoop year-round, the localpeak is in the fall. Each year, asshoppers may notice, the lastof that fall crop eventuallyruns out, at which time thecrop in the southern hemi-sphere are harvested whenthey’re ready to eat;in late spring, applesbegin to show upfrom places likeSouth Africa, NewZealand, Argentinaand Chile. Late sum-mer does begin tosee the first signs ofthe coming appleboom—just twoweeks before RoshHashanah this year,the Coop offeredtwo varieties oflarge, hardy NewZealand apples andtwo varieties ofsmaller apples fromHepworth Farms inMilton, N.Y.—butthe cycle of theapple harvest hasyet to restart in thisarea.

Not that the

cycle can really be countedon, these days. “Before chaot-ic climate change became away of life,” says Zimmerman,“there was pretty fair pre-dictability, down to the day[the apples would ripen].”Now, the apples might comeearly—or late, worse for RoshHashanah celebrants whojust want something to serveat their new year’s parties.

After all, the apples servedon Rosh Hashanah aren’t justany fruit. Paired with honey,they carry deep meaning. Justas there are many Americantraditions about what iseaten on New Year’s Eve,from the champagne we popat midnight to the collardgreens that Southerners con-sume to usher in a year ofprosperity, Rosh Hashanahcomes with symbolic foodtraditions. The sweetness ofapples and honey stands for

the wish for a sweet new year.But those who hope for

such a year need not despairif they can’t find as manyapples this year as theywould like, says Rabbi MarcKatz of Congregation BethElohim, located within walk-ing distance from the Coopon Garfield Place at EighthAvenue. Apples and honey,while probably the best-known Rosh Hashanah foodfor Jewish Coop members, area long-standing tradition butnot necessary to celebratethe holiday.

“It’s not like Pesach. Youcan’t have the Seder if youdon’t have maror,” says Katz,referring to the bitter herbs(maror) consumed at the festi-val meal (Seder) that marks thespringtime holiday known inEnglish as Passover. “At RoshHashanah, the foods are gar-nish on the ceremony.” In other

words, while thesymbolic Passoverfoods are a key partof the way the holi-day must be cele-brated, the symbolicRosh Hashanahfoods are just a mat-ter of tradition.

And Jewish foodtraditions are, luck-ily for Coop shop-pers, nothing if notd i v e r s e — w h i c hmeans that thereare plenty of otherfoods that can beeaten to celebratethe holiday.

Apples andhoney (becausethere will be atleast a small appleselection, andhoney isn’t a sea-sonal item): Apples

and honey are a traditionamong Ashkenazim, the Jew-ish population that traces itspast through Central andEastern Europe and thatplayed a key role in develop-ing Brooklyn’s own Jewish tra-ditions. Katz says it’s probablethat with apples, as with manyother ceremonial foods, themythology came after theywere already being eaten tocelebrate a holiday (because,at that time, the apples hap-pened to be in season).

Round challah: The usual-ly oblong ceremonial bread ismade into a circular shape inhonor of the holiday, to sym-bolize the cyclical nature ofthe year and of life. The bread,like apples, can also bedipped in honey in hopes thatthis go ‘round is a sweet one.

Pomegranates: Accordingto legend, a pomegranate has613 seeds, the same number

as there are commandmentsin the Torah, and the fruit isalso favored for being nativeto Israel. Eating a pomegran-ate symbolizes one’s wish fora year of doing good deeds.

Fish: Some Jewish tradi-tions suggest eating a fishhead, as Rosh Hashanah lit-erally translates to “head ofthe year.” The head belongsto a fish because the fish is afertile animal for a fertileyear. At the same time, manyo t h e r s — p a r t i c u l a r l ySephardic Jews, those withhistory in and around Spainbefore the Inquisition—avoidfish because the Hebrewword for “fish” sounds like theHebrew word for “worry.”

Gourds, leeks, fenu-greek, beets, dates: Thesefive foods all have symbolicmeanings, at least partlybased on the phonetic simi-larity between their Hebrewnames and other luckyHebrew words, and are thusgood omens for the year—gourds for one’s merits to berecognized and one’s faults tobe erased; fenugreek forabundance; and leeks, beetsand dates for getting rid ofone’s enemies.

No nuts: In the Jewishmystical tradition calledgematria, each Hebrew letterhas a numerical value. Wordsthat add up to the same num-ber are linked. Because theword for “nut” has the samevalue as the word for “sin,” it’sconsidered a bad omen to eatnuts when you’re starting afresh year.

“There are very few univer-sal Jewish foods,” says Katz,“because Jews are all over theworld.” And, apples or not,that includes the Park SlopeFood Coop. ■

Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY September 5, 2013 � 3

Rosh HashanahC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

ILLU

STRA

TIO

NS

BY D

IAN

E M

ILLE

R

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM

By John Donohue

One does not live by breadalone, which is a reason

the Coop has a monthlyreading series called “Word-sprouts.” The next event, onSaturday, September 14, at 4p.m., at the Coop, is a specialafternoon discussion withnoted children’s book authorLauren Thompson, children’sbook editor Erin Clarke, andlocal elementary schoollibrarian Adam Marcus. All

three are Coop members, butnon-members are welcomeat all Wordsprouts events.Bring your kids.

The three will be talkingabout what makes for greatchildren’s books—both illus-trated books and chapterbooks—as well as whatbooks kids like to read, howtastes may or may not havechanged since the introduc-tion of advanced digitaltechnologies in everyday life,

and they will touch on therole of reading in general.

Thompson is the author ofmore than 30 children’s pic-ture books, including theNew York Times bestseller,Polar Bear Night, and the pop-ular Little Quack and Mouse’sFirst series. She was also achildren’s book editor for 18years before leaving officelife to write full-time. “As apicture book editor, my jobwas to bring out the best ofthe author, the illustrator,the designer, the productionteam, the marketing team,directing them all toward acoherent expression of whatthe book is and who it’s for,all the while taking care oftender egos and staying outof the limelight,” she says.“The editor is the invisiblehand who makes it all possi-ble but leaves everyone elsethinking that they did it.”

Thompson, who has beenworking in the business fordecades says, “I don’t thinkkids’ basic interests havechanged much—they stillwant good, engaging stories,they want solid information,they want to laugh. I thinkkids have gotten moresophisticated due to mediaand they enjoy an edgier,snarky tone.”

Clarke is an executive edi-

tor at Alfred A. Knopf Booksfor Young Readers, animprint of Random HouseChildren’s Books. She workson a wide range of projectsfrom picture books to youngadult fiction. Books she hasedited include the #1 NewYork Times bestseller The BookThief by Markus Zusak, the #1New York Times bestsellerWonder by R. J. Palacio, theTia Lola Stories by JuliaAlvarez, The Flying BeaverBrothers graphic novel seriesby Maxwell Eaton III, and DogLoves Books by Louise Yates.

She is interested inexploring “how publishersdistinguish between differ-ent categories. The linebetween young adult novelsand adult literary fiction isincreasingly blurred, forinstance. What’s the differ-ence between writing formiddle grade audiences ver-sus young adult audiences?”She’ll also talk about “otheraspects of publishing chil-dren’s literature such as therole of teachers and librari-ans the key awards (New-bery, Caldecott and Printzawards given by the Ameri-can Library Association).

Marcus, a New York CityTeaching Fellow, has beenteaching for the New YorkCity Department of Educa-tion for 12 years; the last 10of which have been spent at

P.S. 32 in Carroll Gardens. In2009 he took over thedefunct school library pro-gram at P.S. 32, started aLibrary Advisory Committeeand raised $500,000 to reno-vate and expand the spaceinto a vital working library.He has taught pre-K, kinder-garten (in his school’sAsperger program), third,fourth and fifth grades. Helives in Prospect Heightswith his wife Maya and dogLittle Wolf.

He looks at children’sbooks from a professionaland a personal point of view.“I still read picture booksand love them,” Marcussays. “Children need to beable to make their ownchoices when reading forpleasure and learn to knowthat when they are not quiteable to read a book that theywant to read that they havesomeone read it with them.”He’ll be able to give insighton how educational stan-dards have an impact onlearning to read.

The three Coop membersare looking forward to a dis-cussion about children’sbooks on Sept. 14 at 4 pm.Bring your children and joinin the back-to-school fun. ■

To book a Wordsprouts event, contact Paula Bernstein at [email protected].



By Adam Rabiner

W hat’s for Dinner? is ashort film that runs just

under half an hour—but it’scomprehensive. Set in China,What’s for Dinner? examines theeffects of the industrializationof pig farming on publichealth and the environment,not just in China, butthroughout the world.

China’s issues with indus-trialized farming mirror thoseof the United States. Forexample, “intensive agricul-ture” (akin to ConcentratedAnimal Feeding Operations,CAFOs) is driving small farm-ers out of business. Manyfamilies used to raise aboutfour pigs per year; now fewfamilies do. The overhead istoo high. Instead, a singleproducer will house around3,000 pigs in six houses.

These intensive breedingoperations parallel those inthe U.S.—animals forced intosmall spaces, fed chemicalsand injected with medicines

and hormones to speed theirgrowth. A woman interviewedsays she never buys or eatspigs’ ears because that’swhere they receive theirshots. Another says thesepractices are humans harm-ing other humans.

And humans are beingharmed, in more ways thanone. In the past 20 years,increased meat consumptionhas led to a dramatic rise in“Western” illnesses: heartdisease, cancer, diabetes,obesity, hypertension, etc.The environment has alsobeen damaged. Once-cleanrivers that ran through vil-lages, towns and cities arenow clogged with sewage,drugs, pesticide and garbage.Waterways that teemed withfish and wildlife, where peo-ple used to bathe and washtheir clothes, have becometoxic, smelly nuisances thatno one cares for. Carbondioxide and other green-house gases are on the rise,

contributing to global cli-mate change.

These changes have comeon rapidly. Only a generationago most people ate a mainlyvegetarian diet. Meat wasscarce and primarily a sidedish, not the main course,and most pigs were exportedto Hong Kong. As the Chi-nese became wealthier, theirmeat consumption increaseddramatically. Today the Chi-nese feed 36% of their cropsto animals. This exceedswhat used to go to people,and China now faces poten-tial food shortages.

Attitudes towards meathave changed, too. Today it isa sign of prosperity, of beingpart of the middle class, toeat meat every day or to dineat a fast food restaurant suchas Donald Macky, a McDon-ald’s rip off. Fast food restau-rants, like KFC, which beganto proliferate in the 1990s,are symbols of good healthand bodily strength, the

future, progress, destina-tions, mostly for the young.Today it would be rude toserve a guest a vegetarianmeal.

Yet just as there is anascent alternative foodmovement in the UnitedStates, so too does Chinahave its dissenters. In Beijingyou can find the owner of therestaurant Vegan Hut, whoconfesses that his friendsthink he is crazy, the veganmusician who says that ani-mals are his friends and hehas no desire to eat them,and public health officialsdismayed at the alarmingincrease in illness.

These mavericks acknowl-edge that the Chinese do notwant to go back to their oldlifestyles. China benefitsfrom economic growth and abetter standard of living.However, they argue, the cur-rent path is not sustainableand they are calling for theircountrymen to buy and eat

less meat. In a country wherevegetables are cheap, plenti-ful and varied and have beenconsumed for centuries, thisshould not be too tall anorder. As the friend of the ani-mals observed, eating meatis more a desire of the mindthan the body. ■

What’s For Dinner will show onTuesday, September 10, 7 p.m.,Park Slope Food Coop, 782 UnionSt., 2nd floor. Free and open to thepublic. Refreshments will be served.

W O R D S P R O U T S

S A F E F O O D C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T

Plow-to-Plate Movie Series Presents: What’s For Dinner?

The Coop is looking for one memberto represent the Coop on the

Steering Committee of a newly-forming,citywide solidarity/cooperative sector

organization.Project expected to last through May 2014.

Interested members must have excellent attendance,been a member for 5+ years, have a thorough knowledgeof the Coop’s member-owned and -operated culture and

values, and professional experience in strategic planning.

Travel to/from meetings, attendance atmeeting and any additional committee work

included in workslot credit.If you are interested or have further

questions, please contact Ann Herpel orJoe Holtz at 718-622-0560 or

[email protected].

A Special Evening of Wordsprouts for Kids

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



By David Barouh

“Hierarchy” is defined asany system of persons

or things ranked one aboveanother—from the Greek“hierarches”: rule by high priest.PSFC hierarchies are subordi-nated to the agency of thedemocratic General Meeting.But consider Gazette policies,which have managed to cir-cumvent—even ignore—thatsubordination.

There’s the tight controlover content of member sub-missions in defiance of thestill-standing 1977 GM reso-lution requiring a writer’spermission to edit their con-tent. And its word-count lim-its, arranged hierarchicallyaccording to some perceivedimportance or authority ofCoop members, have beenimposed without approvalof—or even discussion by—the GM. From “Gazette Editori-al Policies (December 2011)”:

Reporter Articles—1200words—extended in somecases at discretion of Editor

Coordinators’ Reports—1200 words

Committee Reports—1000words

Member Submitted Arti-cles—750 words

Letters—500 wordsThe phrase “extended in

some cases at discretion ofEditor” means little; reporterarticles routinely exceed 1,200words, often well beyond2,000. Members’ submissionscannot exceed their limits byone word.

Are Word-Count LimitsJustified?

All members are equalCoop—and therefore Gazette

—owners, guaranteed freeaccess to its pages by the1977 resolution. This appliesto both reporters’ and mem-bers’ submissions, and wasrecognized in Gazette articlesand internal documents atleast until 1994, after which itwas either forgotten about orignored, with the editorsassuming de facto control overcontent.

The 750 word-limit wasintroduced by the Gazette in1984 (11/23/1984 Gazette). Let-ters were reduced to 500words in 1994. The reasongiven was, “in order to con-tinue publishing as many let-ters...as possible,” (2/17/1994Gazette) implying space—andtherefore cost—issues. Com-mittee and CoordinatorReports were capped at 1000and 1200 words respectivelyin 1997 (11/20/1997 Gazette).Whether printing costs wereever an issue is questionable,but they’re not one now.

Are They Useful?The only exception in

recent memory to word-countlimits was Nancy Romer’s9/8/2011 member submission:“My 53 Hours in Jail Protestingthe Tar Sands Oil Pipeline,”her personal account of theAugust/2011 Keystone-XLPipeline protests in Washing-ton DC and the mass arrestsand lockdowns that followed.The article ran over 1,500words and had originallyincluded photographs. Per-haps recognizing the piece’svalue, the editor nonethelessapplied restrictions, tellingNancy to either reduce theword count by over half oreliminate the photographs.

She chose the latter, and thearticle, which could—andshould—have been on thefront-page, was buried onpage 14 of the 16-page issue—without photos. The member-ship was denied the story’s fullpotential.

It’s actually the entire mem-bership’s potential beingdenied—accounts like Nan-cy’s and presentations but-tressed by detailed researchand findings are not possiblewith these limitations. TheGazette has taken pains to pro-cure an all-professional edito-rial staff—one would think tocheck grammar and spelling,aid writers stylistically, andclarify their intentions. Butthat impression would be mis-taken; their main role is toenforce word-count limits(except for reporters) and toscrutinize submissions forcontent they deem unaccept-able—in other words, to cen-sor. In-depth, challenging orcontroversial articles face acrapshoot of individual edi-tors empowered to exercisecontrol over content—theirpersonal tastes and agendasunexamined or questioned.The result is a mediocre anduninspired publication withpaltry readership.

Do They Matter?One might ask what, after

all, can be expected from afood coop’s newsletter? Thatsadly misses the critical—indeed revolutionary—poten-tial of consumer and workercoops as alternatives to thecorporate economy’s pillage ofits environmental and socialcontext, and usurpation of itspolitics.

Food coops especially arevital in fostering alternativesto the dominance of chemi-cal agriculture. Agriculture isthe historical driver of civi-lizations, and unsustainableagriculture the surest harbin-ger of their collapse. Agricul-ture is imperiled world-wideas never before, impossibleto detail here—under theseword-count limits.

Given the transformativesocial potential of coops, ourown Coop’s prominence, andits literate and informedmembership including pro-fessionals, artists and writers,it’s telling that few from thistalent pool contribute—butunderstandable consideringthe lackluster content, littlespace to work with and cen-sorious editors looming oversubmissions like dementedsuper-egos.

No rationale justifies thishierarchical access. The Gen-eral Meeting should adoptone word-count guideline—not a limit—for all members,with word-counts substan-tially beyond it justified bywriters and irreconcilabledisagreements considered byindependent members. TheGazette, not uncharacteristi-cally, has the issue of dis-putes backwards. Writersshould not need recourse toeditor’s decisions. Rather,consistent with the 1977 GMresolution, editors should haveto seek recourse for memberwriting they object to.

Above all, editors shouldwork with writers, polishingtheir submissions and elim-inating wordiness withouteliminating content. That’swhere their expertise lies,not in enforcing censor-ship—all we get there isabuse. ■

We’re throwing a party to celebrate the Coop’s 40th birthday!Food! Music! Drinks!

AND a raffle to support the Fund for New Food CoopsMark your calendars for Saturday, September 28, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

• We need FTOP workers to help the week of September 24,especially on September 28/29

• We are also looking for DJs for workslot credit• Facepainters• Musical acts

If you are interested, send an e-mail to [email protected],or just sign up in the Membership Office.

We need fabulous items to raffle and sell at the Cash ’n Carry table.Please e-mail [email protected] if you would like to make a donation.

Write “40th” in the subject line.

The Linewaiters’ Gazette Word-Count Hierarchy

M E M B E R S U B M I S S I O N

Sudoku

Puzzle author: James Vasile. For answers, see page xx.

y

3 9 4 1 8

5 7

9 6 2

6

4 3 2

1 8 7

1 8 4 3

6

5

Sudoku is a puzzle. You are presented with a 9x9 grid ofsquares, and that grid is divided into 3x3 zones.

You solve the puzzle by filling the empty squares with single-digit numbers so that every zone, column and row

uses each of the numbers from 1 to 9.

Puzzle author: James Vasile. For answers, see page 16.

Attention Web Developers Do you want to help build the new PSFC website and fulfill your Coop work requirement at the same time? The Coop IT staff is doing a survey of our membership to determine the popularity of various web technologies. Based on the results of the survey we’ll be working with members to begin new development on foodcoop.com. If web development work for the Coop sounds good to you, please take the survey by either scanning the QR code above, or visiting: http://websurvey.foodcoop.com/

ettAyDo

PSFCkrwo

emti

eDbeWn ointewuoy phelotant

wPSFC uffuand e tisebtnemeriuqerk

? sT Ioop CeThof

fi

srepolevenewhe td luibp

pooCruyollifluemasehttaag noidsiffffats

ihbe

evrsuerdetbwell’we

develkrwo

ye mrouofne imer alupopeth

B.seigolonhcetgnikrwoeb

entmpodevel on foofspoCoehtroffok

o tpihsrbememsuoiravf otyira

ehtnodesaB rerebmemhtwi

omc.oopcood . Ifyotdoogsdnuos

rvusehtfostlusrenigebotsr

mpolevedbewIfuoy ekatesaelp

yervnew

tnemeht

krwos veur

ptht

spoCoehtroffokcannisrhetiebyyve

ooffo.yevursbew////:

yotdoogsdnuosdecoRQhetng canni

/moc.poodco

uoy ekatesaelp, itisviro,veabode

ehtngi :

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM


By Ruth Bolletino, Ph.D.

The Anti-Defamation League(ADL) (www.adl.org) is a major

civil rights/human relations educa-tion and advocacy organization deal-ing with all forms of bigotry and biasthrough education, legislation andaffirmative action. Founded in 1913“to stop the defamation of the Jewishpeople and secure justice and fairtreatment to all,” it now deals withracism, religious defamation, homo-phobia and civil rights issues includ-ing voting rights, immigration reform,affirmative action, LGBT rights, mar-riage equality, women’s equality andanti-African-American, anti-Gay andanti-Muslim issues. In an Open Letterin The New York Times, responding toFebruary’s Brooklyn College eventfeaturing the global head of BDS,ADL’s National Director accused thepresenters of “hate speech,” saying,“The BDS movement at its core isanti-Semitic.” (www.adl.org/ assets/pdf/press-center/NYT-Ad.pdf)

Scholars for Peace in the MiddleEast (www.spme.net) is an internation-al grassroots organization of nearly40,000 academics from over 3,500 uni-versities and campuses worldwide, andother scholars’ organizations. Mem-bers of over 40 chapters believe thatBDS’s “ethnic, national and religioushatreds...have no place in [our] institu-

tions, disciplines and communities.”They circulated a petition condemningBDS, explaining “We must educate thepublic about the real nature and pur-poses about BDS and the dangers it poses.” (www.spme.org/petitions/petition-26/)

Gatestone Institute - Internation-al Policy Council (gatestoneinsti-tute.org/about) is a non-partisan,not-for-profit international organiza-tion promoting human rights by pro-viding information the mainstreammedia fails to report. In a Gatestonearticle writer Michael Curtis asks, “Isthe purpose of the calls for boycottsagainst Israel and its citizens... a con-cern for the human rights or welfareof Palestinians, or actually a call ulti-mately to eliminate the state ofIsrael? If there were a real concern forhuman rights for the Palestinians,why are there not calls for a freePalestinian press, for the release ofjournalists from Palestinian prisonsor for an end to corruption in thePalestinian leadership? Instead,these calls for boycott look suspi-ciously like a racist response to theexistence of a Jewish state.”(www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3095/boycott-purpose)

Simon Wiesenthal Center(www.wiesenthal.com) is an interna-tional Jewish human rights organiza-

tion confronting anti-Semitism, hateand terrorism. It is an accreditedNGO at international organizationsincluding the U.N., UNESCO, OSCE,Organization of American States,Latin American Parliament andCouncil of Europe. The Center’sreport documenting BDS’ origins,activities and aims says that BDS“presents itself as a pro-peace initia-tive but in reality is a thinly-veiled,anti-Israel and anti-Semitic ‘poisonpill,’ whose goal is the demonization,delegitimization, and ultimatedemise of the Jewish State. Taking apage from the late twentieth centuryworldwide campaign against theSouth African Apartheid regime, BDScasts a global anti-Israel net on cam-puses, among unions, entertainersand Churches.” (www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7B54d385e6-f1b9-4e9f-8e94-890c3e6dd277%7D/report_313.PDF)

All these organizations charge thatBDS (1) uses a double standard, sin-gling out Israel for criticism whileignoring major human rights abusersin the Arab and Muslim world andbeyond; (2) vilifies Israel, using falseinformation and distorting Israel’sactions with insidious comparisonswith the Germany’s Nazi and SouthAfrica’s Apartheid regimes; and (3)denies Israel’s right to exist.

One glaring example of false infor-mation is the accusation that Israel isan apartheid state, segregating anddiscriminating against Arabs. Thecomparison is unfounded. SouthAfrica’s apartheid policies weredirected against the majority popula-tion in their own country. Gaza andthe West Bank are not part of Israel.(Gaza, controlled by Hamas, becameindependent when Israel, in an efforttoward peace, removed its settlers,sometimes forcibly, and turned overcontrol to the Palestinians. The WestBank is considered a “disputed terri-tory,” whose status is to be deter-mined through future negotiations.)Unlike apartheid South Africa where

blacks were denied citizenship rights,Arab Israelis are full citizens with thesame civil rights, liberties and protec-tion under the law as Jewish Israelis.They vote, participate in every level ofgovernment (including Israeli’s par-liament and Supreme Court), attenduniversities and technical institutes,work with other Israelis in variousprofessions and own businesses.Some are lawyers, doctors, judgesand ambassadors; some serve in themilitary. The apartheid accusation isabsurd.

In a Commentary magazine articleon BDS, Hannah Rosenthal, the U.S.State Department’s former SpecialEnvoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, pointed out (the reportersummarized) “that it is harder forsome to identify anti-Semitism whenit exhibits itself as a criticism of Israelwhich is not anti-Semitic per se.” Thereporter then directly quoted Rosen-thal, who observed, but “oppositionto the state of Israel morphs into anti-Semitism easily and often.” Rosen-thal quoted the often-citedframework for identifying anti-Jewishhatred: “When Israel is demonized,when Israel is held to different stan-dards than the rest of the countries,and when Israel is delegitimized,these cases are not disagreementswith a policy of Israel. This is anti-Semitism.” (www.www.commentary-magazine.com/2011/04/07/boycott-of-israel-is-antisemitic/). ■

Members Sought for PSFC Personnel CommitteeIf you know how to work collaboratively and believe you could make a contribution

to the Coop, we would love to hear from you. The Personnel Committee is anelected group of members that serves in an advisory capacity to the

General Coordinators (the Coop’s collective managerial team),supporting them with/in performance evaluations, succession planning,

developing human resources policies and in the hiring/termination ofGeneral Coordinators when/if either of those actions is necessary.

We would like the Personnel Committee to reflect the diversity of the Coop.We are especially interested in people who have skills in finance, running a business,

upper-level management, organizational development, personnel andhuman resources. Applicants should have a minimum of one year ofCoop membership immediately prior to applying, experience doing

workshifts at the Coop and excellent attendance.

The Personnel Committee meets with the General Coordinators onthe third Tuesday of every month from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m.Additional work outside the meetings is also required.

If you are interested, please do the following two things: e-mail your resume and aletter explaining why you would like to be part of the committee to

[email protected], and go to http://bit.ly/120Dn2s to fill out a short questionnaire.

National and International Organizations Condemning BDS


What Is That? How Do I Use It?

Ask Me QuestionsAbout Coop Foods

Monday, September 16, 12 to 2:45 p.m.Monday, September 23, 12 to 2:45 p.m.

You can join in any time during a question-and-answer session

on the shopping floor.

Look for tour leaders in produce aisle.


9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



By Sylvia Lowenthal

Arecent letter of mine (TheEducation of Ziad

Doueiri, 7/25) details an inter-view with Lebanese filmmakerZiad Doueiri relating his jour-ney from hatred of Jews andIsraelis to appreciating thatthey too “have a narrative,”and contrary to his view ofIsraelis as Goliath he realizedthat “they are just as David as Iam.” He subsequently collab-orated with an Israeli crew andactors for his film, TheAttack, made in Israel and theWest Bank, about an Arab-Israeli doctor coming to termswith the fact that his wife wasa suicide bomber. Accordingto Doueiri, his film is bannedin his native Lebanon andthroughout the Middle-Eastbecause “they expect a filmfrom the region to be extremelydemonizing of Israel and I didn’tdo that.”1

While this wasn’t Doueiri’sintention, Naomi Brusseltakes on that task herself(8/22). “Ms. Lowenthal seemspleased that he [Doueri] mayhave a deeper understandingof the feelings of Jews andIsraelis than he had as ayounger person from a coun-try that has been repeatedlyattacked and brutalized by theIsraeli military.” Yes, I amindeed pleased by Doueiri’srealization that Israelis andJews, too, have a narrative, a

fact that entirely eludes Brus-sel & Co., who consistentlyreduce complicated conflictsto a few demonizing words:Lebanon was “repeatedlyattacked and brutalized by theIsraeli military.” Ironically, as Iwrote this article, Hezbollahhad just attacked Israel fromLebanon. When Israel—by itsright of self-defense—responded in kind, Hezbollahpromised retaliation. And soit goes.

Brussel expresses concernthat Doueiri “does not reallyclarify why suicide bombingbecame a Palestinian tactic.”Answer: because that’s notwhat his film is about. It’sabout a man coming to termswith his wife’s secret life, andDoueiri deliberately avoided asimple answer to that compli-cated, unanswerable questionto which Brussel, however,surely has a one-word answer:Israel.

She goes on to bemoan thefact that the successful Arab-Israeli doctor and his wife feltalienated as a minority inIsrael, an experience that ofcourse isn’t unique to Israelbut is experienced by minori-ties the world over, includingJews, who are increasingly tar-gets of anti-Semitism, a grow-ing trend especially in Europe(details in a future article)where the boycott movementis active. The history of Arab

persecution and ethniccleansing of Jewish minoritiesis undisputed. Whatever dis-crimination exists in Israel,there are at least legal chan-nels for redress.

Apparently the film sug-gests that the suicide attackwas motivated by what onecharacter calls “a massacre” inthe West Bank town of Jenin.Ms Brussel elaborates thatthis was “a massacre of hun-dreds of Palestinians,” a claimlong ago reliably establishedas a hoax:

Well into the secondPalestinian intifada, in March2002 alone there were 13attacks on Israel during a 30-day bombing campaign byHamas, Al-Aksa MartyrsBrigades and Islamic Jihad,including one that left30 Israelis dead and 140injured during a Seder, plusthe murder of 16 people fourdays later. In late March theIDF took the fight to the West

Bank town of Jenin, from which23 of the 60 terror attacks in2002 had originated. Deliber-ately avoiding an air attack inorder to reduce civilian casu-alties—resulting in manymore deaths of their own sol-diers—the Israeli army wageda house-to-house battle withPalestinian gunmen in theJenin refugee camp.2

The subsequent Palestinianmassacre rumors were put torest by a multitude of reports,including this May 2002account in the WashingtonTimes: West Bank Palestinian offi-cials yesterday put the death toll at56 [Palestinians] in the two-weekIsraeli assault on Jenin, droppingclaims of a massacre of 500 that hadsparked demands for a U.N. investi-gation. The official Palestinian bodycount, which is not disproportionateto the 33 Israeli soldiers killed in theincursion, was disclosed by KadouraMousa Kadoura, the director ofYasser Arafat’s Fatah movement forthe northern West Bank, after ateam of four Palestinian-appointedinvestigators reported to him in his

Jenin office. Most of the Palestiniancasualties were militants.3 For amore detailed account see.4

Finally, Ms. Brussel sug-gests that the film helpsexplain BDS’s activism at theCoop, a strange assertionsince Doueiri himself hasmade clear in his interviewsthat The Attack doesn’t take apolitical position. ■1www.articles.latimes.com/2013/ju

n/26/entertainment/la-et-mn-ziad-doueiri-20130626

2www.www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/A-decade-since-the-battle-of-Jenin-the-myth-of-Jen-ingrad

3www.www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/may/1/20020501-023924-2910r/

4C. Kaniklidis, Jenin - Anatomy of aMyth (www.Jenin-myth.evidence-watch.com)

Interested in Engaging Coop Work?Disciplinary Committee Seeks NEW Members

Our work includes• Applying Coop’s rules and regulations• Discussing policy issues related to the DC’s work• Investigating allegations of uncooperative behavior by members and engaging in problem solving• Daily email contact with DC members to discuss cases• Participating in mediation, disciplinary hearings, and other conflict resolution methods

Requirements:In order to be considered for this position, any candidate must:• be a member for at least a year• have good attendance record• possess the abilty to work on a team• communicate clearly • have good writing skills• have computer proficiency (excel, word, emails) is essential• attend an evening meeting every six weeksWe work on average 6 hours per month, more than the required work shifthours. You will be credited and your hours banked for future use.

We recognize the importance of various points of view when consideringcases brought to us. WE ARE SEEKING A CANDIDATE POOL THAT REFLECTSTHE DIVERSITY OF THE COOP’S MEMBERSHIP.

Interested? Please call Jeff: 718-636-3880

Skills needed:CommunicationProblem solving Conflict resolutionDealing with difficult

situations and peopleInvestigationWritingResearch

Currently we have members from the following fields:Social work, education, law, dispute resolution,holistic medicine, design,and journalism

Join us to make the Coop the best place it can be for everyone.

Coop Job Opening:

Membership CoordinatorDescription:

The Coop is hiring a Membership Coordinator to fill an afternoon/evening and weekend schedule.Membership Coordinators divide their time between shifts of approximately 6 hours in the MembershipOffice, Technical Support shifts of approximately 6.5 hours working on the shopping floor, and oversight/coordination of the Coop's administrative functions. Applicants must have excellent communication,organizational, administrative and people skills, as well as patience, comfort with computer technology,and the ability to do detailed record keeping. Applicants should be able to remain calm in hectic surroundings, oversee the work of others, teach and explain procedures, delegate work, give feedback,pay attention to several things at once and maintain high standards of accuracy.

As a retail business, the Coop's busiest times are during traditional holiday seasons. Applicants mustbe prepared to work during many of the holiday periods, particularly in the winter.

Hours: Approx. 40 hours in 5 days/week: Thursday–Monday. Weekday schedule will be afternoon/evening hours (some shifts until 11:00 p.m.). Saturday and Sunday hours will vary, though shifts are between 5 and 8 hours in length.

Wages: $25.80/hour.

Benefits: • Paid Holidays: July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day• Paid Health and Personal Time: 11 days per year• Paid Vacation: three weeks per year increasing in the 4th, 8th & 11th years• Health Insurance*• Dental and Vision Plan*• Pension Plan*• Life Insurance*• 401(k) Plan• TransitChek Program• Flexible Spending Account*Benefits with no payroll deduction.

Prerequisite:Must be a current member of the Park Slope Food Coop for at least six months immediately prior

to application.No Membership Office experience necessary to submit application materials. However, in order to be

considered for an interview applicants must have worked at least four shifts in the Membership Office.After submitting your materials, if you wish to schedule shifts in the Office please contact the Coop [email protected]. Please put "Schedule Shifts" in the subject field.

How to Apply:Please provide your resumé along with a cover letter explaining your relevant qualifications, skills and

experience. Materials will only be accepted electronically via e-mail to [email protected] put "Membership Coordinator" in the subject field. Applicants will receive an e-mail acknowledg-ing receipt of their materials. Please do not call the Membership Office to check on the status of yourapplication. Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis until the positionhas been filled. If you applied to a previous Coop job offering, please re-submit your materials.

We are seeking an applicant pool that reflects the diversity of the Coop's membership.

BDS: Converting Hope to Hate


9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



COOP HOURS

Office Hours:Monday through Thursday

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.Friday & Saturday

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Shopping Hours:

Monday–Friday8:00 a.m. to 10:00* p.m.

Saturday6:00 a.m. to 10:00* p.m.

Sunday6:00 a.m. to 7:30* p.m.

*Shoppers must be on a checkout line 15 minutes after closing time.

Childcare Hours:Monday through Sunday

8:00 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.Telephone:

718-622-0560Web address:

www.foodcoop.com

The Linewaiters’ Gazette is published biweekly by the Park SlopeFood Coop, Inc., 782 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215.

Opinions expressed here may be solely the views of the writer. TheGazette will not knowingly publish articles that are racist, sexist or oth-erwise discriminatory.

The Gazette welcomes Coop-related articles and letters from members.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINESAll submissions must include author’s name and phone number andconform to the following guidelines. Editors will reject letters andarticles that are illegible or too long. Submission deadlines appearin the Coop Calendar opposite.

Letters: Maximum 500 words. All letters will be printed if theyconform to the guidelines above. The Anonymity and Fairnesspolicies appear on the letters page in most issues.

Voluntary Articles: Maximum 750 words. Editors will reject articlesthat are essentially just advertisements for member businesses andservices.

Committee Reports: Maximum 1,000 words.

Editor-Writer Guidelines: Except for letters to the editor, whichare published without editing but are subject to the Gazette letterspolicy regarding length, anonymity, respect and fairness, allsubmissions to the Linewaiters' Gazette will be reviewed and, ifnecessary, edited by the editor. In their review, editors are guid-ed by the Gazette's Fairness and Anonymity policies as well asstandard editorial practices of grammatical review, separation offact from opinion, attribution of factual statements, and rudi-mentary fact checking. Writers are responsible for the factualcontent of their stories. Editors must make a reasonable effort tocontact and communicate with writers regarding any proposededitorial changes. Writers must make a reasonable effort torespond to and be available to editors to confer about their arti-cles. If there is no response after a reasonable effort to contactthe writer, an editor, at her or his discretion, may make editorialchanges to a submission without conferring with the writer.

Submissions on Paper: Typed or very legibly handwritten andplaced in the wallpocket labeled "Editor" on the second floor at thebase of the ramp.

Digital Submissions: We welcome digital submissions. The e-mail address for submissions is [email protected] disks in the wallpocket described above. Receipt of your sub-missions will be acknowledged on the deadline day.

Classified & Display Ads: Ads may only be placed by and on behalfof Coop members. Classified ads are prepaid at $15 per insertion,business card ads at $30. (Ads in the “Merchandise–Non-commercial”category are free.) All ads must be written on a submission form(available in a wallpocket on the first floor near the elevator). Classi-fied ads may be up to 315 characters and spaces. Display ads mustbe camera-ready and business card size (2"x3.5").

Printed by: Tri-Star Offset, Maspeth, NY.

Ilusha Tsinadze hasn’t been on work alert in a couple months now. Cashiering is his favorite shift so far, but

nothing comes close to getting credit for playing a concert. Tonight he presents some of his favorite acoustic music with

some of his favorite Coop musicians.

Friday, September 20, 8:00 p.m.

Rob Garcia’s Soap Box featuring Jean Rohe. “A prime mover in the current Brooklyn jazz scene…” (Time Out-New York) drummer/composer Rob Garcia leads this group featuring vocalist/composer Jean Rohe. They will perform unique arrangements of songs with a story to tell and a message to deliver covering such songwriters as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie as well as original material by Rob and

www.ProspectConcerts.tumblr.com

Performers are Park Slope Food Coop members and receive Coop workslot credit.

Jean. “Garcia is a drummer of invention, grace and considerable fire.” (Downbeat) “Ms. Rohe is a confident young singer whose compositions tend toward a literate and imploring tone.” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) “There are plenty of talented artists out there, but what sets Jean Rohe apart are the suppleness of her voice, the integrity of her vision, and the grace she shows

This Issue Prepared By:

Coordinating Editors: Stephanie GoldenErik Lewis

Editors (development): Diane AronsonPetra Lewis

Reporters: Lily RothmanKristin Wartman

Art Director (development): Valerie Trucchia

Illustrators: Diane Miller

Photographers: William FarringtonCaroline Mardok

Thumbnails: Saeri Yoo Park

Preproduction: Sura Wagman

Photoshop: Steve Farnsworth

Art Director (production): Dilhan Kushan

Desktop Publishing: Joe BanishDana DavisonDavid Mandl

Editor (production): Lynn Goodman

Puzzle Master: James Vasile

Final Proofreader: Teresa Theophano

Index: Len Neufeld

Advertising: Mary Robb

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



Attend a GMand Receive Work Credit

Since the Coop’s inception in 1973, the GeneralMeeting has been our decision-making body. At theGeneral Meeting (GM) members gather to makedecisions and set Coop policy. The General-Meeting-for-workslot-credit program was created to increaseparticipation in the Coop’s decision-making process.

Following is an outline of the program. For full details, seethe instruction sheets by the sign-up board.

• Advance Sign-up required:To be eligible for workslot credit, you must add your

name to the sign-up sheet in the elevator lobby. The sign-ups sheet is available all month long, except for the day ofthe meeting when you have until 5 p.m. to sign up. On theday of the meeting, the sign-up sheet is kept in theMembership Office.

Some restrictions to this program do apply. Please seebelow for details.

• Two GM attendance credits per year:Each member may take advantage of the GM-for-

workslot-credit program two times per calendar year.

• Certain Squads not eligible:Eligible: Shopping, Receiving/Stocking, Food

Processing, Office, Maintenance, Inventory, Construction,and FTOP committees. (Some Committees are omittedbecause covering absent members is too difficult.)

• Attend the entire GM:In order to earn workslot credit you must be present

for the entire meeting.

• Signing in at the Meeting: 1. After the meeting the Chair will provide the

Workslot Credit Attendance Sheet.2.Please also sign in the attendance book that is

passed around during the meeting.

• Being Absent from the GM:It is possible to cancel without penalty. We do ask that

you remove your name if you know cannot attend. Pleasedo not call the Membership Office with GM cancellations.

Park Slope Food CoopMission Statement

The Park Slope Food Coop is a mem-ber-owned and operated food store—analternative to commercial profit-orientedbusiness. As members, we contribute ourlabor: working together builds trustthrough cooperation and teamwork andenables us to keep prices as low as possi-ble within the context of our values andprinciples. Only members may shop, andwe share responsibilities and benefitsequally. We strive to be a responsible andethical employer and neighbor. We are abuying agent for our members and not aselling agent for any industry. We are a partof and support the cooperative movement.We offer a diversity of products with anemphasis on organic, minimally pro-cessed and healthful foods. We seek toavoid products that depend on theexploitation of others. We support non-toxic, sustainable agriculture. We respectthe environment. We strive to reduce theimpact of our lifestyles on the world weshare with other species and future genera-tions. We prefer to buy from local, earth-friendly producers. We recycle. We try tolead by example, educating ourselves andothers about health and nutrition, coopera-tion and the environment. We are com-mitted to diversity and equality. Weoppose discrimination in any form. Westrive to make the Coop welcoming andaccessible to all and to respect the opin-ions, needs and concerns of every member.

Our Governing Structure From our inception in 1973 to the present, the openmonthly General Meetings have been at the center of theCoop’s decision-making process. Since the Coop incor-porated in 1977, we have been legally required to have aBoard of Directors. The Coop continued the tradition ofGeneral Meetings by requiring the Board to have openmeetings and to receive the advice of the members atGeneral Meetings. The Board of Directors, which isrequired to act legally and responsibly, has approvedalmost every General Meeting decision at the end ofevery General Meeting. Board members are elected atthe Annual Meeting in June. Copies of the Coop’s bylawsare available at the Coop Community Corner and atevery General Meeting.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 24, 7:00 p.m.The General Meeting is held on the last Tuesday of eachmonth.

Location MS 51, 350 Fifth Ave., between Fourth and Fifth Sts.Enter on Fourth St. cul-de-sac. Fourth St. entrance ishandicap-accessible.

How to Place an Item on the AgendaIf you have something you’d like discussed at a GeneralMeeting, please complete a submission form for theAgenda Committee. Forms are available in the rack nearthe Coop Community Corner bulletin board and atGeneral Meetings. Instructions and helpful informationon how to submit an item appear on the submissionform. The Agenda Committee meets on the first Tuesdayof each month to plan the agenda for the GM held on thelast Tuesday of the month. If you have a question, pleasecall Ann Herpel at the coop.

Meeting FormatWarm Up (7:00 p.m.) • Meet the Coordinators • Enjoy some Coop snacks • Submit Open Forum items • Explore meeting literatureOpen Forum (7:15 p.m.) Open Forum is a time formembers to bring brief items to the General Meeting. Ifan item is more than brief, it can be submitted to theAgenda Committee as an item for a future GM.Reports (7:30 p.m.) • Financial Report • Coordinators’Report • Committee ReportsAgenda (8:00 p.m.)The agenda is posted at the Coop Community Cornerand may also appear elsewhere in this issue.Wrap Up (9:30-9:45) (unless there is a vote to extendthe meeting) • Meeting evaluation • Board of Directorsvote • Announcements, etc.

A l l A b o u t t h eG e n e r a l M e e t i n g

WELCOME!

A warm welcome to these new Coop members who have joined us in the last two weeks. We’re glad you’ve decided to be a part of our community.

C O O P CA L E N D A RNew Member Orientations

Attending an Orientation is the first step towardCoop membership. Pre-registration is required forall of the three weekly New Member Orientations. To pre-register, visit foodcoop.com or contact theMembership Office. Visit in person or call 718-622-0560 during office hours.

Have questions about Orientation? Please visitwww.foodcoop.com and look at the “Join the Coop”page for answers to frequently asked questions.

The Coop on the Internetwww.foodcoop.com

The Coop on Cable TVInside the Park Slope Food CoopFRIDAYS 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Channels: 56 (Time-Warner), 69 (CableVision), 84 (RCN), 44 (Verizon),and live streaming on the Web: www.bricartsmedia.org/community-media/bcat-tv-network.

General Meeting InfoTUE, SEPTEMBER 24GENERAL MEETING: 7:00 p.m.

TUE, OCTOBER 1AGENDA SUBMISSIONS: 7:30 p.m.

Submissions will be considered for the October 29

General Meeting.

Gazette DeadlinesLETTERS & VOLUNTARY ARTICLES:

Sep 19 issue: 12:00 p.m., Mon, Sep 9Oct 3 issue: 12:00 p.m., Mon, Sep 23

CLASSIFIED ADS DEADLINE:Sep 19 issue: 7:00 p.m., Wed, Sep 11

Oct 3 issue: 7:00 p.m., Wed, Sep 25

Meira Bernstein

Maria Emilia Borja

Brian Caffrey

Angela Co

Lyric Croy

Kiambu Dickerson

Kristen Floersheimer

Menachem Ginsberg

Reuven Giter

Kathleen Goodwin

Yosef Groner

Vivian Huang

Bikku Kuruvila

Jason Lange

Stephen Mack

Rachel Mattson

Laura Minsky

Louis Minsky

Yvonne Mullings

Zoe Namerow

Sean Paige

Roseanne Pereira

Sophorl Pin

Ian Pumo

Cara Reynolds

Alexandro Ritondo

Hannah Rosenthal

John Rousay

Kasia Ruszkowska

Rory Santaloci

David Sealy

Allyson Smith

Dernard Smith

Ellie Taylor

Alice Ting

Carol Wei

Micah Weiss

Dennin Winser

Uljana Wolf

Kyle Yackey

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



Food Class: Let Me Teach You Healthy Indian Cuisine

A demonstration of healthy, vegetarian Indian cuisine and adiscussion of some of the health benefits of the ingredients,including Ayurvedic principles. Learn the basics of incorporat-ing and balancing Indian spices. Chef Mukti Banerjee grew up

in Bengali with both North and East Indian food and cultural traditions. She desires toshare her passion for Indian food and to empower her students to cook healthy Indiancuisine. Chef Banerjee feels she is honoring and paying tribute to her teachers: hermother, aunts and grandmothers. She decided to create Mukti’s Kitchen upon the insis-tence of her appreciative friends and family. Menu includes: mixed vegetable korma;vegetable pulao; chan dal with coconut.ASL interpreter may be available upon advance request. Please contact Ginger Jung inthe Membership Office by August 22 to make a request.Materials fee: $4. Food classes are coordinated by Coop member Susan Baldassano.

Film Night: DarkonDarkon is a documentary feature that follows the real-lifeadventures of an unusual group of weekend “warrior knights”—fantasy role-playing gamers whose live-action “battleground” ismodern-day Baltimore re-imagined as a make-believe medievalworld named Darkon. These live-action gamers combine thephysical drama of historical re-enactments with character-dri-

ven storylines, inspired in part by such perennial-favorite fantasy epics as the legends ofKing Arthur, Lord of the Rings, and the saga of Conan the Barbarian. As role players,these gamers create alter-egos with rich emotional, psychological, and social lives. Theycostume themselves and physically act out their characters’ exploits, both in intimatecourt intrigue and camp-outs, and in panoramic battle scenarios involving competitivestrategies, convincingly real props, and full contact “combat.” SeeThink Films is anaward-winning production company based in New York. SeeThink is currently developinga slate of narrative films based on original screenplays. SeeThink partners are: AndrewNeel, Luke Meyer, Tom Davis and Ethan Palmer.To book a Film Night, contact Faye Lederman, [email protected].

A Portrait of the Coop at 40If you visually present to the world in some strong or mannered or prescribed way, if youfeel that you, in some way, enrich the diversity of our community by sending out somekind of visual signal, either through some innate physical quality or as a result of expe-riences you have lived through or through aesthetic choices made consciously by you,please volunteer to be photographed as part of the making of a record of our diversemembership as we celebrate 40 years of the Park Slope Food Coop. You will receive ahigh-resolution digital copy of your portrait. Coop member Martyn Gallina-Jones is aBritish photographer who moved to Brooklyn in 1984, assisted Arnold Newman, AnnieLiebowitz amongst others, and began his own career in 1990.

Tai Chi Chuan for BeginnersTai Chi is a meditation, health exercise and martial art all in one and is well known forreducing stress and increasing overall physical and emotional vitality. This workshop willexplore Tai Chi through simple exercises that develop relaxed, calm alertness andincreased energy. No movement experience necessary; workshop is designed for any levelof fitness ability. Numerous studies indicate that Tai Chi improves balance, blood-lipidlevels, better sleep patterns, nutrient digestion and even increased resistance to shingles.Other studies note that it reduces falls, anxiety levels, as well as fibromyalgia pain andfatigue. Long-time Coop member Tom Daly began studying Tai Chi in 1982 with MaggieNewman, a senior student of Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Tom began teaching his ownclasses in 1990 and currently teaches private group classes at Chelsea Studios.

Safe Food Committee Film Night:What’s For Dinner?What’s For Dinner? follows the rapid rise of animal-product con-sumption in China, where consumption of pork—the country’smost popular meat—has doubled over the past 10 years. SinceChina opened its doors to foreign agribusiness, both Western andhome-grown fast food chains are now commonplace in urban

areas, and contribute to a $28-billion-a-year business in the country. Can people in thedeveloping world eat as much meat and dairy as people in the industrialized countrieswithout destroying the planet? And do they really want to? What’s For Dinner? sheds newlight on the climate, public health, food security, workers’ rights, and ethical concerns.

How to Ace the SATThe SAT is a super-important test that influences a high school student’s future. Butfortunately, there are many ways to prepare for the test and send your student’s scoresthrough the roof. Strategies include deciding which questions to omit, multiple-choicestrategy, fun vocabulary-building games, essay structure, and much more. Children andfriends of Coop members are warmly welcome! Nataliya is a Coop member and hasbeen an SAT tutor for years, producing great results and instilling confidence in highschoolers. She currently teaches SAT Prep in the City University of New York.

BodyTalk: The New Language of Health

BodyTalk utilizes state-of-the-art energy medicine to optimize the body’s internal com-munications. This extremely gentle hands-on modality helps the body to operate moreefficiently and more effectively respond to any kind of injury or illness. Please join JeanChuang Menges, Advanced Certified BodyTalk practitioner and licensed acupuncturist,for a free hands-on workshop to experience the incredible benefits of this excitinghealthcare phenomenon. Participants will learn a simple, quick and powerful BodyTalkCortices Technique to help balance the brain, reduce stress, relieve pain, improve sleep,and boost mental focus and clarity. You will also learn how the BodyTalk Access HealthRoutine can benefit yourself and others and receive a full Access session. Talk moderat-ed by Coop member and BodyTalk Access Technician Stephanie Krause.

Wordsprouts:Back-to-School Discussion

Children are most welcome! Lauren Thompson is the author of morethan 30 children’s picture books, including the New York Timesbestseller, Polar Bear Night, and the popular Little Quack andMouse’s First series. She was also a children’s-book editor for 18

years before leaving office life to write full-time. Adam Marcus has been a member of thePSFC since 1999. He has been a New York City Teaching Fellow with for the NYCDOE for 12years. In 2009, he took over the defunct school library program at P.S. 32K and raised$500,000 to renovate and expand the space into a vital working library. He has taught pre-K,kindergarten (in his school’s Asperger program), and grades 3-5. Erin Clarke is an executiveeditor at Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’sBooks. She works on a wide range of projects, from picture books to young-adult fiction.Books she has edited include the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book Thief, by MarkusZusak, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Wonder, by R. J. Palacio.To book a Wordsprouts, contact Paula Bernstein, [email protected].

How to Have a Flat Tummy!You’ve dieted, tried vegetarianism, cut out gluten, dairy...still there’s a little (or big!)bulge in your belly. Nutrition Response Testing is a non-invasive system of analyzing thebody to determine the underlying causes of ill or non-optimum health. Digestive distur-

sep 5thu 7:30 pm

Susan Baldassano, Coordinator

sep 6fri 7 pm

sep 7sat 8 am–9 pm

sep 8sun 7 pm

sep 10tue 7 pm

sep 14sat 10:30 am

sep 14sat 1 pm

sep 14sat 4 pm

sep 15sun 12 pm

For more information on these and other events, visit the Coop’s website: foodcoop.comAll events take place at the Park Slope Food Coop unless otherwise noted. Nonmembers are welcome to attend workshops.

Views expressed by the presenter do not necessarily represent the Park Slope Food Coop.

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



bances are often one of the body’s first “warning signs” that nutrition has been compro-mised and bloating and indigestion are some of the most common symptoms we see inour practice. By identifying the underlying causes of imbalance, we are able to identifythe exact right nutrition and slowly bring the body back to balance. From bloating andgas to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, constipation, colitis, your body knows how to correctitself. And once we identify what’s getting in the way, it will do just that! Diane Paxton,MS, LAc, is the owner and principal of Inner Fire Integrative Health Services, withoffices in Manhattan and Park Slope. She is also a long-time Coop member.

Rob Garcia’s Soap Box andIlusha TsinadzeRob Garcia’s Soap Box featuringJean Rohe. “A prime mover in thecurrent Brooklyn jazz scene…”(Time Out-New York) drummer/com-

poser Rob Garcia leads this group featuring vocalist/compos-er Jean Rohe. They will perform unique arrangements ofsongs with a story to tell and a message to deliver coveringsuch songwriters as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, WoodyGuthrie as well as original material by Rob and Jean. “Garciais a drummer of invention, grace and considerable fire.”(Downbeat) “Ms. Rohe is a confident young singer whosecompositions tend toward a literate and imploring tone.”(Nate Chinen, New York Times) “There are plenty of talentedartists out there, but what sets Jean Rohe apart are the sup-pleness of her voice, the integrity of her vision, and thegrace she shows in her wide-ranging journeys across themusical landscape.” (John Platt, WFUV New York). Ilusha Tsinadze hasn’t been onwork alert in a couple months now. Cashiering is his favorite shift so far, but nothingcomes close to getting credit for playing a concert. Tonight he presents some of hisfavorite acoustic music with some of his favorite Coop musicians.Concert takes place at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West(at 2nd St.), $10, doors open at 7:45. Prospect Concerts is a monthly musicalfundraising partnership of the Coop and the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. To book a Prospect Concert event, contact Bev Grant, 718-788-3741.

What the Tooth Fairy Never Knew!

This workshop on nutritional, homeopathic, preventive dentistry is geared for thosewho want to take responsibility for improving or maintaining their dental health;and, to learn about the connection between dental problems and systemic dis-eases. You will be taught how to analyze oftentimes undiagnosed etiologies of den-tal diseases, TM joint problems, headaches and loosening teeth. Dentalcontroversies like mercury fillings, root canals and placing nickel on your chil-dren’s teeth will be included in this symposium. Dr. Stephen R. Goldberg DDS, is aNationally Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN), Acupuncturist and OralMyofunctional (Swallowing) Therapist.

Handling Your Child’s Anger, Frustration and Fears

Many parents have questions about handling the anger, frustration or fears that theirchildren express. Share stories with other moms and dads and hear perspectives to helpyour child with these important issues. Sharon C. Peters, M.A. is the founder and direc-tor of Parents Helping Parents on President Street in Park Slope. She has worked withhundreds of individual families for more than 15 years and has led many parent work-shops for schools and organizations. She is a happy longtime Coop member.

PSFC SEP General MeetingItems will be taken up in the order given. Times in parenthesesare suggestions. More information on each item may be avail-able on the entrance table at the meeting. We ask members toplease read the materials available between 7 and 7:15 p.m.

Meeting location: MS 51, 350 Fifth Ave., between Fourth and Fifth Sts. Enter on Fourth St. cul-de-sac. Fourth St. entrance is handicap-accessible.I. Member Arrival and Meeting Warm-UpII. Open ForumIII. Coordinator and Committee ReportsIV. Meeting AgendaItem 1: Annual Hearing Officers Committee Election (20 minutes)Election: Up to seven current committee members will stand for re-election. HearingOfficers work on an FTOP basis when needed and serve three-year terms.

—submitted by the Hearing Officer CommitteeItem 2: Amendments to Coop Bylaws (20 minutes)Proposal: To amend the Coop’s bylaws to more clearly define Membership/Ownership,including termination of Membership, and to codify the process of refunding or reclas-sifying member equity investments. —submitted by the General Coordinators

in consultation with Coop legal counsel Mike SalgoItem 3: Letter to Congress to Vote No on Fast Track for Trade Agreements (25 minutes)Proposal: That we send to all Congress members from NYC a letter asking them to“Vote no on fast track authority for Pres. Obama” on free trade agreements.

—submitted by Susan Johnson, Alice Joyce-Alcala, Susan MetzItem 4: Linewaiters’ Gazette Submissions Guidelines (25 minutes)Discussion: Discuss new Linewaiters’ Gazette submissions guidelines to replace thecurrent ones which have not been approved by the General Meeting.

—submitted by David BarouhV. Board of Directors MeetingVI. Wrap-Up. Includes member sign-in for workslot credit.For information on how to place an item on the Agenda, please see the center pages ofthe Linewaiters’ Gazette. The Agenda Committee minutes and the status of pendingagenda items are available in the Coop office.

Meet Your MindA class in basic meditation. The fundamental nature of our mind is stable, strong andclear—yet these qualities become obscured by the stress and speed of our lives.Meditation opens and calms the mind. This is a basic meditation class for beginners,and for anyone who would like a renewed understanding of the technique. Allan Novickhas practiced meditation since 1975.He is a meditation instructor at the New YorkShambhala Center and Nalandabodhi New York and has taught meditation at corporatevenues. He lives in Park Slope, has been a Coop member for many years, and is aretired school psychologist.

The Coop’s 40thBirthday Party

Eat, drink, and celebrate your Coop in the school yard next door to the Coop. The ParkSlope Food Coop is celebrating its 40th anniversary of providing great food at greatprices to members working through cooperation, and we hope you will join in the fun. Agroup of talented Coop chefs will prepare delicious food for sale at the party, and theCoop will provide drinks and free birthday cake for all. Mingle with other Coop mem-bers, and enjoy live music and face painting for the kids.Event takes place at the outdoor school yard, next door to the Food Coop on Union St.

sep 20fri 8 pm

sep 21sat 2 pm

sep 22sun 12 pm

sep 24tue 7 pm

sep 24tue 7:30 pm

sep 28sat 2–6 pm

Food Drive to Benefit CHIPS Soup Kitchen

It’s Your Funeral

Everyday Kitchen Improvisation

Agenda Committee Meeting

Food Class: Power Foods for Performance

Film Night

sep 28–29

sep 29

oct 1

oct 1

oct 3

oct 4

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM


The Gazette photographers Caroline Mardok and Valerie Trucchia are natives of two beautiful places known for their quality oflife and food: Caroline's family is from Cannes, South of France, while Valerie's is from Cortona, in the Tuscany region ofItaly. They created a photo essay from their 2013 summer travels to farmers markets in these two regions—and are delightedto be able to share these images with their fellow Coop members.

A Photo Essay: Farmers Markets in Tuscany and the South of France

Caroline—South of France:The Forville Farmer's Market in Cannes, France, is the place of choice to find some of the best Mediterranean and Provencal food thatthe region has to offer. It's located right in the heart of the old city, just steps from the old port in a large covered plaza. Inside you'll finda large area devoted to seafood, with the morning's local catch of fresh dorade, loup, pulpo, sardines and others on display. There is anabundance of delicious local, summer fruits and vegetables like nectarines, haricot vert (green beans), tomatoes—the peaches are mypersonal favorite. As I walk, a delicious smell of baking bread wafts by—that's socca (farinata), an unleavened bread made from chick-pea flour. Then it's on to the butcher, where in addition to gorgeous lamb chops (cotes d'agneau), you can find specialties like boudinnoir (black pudding sausage) made by local artisans. Before I leave, I visit the flower seller for a dozen fresh roses for my Mom. ForvilleMarket is open six days a week and frequented by locals as well as the area's top chefs (like the one smiling in my photo!)


9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM


Valerie—Tuscany, Italy:Every Saturday morning, the streets of Cortona, a medieval town located on a Tuscan hill, turns into a farmers’ market. In the summermonths, the steep roads get crowded with tourists, parking becomes a real gamble, but everybody wants to be part of it. Farmersproudly display their seasonal produce, zucchini flowers, eggplants in all size and colors, tomatoes, melons and apricots. The localspecialty, an entire BBQ pig stuffed with rosemary, wild fennel and a lot of salt, called porchetta, gets sliced from head to toe andeaten on tiny sandwiches. A common distinction among older ladies, besides wearing blouses printed with flower patterns, is toargue loudly with the vendors, to make sure that they take home the best of the market. Kids run around freely, sneaking their handsinto piles of cherries, and staring at tempting candies. In the rows of cafes along the main street, the locals like sitting alfresco, sip-ping espresso and looking at people passing by—one of their favorite pastimes for centuries.


9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



THE TRANS-PACIFICPARTNERSHIP (TPP) WASDISCUSSED AT THEAUGUST GM

GREETING:Given that the Trans-Pacific Part-

nership (TPP) as well as the Trans-At lant ic Trade and InvestmentPartnership (TTIP) reportedly willcontain stipulations that af fectfood safety and imported animalproducts, it is appropriate for thePark Slope Food Coop (the Coop)to discuss and express our con-cerns about these treaties now.Granting President Obama ‘FastTrack Authority’ would deprive us ofan opportunity to debate the policyimplications for us as individualconsumers and for the Coop as ourbuying agent.

Therefore we move that the fol-lowing letter be sent from the offi-cers of the Board of Directors of theCoop to all congress members repre-senting New York City:

Dear Representative,The Park Slope Food Coop, where

16,400 members buy our food collec-tively, call on you and all our electedrepresentatives in congress to VoteNO on authorizing ‘Fast TrackAuthority’ for President Obama topush through congress the Trans-

Pacific Partnership (TPP) and theTrans-Atlantic Trade and InvestmentPartnership (TTIP).

Democracy requires:Full transparency, so that all trade

negotiations are done entirely in theopen, including public informationabout who participates, who origi-nates a proposal, and the preciselanguage under consideration.

Enough time after the conclusionof negotiations and before the votein congress for you in congress, aswell as scholars, journalists andthose representing various interestgroups, to thoroughly study all rele-vant documents and to debate thepoints, especially those that wouldsupersede and overpower state andfederal laws.

We ask that you sign the letter initi-ated by Representative Rosa DeLauroto President Obama that eloquentlyexpresses these concerns.

Kindly respond by informing uswhether you will sign on to theDeLauro letter and Vote NO on FastTrack.

The following articles were dis-tributed for further information:

“Secret Trade Agreements Threat-en to Undo Our Last Shreds of FoodSafety” June 13, 2013 by KatherinePaul and Ronnie Cumminswww.alternet.org/food/secret-trade-agreements-threaten-food-safety

Jim Hightower: The Hightower Low-down, Volume 15 #8 August 2013,“The Trans-Pacific Partnership is notabout free trade. It’s a corporatecoup d’etat—against us!”

“Who’s at the Table” by KarenHansen-Kuhn, February 2013, Insti-tute for Agriculture and Trade Policy,iatp.org

These organizations are workingto get out the information: Citizens

Trade CampaignPublic Citizen Global Trade WatchPark Slope Trade Justice Group of

Trade Justice Metro NYC c/[email protected] Infojustice.org Ifyou are even mildly concerned, writeto your representative NOW

Most respectfully,Presented for discussion by Marsha

Champlin, Susan Johnson, Alice Joyce andSusan Metz

We welcome letters from members. Submissiondeadlines appear in the Coop Calendar. All let-ters will be printed if they conform to the pub-lished guidelines. We will not knowingly publisharticles which are racist, sexist or otherwise dis-criminatory

The maximum length for letters is 500words. Letters must include your name andphone number and be typed or very legiblyhandwritten. Editors will reject letters that areillegible or too long.

You may submit on paper, typed or very legi-bly handwritten, or via email to [email protected] or on disk.

AnonymityUnattributed letters will not be published

unless the Gazette knows the identity of thewriter, and therefore must be signed when sub-mitted (giving phone number). Such letters willbe published only where a reason is given to theeditor as to why public identification of thewriter would impose an unfair burden of embar-rassment or difficulty. Such letters must relateto Coop issues and avoid any non-constructive,non-cooperative language.

FairnessIn order to provide fair, comprehensive, fac-

tual coverage:1. The Gazette will not publish hearsay—that

is, allegations not based on the author's first-hand observation.

2. Nor will we publish accusations that arenot specific or are not substantiated by factualassertions.

3. Copies of submissions that make substan-tive accusations against specific individuals willbe given to those persons to enable them towrite a response, and both submissions andresponse will be published simultaneously. Thismeans that the original submission may notappear until the issue after the one for which itwas submitted.

The above applies to both articles and letters.The only exceptions will be articles by Gazettereporters which will be required to include theresponse within the article itself.

RespectLetters must not be personally derogatory or

insulting, even when strongly criticizing an indi-vidual member's actions. Letter writers mustrefer to other people with respect, refrain fromcalling someone by a nickname that the personnever uses himself or herself, and refrain fromcomparing other people to odious figures likeHitler or Idi Amin.

LETTERS POLICY

BDS TOPICS:

TO THE EDITOR,Is it right to hold Israel solely

responsible for the outcome of theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict ?Is itright to hold Israel solely responsi-ble for the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as BDSerswould have you act upon?

A Google search for “1948refugees” produces millions ofresults. All but a few are about thePalestinian Arab refugees. But it isestimated that up to 1,000,000 Jewsfled or were expelled from theirancestral homes in Muslim coun-tries. Some 260,000 of thoserefugees reached Israel and com-prised 56% of all immigration tothe state.

In 1948, Muslim countries hadconsiderable Jewish populations.Today, the indigenous Jews of thosecountries are virtually extinct(Morocco and Iran each have fewerthan 10,000). In most cases, theJewish population had lived therefor over 1,000 years.

Few know this history becausethe Jewish refugees of 1948 weregranted citizenship by the coun-tries to which they fled, includingIsrael. By contrast, many Muslimcountries refused to integrate thePalestinian refugees, preferring toleave them as second-class citizensin violation of international con-ventions.

Media bias is also a factor. Asearch for “1948 refugees” on theBBC news site generates 41 articles(back to 1999) of which 40 discussthe Palestinian Arab refugees. Con-sider Sri Lanka, another war-torn,multi-ethnic country that gained itsindependence from Britain in 1948.The 26-year ethnic conflict claimed100,000 lives, more than casualtiesfrom the 100-year Israeli-Palestin-ian conflict. It also produced simi-lar numbers of refugees, includingat least 200,000 Tamil in Europe.Yet a search for “Tamil refugees”generates just 5% of the results.

The UN handles 54,000,000 non-Palestinian refugees worldwide,cared for by the UN High Commis-sion for Refugees under the guide-lines of the 1951 Convention onRefugees. But Palestinian refugees(whose original population was

under 1 million) have a UN agencydedicated exclusively to them(UNRWA). UNRWA’s unique defini-tion of “refugee” includes familieswho lived in the area for genera-tions but also migrants who arrivedtwo years prior. Because UNWRA’sunique definition includes descen-dants, UNRWA’s refugee popula-tion has grown from 750,000 in1950 to 5,300,000.

Non-Palestinian refugees areassisted in rapidly rebuilding theirlives, usually outside the countriesthat they fled. Jewish refugees fromMuslim lands did just that: Theyrebuilt their lives in Israel andelsewhere. But having quietlyadapted and being granted full citi-zenship doesn’t lessen the wrongscommitted by their countries oforigin.

In 1947, the Arab League draftedlaws that called for the freezing ofbank accounts of Jews, their intern-ment and the confiscation of theirassets. Subsequent meetingscalled for the expulsion of Jewsfrom Arab states. These Jewishrefugees from Muslim lands suf-fered legal and violent persecutionthat resulted in immeasurableemotional and physical damage.They lost billions in property andendured huge socioeconomic dis-advantages when forced to rebuildtheir lives from scratch. Suggestionthat they don’t deserve compensa-tion is wrong.

Muslim states must recognizetheir role in: 1) displacing 1,000,000indigenous people only becausethey were Jews, and 2) perpetuatingthe plight of Palestinian refugeesby denying them citizenship. Bothwrongs have festered for decades.

Adapted from ynetnews.com.Gil Ronen

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENTAND SANCTIONS (BDS)OF ISRAEL AT YORKUNIVERSITY, TORONTO,CANADA

MEMBERS:May 3, 2013: in attempts to curb

Palestine solidarity actions, theYork University administration (byletter) revoked the official club sta-tus of Students Against Israeli

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



Apartheid (SAIA) for their ‘disrup-tion of academic activities’ during aMarch demonstration. Revoking clubstatus cuts SAIA off from universityfunding and resources, preventsSAIA from holding meetings or doingstudent outreach on York’s campus.SAIS can only re-register for officialgroup status January 1, 2014.

In addition, York issued an admin-istrative order to Hammam Farah,alumnus, SAIS member, barring himfrom campus until the end of April2014 for his participation in on-cam-pus demonstrations, using an‘amplification device’ to ‘express[his] views to students’.

York’s Vice-Provost sent warningletters to student members in SAIA,Middle Eastern Students’ Associa-tion, the York University Black Stu-dents’ Alliance and a member ofFilipino Canadian Youth Alliance forparticipation in the March demon-stration, using an ‘amplificationdevice,’ ‘disrupting students duringclass time:’ York could invoke disci-plinary actions following futuredemonstrations.

York’s Punitive Actions Trig-gered by Students’ Support forBDS Resolutions

York’s Graduate Students Unionpassed a BDS resolution at a Novem-ber membership meeting (the periodof Israel’s eight days of attacks onGaza). This started a domino effectacross Ontario campuses: 2012-2013school year: seven Canadian studentunions voted to support boycott res-olutions calling on administrationsto divest from companies profitingfrom Israel’s occupation.

March 21: the York Federation ofStudents, the undergraduate studentunion, passed a broad-based boycottresolution calling on York Universityto ‘withdraw investments fromNorthrop Grumman, BAE Systems,Amphenol selling weapons and mili-tary equipment to Israel.’

March 27: to celebrate the passageof boycott resolutions, the Palestinesolidarity activists held a demonstra-tion at York. Following a student‘noise’ complaint, an adjudicator wasappointed: SAIA apologized to stu-dent, apology accepted, adjudicatordetermined that the protest causedno disruption; case closed. Neverthe-less, York proceeded to issue puni-tive letters: revoking SAIA clubstatus, no trespass order to Farah.

Responses to York’s PunitiveMeasures

In June, SAIA attended a meetingof York University’s Board of Gover-nors to voice their concerns (boardwalked out). Letters sent to York Uni-versity by Canadian Civil LibertiesAssociation and Ontario Civil Liber-ties Association.

The York Federation of Students,York’s Graduate Student Union andthe Canadian Union of Public

Employees Local 3903 passedmotions publicly condemning York’spunishments against SAIA andFarah.

In August, a formal letter was sentto the Vice-Provost by SAIA, dozensof Palestine Solidarity groups andstudents’ associations in Canadastating: York ‘failed to comply withbasic democratic values;’ asking Yorkto rescind its trespass order againstFarah, ‘to reinstate SAIA as an officialclub, make a firm commitment towork with students to ensure thatfreedom of speech and freedom ofassociation are upheld.’

Underway: a new petition torescind punitive measures, (1,300signatures by 8/9/13); SAIA morepopular, membership growing, facul-ty more supportive.

Source: Nora Barrows-FriedmanMary Buchwald

Brooklyn For PeacePSFC members for BDS

www.psfcbds.wordpress.com

A COOPERATIVEBUSINESS THATDEPENDS ON DIVERSITYAND RESPECT FOR ALLPOLITICAL OPINIONS TOSURVIVE

DEAR MEMBERS,Welcome back. You missed a lot of

drama over the summer.A discussion on eliminating bias

in workshops was on the agenda atour July General Meeting. Bias is gen-erally a preconceived opinion aboutsomeone or something, and subjec-tive to the point that presenter Bar-bara Mazor made great efforts toavoid mentioning anyone by namewhen asked to provide evidence of itat the Coop. Thankfully, Thomas Coxpopped up to clarify, volunteeringhimself and his favorite cause as anexample. He launched into standardevil-old-Israel demonization andyelled, “Shut up, Barbara!” when hesaw he might be interrupted.

Tommy, I saw you cross the line.The Chair saw you cross the line. Thewhole meeting saw you cross theline, and we all shouted you off themic. Your THREATENING posturespeaks volumes about bias, andabout the potential violence behindyour “non-violent” movement.(Recently publicized threats leviedanonymously against Eric Burdonand Paul McCartney to not play Israelonly underscore this influence.) Yes,you did backpedal furiously andmouthed an apology, but thenshowed your stripes by withdrawingthe apology in last week’s Gazette.Ok, in a court of law you can semanti-cally prove you didn’t, but we aren’tstupid.

Members like Cox are just one

more reason why PSFC must write aboycott policy. The piece of paper inour foyer that reads like an after-thought with no hard numbers?That’s just a guideline. We need areal policy, and it should explicitlystate that a boycott requires a super-majority vote at the GM to pass. Ourdefault 51% only encourages mem-bers to spout Cox-brand dogma, dis-play belligerence, and lash out atmembership just to secure a baremajority in the name of geopolitics. Ifsuch people are still allowed to shophere, then we need to ensure theydon’t graft their potentially violentideology onto members of con-science who reject it. On the otherhand, attaining a supermajorityinvolves tools like real dialogue andteamwork. If we don’t utilize thesetools, then we as an institution mightbe stuck representing bigotry insteadof a cooperative business thatdepends on diversity and respect forall political opinions to survive.

Please continue to write [email protected] for ques-tions or comments. I am warmed byyour support.

It’s time to change the conversa-tion. Finally.

Jesse Rosenfeld

THE FOLLOWINGLETTERS ARE INRESPONSE TO A LETTERTITLED: ‘INTERVIEWWITH ZIAD DOUEIRIABOUT HIS FILM ‘THEATTACK’,’ BY NAOMIBRUSSEL (VOLUME HH,NUMBER 17, AUGUST 22,2013)

TO THE EDITORS OF THELINEWAITERS’ GAZETTE:

I am appalled that the editorswould print the letter from NaomiBrussel with the patently false claimthat there had been a massacre per-petrated against the Palestinians inJenin in 2002 by the Israel DefenseForces. It was long ago establishedthat the Palestinian charge of a mas-sacre was yet another one of theirlies to incite world public opinionagainst Israel. There was never anymassacre. In fact, it was a militaryaction by the IDF aimed at quellingthe second intifada that claimedmany innocent lives. In this militaryaction, there were 52 Palestiniancasualties, 48 of whom were identi-fied as combatants. There were 23Israeli casualties. This military actiontook place in the first 2 weeks of April2002. By May 2002, even the Palestin-ian Authority admitted that therehad never been a massacre. InAugust 2002, the UN issued a reportthat there had been no massacre.

The Palestinian penchant for dis-seminating lies to incite hatredagainst Israel has obviously beenadopted by Naomi Brussel and hercohorts in the BDS movement.Shame on the editors of the Linewait-ers’ Gazette for enabling this incite-ment in the guise of free speech. Iwould expect better from you.

Shena Gitel Astrin

TO THE EDITORS,Naomi Brussel repeated a “Big

Lie” when she wrote in the August 22,2013 Gazette edition there had been a“massacre of hundreds of Palestini-ans in Jenin” in April 2002. The Battleof Jenin was a military action againstPalestinian terrorist forces operatingout of Jenin. These groups wereresponsible for at least 23 suicidebombings and 6 attempted bomb-ings since the outbreak of the SecondIntifada in September 2000.

By March 2002, nearly 300 Israelishad been murdered by Palestinianterrorists by stabbings, sniperattacks, IED’s, and suicide bombings.In March 130 more Israelis were mur-dered by shootings, grenade attacksand 15 suicide bombings. Thisincludes the March 27 suicide bomb-ing of the Park Hotel in Netanya dur-ing a Passover seder. The attackresulted in 30 deaths and 140wounded, mostly elderly people. Theactual casualties of the Battle ofJenin are 48 Palestinian combatantsand 5 civilians. 23 Israeli soldierswere killed by Palestinian gun fireand bombs.

Brussel’s letter is yet another illus-tration of the dishonesty of the BDSmovement. They are not interested inbringing about rapprochement andpeace between Arabs and Jews.Rather they are an effort to demonizeIsrael and provide further justifica-tion for those interested in prolong-ing the violence there.

Barbara Mazor

DEAR MEMBERS,I was startled to see that the

defensive military operation in Jenin,where Israeli soldiers risked theirlives to go door to door, instead ofindiscriminately bombing, was calleda massacre. In the height of the sec-ond Intifada, Israel was doing whatany country would to defend itself ofmilitants terrorizing civilians, bomb-ing pizza stores and blowing up mallsand movie theaters, intentionally tar-geting unarmed men, women andchildren. I understand that there arevery strong feelings surroundingIsrael and the Palestinians, butspreading lies should be beneath thedignity of our Coop publication.

Thank you,Maurice Appelbaum

C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 6

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



BDS TOPICS CONTINUED:

DEAR EDITORS,This is in response to letter to the

editor titled: “INTERVIEW WITH ZIADDOUEIRI ABOUT HIS FILM ‘THEATTACK’”, by Naomi Brussel (VolumeHH, Number 17, August 22, 2013).

Regarding the claim about a “2002Israeli massacre of hundreds ofPalestinians in Jenin,” I would like tostate that the claim in the letter is alie–and it is offensive to the educatedpublic.

A military action aimed at stop-ping the second intifada in which theIDF suffered many casualties was nota massacre by any stretch of theimagination. The Palestinian casual-ties were mostly fighters and notcivilians. The Palestinians circulatedthis false claim which was picked upand repeated by media world-widewithout fact checking.

In the event that the author and/orreaders would be interested in true,unbiased, historical information, it isreadily available.

Sincerely,Devorah Hershkop

HELLO,In reference to the “massacre of

Palestinians in Jenin in 2002” articlein the following Gazette www.food-coop.com/go.php?id=84, the claim inthe letter is a lie and it is offensive.

Rita Rosenblit

DEAR GAZETTE,Point of information: Dropped

into a recent letter to the editor isthe seemingly factual phrase, “The2002 Israeli massacre of hundredsof Palestinians in Jenin.” Note thatthe United Nations report on thisevent reported that 52 Palestinians

were killed in the refugee camp,along with 23 Israeli soldiers. 52 isnot “hundreds.” The article adds,“Israeli forces attacked Jenin aspart of a West Bank offensive thatbegan on March 29, after a suicidebomber from the Islamist groupHamas ki l led 29 people at aPassover seder in the seasideIsraeli town of Netanya.” Here’s TheNew York Times report on the UNfinding:www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/international/middleeast/02JENI.html I t starts , “The UnitedNations issued a cautious reporttoday dismissing as unsubstantiat-ed Palestinian claims that 500 peo-ple were killed when Israeli forcesinvaded a refugee camp in the WestBank city of Jenin in April.”

The Gazette needs a more profes-sional editorial policy if it is going towade into issues, and publish letters,about complex politics that have notmuch to do with food.

Ellen Freudenheim

DEAR COOP MEMBERS,We object to the printing of this

offensive lie.COOP members, The Givons

DEAR GAZETTE,The facts of this letter are false.

Please check your facts before print-ing a letter like this. We value theauthenticity of the Gazette to be infor-mative and truthful to our members,like any good publication.

Roberta Arnold

TO THE LINEWAITERS’GAZETTE:

I object to the claim that there wasa massacre in Palestine. This was amilitary action aimed at stopping theSecond Intifada in which the IDF suf-fered many casualties. The Palestin-ian casualties were mostly fighters,not civilians. The Palestinians circu-

lated this false claim. I object to theGazette for printing this lie.

Sincerely,Nancy Spitalnick

DEAR EDITORS,Yet another edition of the Linewait-

ers’ Gazette with the now standard BDScondemnations of Israel. And yet,what actually is going on around theMiddle East. In Egypt, the democrat-ic movement elected a presidentwith a radical agenda and the armytook over in a coup. Many peoplekilled in the process.

In Lebanon, there has beenincreasing internal strife betweenHezbollah and major portions of thecitizenry. Sectarian violence hasbecome commonplace. The last fewweeks have seen extensive bombings- mostly at or around Mosques.Again, many people killed.

And in Syria, it now appears thatthe Assad regime is using chemicalweapons on its own citizens, as thecountry spirals further out of control.

And in Israel? Well, despite thefact that rockets are coming downfrom both their northern and south-ern borders, Israel is engaged inpeace negotiations with the Pales-tinians. Israeli hospitals are also qui-etly receiving Syrian children whohave been wounded in the civil warto the north.

Is Israel perfect? Of course not.But to listen to the BDS movement,they are the sole cause of strife in theMiddle East. That is laughably inac-curate.

On more question. Why does theLinewaiters’ Gazette continue to publishthese letters?

David Meltzer

DEAR EDITORS,Naomi Brussel’s Letter in the

August 22, 2013, issue of the Linewait-ers’ Gazette is not just another factual-

ly incorrect piece of anti-Israeli pro-paganda, it is the continuation of theuse of the Gazette as a crude platformfor the BDS crowd to continue theanti-Israeli rant.

Since this organization is ques-tionable at best, and is a majorsource of unpleasantness in gener-al, I directly ask the editors of thepublication to explain why such aone-sided soap box is run in issueafter issue? BDS has its own web-site, and Coop members with aninterest in this prejudiced organiza-tion have their own as well. Whymust the membership be subject tothis ongoing river of ultra-biasedopinion?

It’s time that the Coop end theBDS Topics section of the Linewaiters’Gazette. It does not serve the Coop inany way and only continues an unfor-tunate confrontation that cannot beresolved. In continuing the columnthere is, in effect, tacit approval forwhat is clearly a hate campaign. Theissue of support for the BDS was set-tled in the vote at a special meetingcalled for that purpose. How does itthen follow that the membershipmust be continually subjected to theBDS agenda? The matter is settled;let’s move on.

Rodger Parsons

TO THE EDITORS,Regarding the article on a 2002

“massacre” in Jenin.There was no massacre, but rather

a military action aimed at stoppingthe Second Intifada, which the Arabsstarted.

The IDF suffered many casualties.The Palestinian casualties weremostly fighters and not civilians. ThePalestinians circulated this falseclaim which was picked up andrepeated by media worldwide.

This is a lie and is offensive.Henny Chanina

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1 5

By Dushyant Sahgal

This quick and easy recipe makes fora fulfilling meal after a tiring day

fighting fires at work. Not fires in theliteral sense of course, but firefighterswill enjoy this recipe too! Kohlrabi hasa subtle turnip like taste and its fleshand leaves are extremely rich in Vita-min C, Vitamin B6, dietary fiber andother essential minerals. It has almostno cholesterol. I like to use the entireplant, along with its leaves.

You will need two Kohlrabi podsalong with about four leaves to makeenough of the stew for two people.Peel off the skin from the Kohlrabi androughly chop the flesh in two inchpieces. You will find that the flesh isquite hard to break into so use the

sharpest knife at your disposal. Imaintain the thickness of the piecesat a little less than half an inch to helpthem cook faster.

Toss the pieces straight into a potwith about one tablespoon of oliveoil. Give it a good stir and let it fry forabout two minutes on a mediumflame. Next, in go the roughlychopped leaves. The leaves will ofcourse wilt while they cook so do notcut them too fine. Add one choppeddeseeded green chili, salt to tastealong with two cups of water. Coverthe pot and let it cook on low heatfor about 20 minutes. Garnish withsome fresh coriander leaves andserve as is or pair with rice or warmflatbread. The mild sweet and saltytaste of the Kohlrabi always has mewanting more. ■

Kohlrabi Stew

M E M B E R S U B M I S S I O NSolution to this issue's sudoku puzzleSolution to this issue's sudoku puzzle

2 3 9 4 1 5 7 6 8

5 6 8 3 2 7 1 4 9

4 7 1 9 8 6 5 2 3

8 2 7 6 9 1 4 3 5

6 4 5 7 3 8 9 1 2

9 1 3 2 5 4 8 7 6

1 8 4 5 6 2 3 9 7

3 5 2 1 7 9 6 8 4

7 9 6 8 4 3 2 5 1

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



BED & BREAKFASTTHE HOUSE ON 3rd ST. B&B-serv-

ing the Slope for over 20 yrs. Parlor

floor-thru apt. sleeps 5 in comfort

& privacy, queen bed, bath, double

living room, kitchenette, outdoor

deck. Visit our website at house-

on3st.com. Click our FB link or call

Jane at 718-788-7171. Ask about

bargains for last minute bookings.

Let us host you!

CLASSES/GROUPSMEDITATION Stressed-out? Want

to be more centered and calm?

Mina has studied with Jon Kabat-

Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh and Toni

Packer. Private sessions or class.

Convenient Park Slope location.

Call Mina Hamilton, 917-881-

9855.

GENTLE YOGA Back problems?

Recovering from an injury? Feel

too "out-of-shape" to do yoga?

Nurturing class or private ses-

sions. Convenient location. Call

Mina Hamilton, 24 years serving

Park Slope, 917-881-9855.

COMMERCIAL SPACE

Hudson Rivertown Storefront

available Main St. Irvington N.Y.

1,000-square-ft. exposed brick,

hardwood floors, new mechani-

cals, historic building. Across from

school, near Croton Aqueduct hik-

ing trail. Attract customers from

several rivertowns. $3,500/mo.

Contact Coop member Ruth Katz:

917-583-1384.

HOUSING AVAILABLE

Vacation cottage 3/2 0n 1 acre on

great South Bay E. Patchogue for

sale. Solar-heat pool, perennial

gardens, views, water sports. Near

towns of Bellport and Patchogue

with cultural and nature activities.

Only one hour form NYC. Contact:

Riva.Rosenfiel

SERVICES AVAILABLE

ATTORNEY—Personal Injury

Emphasis—35 years experience in

all aspects of injury law. Individual

attention provided for entire case.

Free phone or office consulta-

tions. Prompt, courteous commu-

nications. 23-year Park Slope Food

Coop member; Park Slope resi-

dent; downtown Brooklyn office.

Tom Guccione, 718-596-4184, also

at www.tguccionelaw.com.

MADISON AVENUE HAIRCUTTER

is right around the corner from the

Food Coop, so if you would like a

really good haircut at a decent

price, please call Maggie at 718-

783-2154, I charge $60.00.

EXPRESS MOVES. One flat price

for the entire move! No deceptive

hourly estimates! Careful, experi-

enced mover. Everything quilt

padded. No extra charge for

wardrobes and packing tape. Spe-

cialist in walkups. Thousands of

satisfied customers. Great Coop

references. 718-670-7071.

PAINTING & WALLPAPERING -

Mesh & Plaster those cracked

walls & ceilings. Over 20 yrs expe-

rience doing the finest prep & fin-

ish work. One room or an entire

house. Free estimates. Fred Beck-

er 718-853-0750.

Haircuts, Haircuts, Haircuts, In

the convenience of your home or

mine. Adults: $35-$40; Kids: $15-

$20; Call Leonora at 718-857-2215.

SERVICES HEALTH

Are you struggling to make sense

of your emotions, patterns, behav-

iors or relationships? If you're

considering psychotherapy or

counseling, I can help. I 'm an

experienced therapist who uses an

individualized, eclectic approach

to work with children, adolescents

and adults. Adria Klinger, LCSW,

718-965-2184. da2yahoo.com. or

718-768-9610.

VACATION RENTALS

HAVEN OFF THE HUDSON Friend-

ly, historic 3-season wooded com-

munity in Westchester County.

Coop offers hiking, tennis, pool,

wifi, café, organic community gar-

den, social activities. Beautiful Hud-

son riverfront nearby. Studio, 1- and

2-bedroom cottages, $25K-160K.

www.reynoldshills.org/bungalow-

shop. Contact Mel 347-307-4642 or

[email protected].

CLASSIFIEDS Coop Job Opening:

Receiving Coordinator: Produce BuyerDescription:

The Park Slope Food Coop is seeking two people to become Receiving Coordinators and join the produce buyingteam. These are career positions. Under the supervision of a General Coordinator/Lead Buyer, team members are re-sponsible for purchasing the Coop’s fresh produce in a fast-paced environment driven by high sales volume. The pro-duce buying team makes and coordinates complex buying decisions, negotiates prices, nurtures vendor relationships,and maintains the high quality and extensive selection of produce available to our members. The produce buying teammust respect and promote local/sustainable/ethical principles.

Specific responsibilities include (in conjunction with team members):• Continue our longstanding buying practices: high quality, low prices, fair return to farmers.• Analyze and monitor sales history to create accurate orders.• Check deliveries for accuracy, freshness, appearance and flavor. Reject poor quality produce upon delivery.• Maintain accurate assessment of inventory through quality assessment and inventory checks.• Review invoices for accuracy, price changes and make adjustments for shortages and overages, coordinate returns and track credits due from suppliers.• Prepare/authorize/enter vendor payment information into the Coop’s accounting system.• Communicate ordering deadlines and changes in delivery time to relevant staff.• Share responsibility for daily setting and maintenance of the produce aisle: supervising and directing the work of other staff and members to provide a fresh, bountiful, attractive produce display and accurate up-to-date price signage.• Regular supervision and training of members working in the produce aisle. Contribute to the development of a robust, ongoing training program aimed at increasing overall knowledge among and support of members working in the produce aisle.• Be knowledgeable about organic, local and national produce issues. Understand organic produce and Organic Standards Act. Understand integrated pest management and other minimal treatments. Understand irradiation, genetic modification and conventional production.• Communicate with members about product availability and use, produce trends, new products and interesting facts in person, over the phone, in the Linewaiters’ Gazette, at General Meetings and on foodcoop.com.• Continue to expand product knowledge.

Requirements:Required Skills

• Handle multiple demands, work under pressure, meet deadlines, and follow-through.• Skillfully delegate work, and manage and motivate others.• Professional level verbal and written communication skills.• Attention to detail and good organizational skills.• Excellent interpersonal skills. Able to cooperate with a diverse group of co-workers and members.• Supervision and/or training.• Flexibility, openness, willingness to learn and take on new responsibilities.• Facility with computers, Macintosh a plus.• Comfortable with math. Knowledge of weights, and measures.• Ability to lift or move up to 50 lbs. repeatedly, every day.

Desirable Skills• Professional experience working with produce and/or purchasing and negotiating skills.• Knowledge of produce varieties and growing seasons.• Experience in planning, developing and implementing systems, procedures and policies.

Work Environment:Buying produce at the Coop is taxing, both physically and mentally. Ours is a fast-paced environment driven by high

sales volume (14 times the national average per square foot overall, more than 100,000 pounds of produce sold perweek) and limited selling space. These positions will involve juggling competing priorities under very tight and inflexibledeadlines, intense physical activity such as lifting, standing for long periods, working inside produce coolers, workingoutside in all weather, maneuvering in small crowded spaces, working in noisy environments near loud equipment. Staffoffices are crowded and require working in close physical proximity to others. Our staff must be able to focus on detailswhile attending to our paging system, phones and radios, member questions and the ambient noise created by the workof other staff and members.

Hours: Monday-Friday, approximately eight hours a day. At least three days will start between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. We strive to create jobs that can be completed within 40 hours a week. Based on the needs and intensity of produce work, these positions may frequently require more than 40 hours a week, in particular during the training period, busy times of the year and during vacation coverage. In addition, there is an expectation that produce buyers will make themselves available to our vendors via phone and e-mail outside of normal working hours.

Wages: $25.80 per hour

Benefits: • Paid Holidays: July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day • Paid Vacation: three weeks per year increasing in the 4th, 8th & 11th years• Paid Health and Personal time: 11 days• Health Insurance*• Dental and Vision Plan*• Pension Plan*• Life Insurance*• 401(k) Plan• TransitChek Program• Flexible Spending Account*Benefits with no payroll deduction.

Prerequisite:Must be a current member of the Park Slope Food Coop for at least one continuous year immediately prior to application.

How to Apply:Provide your resumé along with a cover letter explaining your relevant qualifications, skills and experience. Materials

will only be accepted via e-mail to: [email protected] and put "Produce Buyer" in the subject field. Applicants will receive an e-mail acknowledging receipt of their materials. Please do not call the Membership Office

to check on the status of your application. Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basisuntil the position has been filled. If you applied to a previous Coop job offering, please re-submit your materials.


Classified advertising in the Linewaiters’ Gazette is available only to Coop members. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Coop.

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



Coop Job Opening:

Java/Web Software DeveloperDescription:

The Park Slope Food Coop has an immediate opening for a Java/Web Software Developer. You will be joining ourstaff of two Java developers and a network/system administrator. Our staff prefers to build software and servicesusing open source and open standards.

Specific responsibilities include (in conjunction with team members):• Participate in designing a new application framework for the Coop.• Lead the makeover of the foodcoop.com website.• Create documentation, including code and procedures, to share your knowledge and

responsibilities with other team members.• As a member of the team, help with everyday technical issues (e.g., printers, usage issues,

workstation maintenance, etc.)

Requirements:Required Experience

• Must have a BA/BS in computer science/engineering or equivalent experience.• Capable of designing, developing, and integrating a wide variety of software components.• Knowledge of a standard end-to-end development process, including version control, build scripts,

and automated testing.Required Skills

• Proficiency in Java in a Linux, Unix or Mac environment.• Web application development experience using technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS on the

client and PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, or Java on the server.• Database design and implementation experience (MySQL preferred).

Desirable Skills• Development experience using Eclipse.• Server-side development with Java using technologies such as JDBC, Spring, Servlets, etc.• Linux/Unix shell scripting.• Drupal experience.

Employment & Benefit Details:• Work week: 40 hours; flexible schedule• Salary: $87,260.88 per year• Paid Vacation: 5 weeks per year• Paid Holidays: July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day• Paid Health and Personal Time: 11 days per year• Health Insurance*• Dental and Vision Plan*• Pension Plan*• Life Insurance*• 401(k) Plan• TransitChek Program• Flexible Spending Account*Benefits with no payroll deduction.

Prerequisite:Must be a current member of the Park Slope Food Coop for at least six months immediately prior to application.

How to Apply:Please e-mail a cover letter with your resumé to [email protected]. All members who submit both a cover

letter and resumé will receive a response. Please do not call the office to check on the status of your application.


LOOKING FOR MEMBERS TO FILL A NEW WORKSLOT

On January 31, 2012, participants in the General Meeting overwhelmingly approved the Coop’snew Revolving Loan Program. This initiative

allows the Coop and our individual members todonate money into a fund that will make loans

to start-up coops using the PSFC model. As part of that resolution, a committee was

formed to develop, oversee and report on theloan program. The committee is seeking two

new members. The selection process involves aninterview for those who express interest and avote for candidates at a future GM, probably in

September or October.

Committee members must:

1. Agree to be interviewed by the Loan Committee;2. Be able to attend monthly meetings;3. Be willing to do additional work (beyond 2.75hours/four weeks) as needed;4. Be committed to the loan program; and,5. Have expertise in a relevant area, such as non-profit management, finance and lending, coopdevelopment, grocery store management, law.

Committee members will receive work credit.

Once the interviews are completed, candidates seeking committee placement will

write a statement to be published in theLinewaiters’ Gazette, and will stand for a vote at

a General Meeting.

To sign up for an interview, please senda statement of interest and your resume

to [email protected] and we will contact you.

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM


Classified advertising in the Linewaiters’ Gazette is available only to Coop members. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Coop.

✮ EXCITING WORKSLOT OPPORTUNITIES ✮Bathroom CleaningTuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,Friday 12 to 2 p.m.Work with a partner to deep clean theCoop’s bathrooms. Tasks include scrub-bing floor tiles, cleaning toilets, moppingfloors and stocking the bathrooms. Youwill work with only natural cleaning prod-ucts. This job is perfect for members wholike to clean and are conscientious aboutdoing a thorough job.

Store EquipmentCleaningMonday, 6 to 8:30 a.m.The Coop is looking for members to cleanthe checkout area of the store. It entailscleaning the scales at each check out andvacuuming around the base of the check-out station as well as sweeping and occa-sionally mopping. You will work under thesupervision of a staff person

Office Data EntryThursday and Friday, 4 to 6:45 p.m.Must have been a member for at leastone year with excellent attendance. Areyou a stickler for details and accurateon the computer? Do you like workingindependently? If this sounds like you,then Office Data Entry will be your per-fect shift. Please speak to Ginger Jung inthe membership office (or put a note inher mailbox) prior to the first shift formore information and schedule train-ing. Must make a 6-month commitmentto the workslot.

Laundry andToy CleaningMonday and Thursday,8:30 to 10:30 p.m.This workslot has two responsibilities.You will load laundry into dryer, fold itand redistribute it around the Coop.While the laundry is washing/drying,

you will clean toys in the childcareroom. You will be working with a partneron these tasks. Please contact Annetteor Jana in the Membership Office forfurther information.

Entrance DeskFriday, 5:45 to 8:15 a.m.Supervised by Membership Coordinators,you will be staffing the Entrance desk inhours of the weekday before the Coop isopen to shoppers. Primarily you will bechecking in working members, informingthem of their member and household sta-tus, and handing out entrance desk slipsto members who need them. Entranceworkers provide an essential member ser-vice and must be welcoming, polite, ableto read and interpret information on theentrance desk screen, able to clearly con-vey information about member statusdirectly to members. Entrance workersalso provide a key security function, andmust remain alert throughout the shift,which may have slow periods. Thereforereading, writing, talking on the phone, tex-ting, etc. is not allowed. Punctuality andgood attendance will be essential, as youwill be the only Entrance worker sched-uled at this time of day. Paid MembershipCoordinators will be present to train youon your first (and second) shift, and thento support you and answer questionsgoing forward.

To Submit Classified or Display Ads:

Ads may be placed on behalf of Coop members only. Clas-sified ads are prepaid at $15 per insertion, display ads at $30.(Classified ads in the “Merchandise–Non-commercial” cate-gory are free.) All ads must be written on a submission form.Classified ads may be up to 315 characters and spaces. Dis-play ads must be camera-ready and business card size (2" x3.5" horizontal).

Submission forms are available in a wallpocket near theelevator in the entrance lobby.


9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM



THANK YOU!

Thank you to the following members for referring friends who joined the Coop in the last four weeks.Hoora AbdolrezaJuwariya Abdul-KarimClaire AdamsCharlotta AnderssonSwati ArgadeRobert BaronJulia BettinelliZena BiblerMelani BolyaiTyra BombettoMarine BoudeauEmma BowenShira BurtonHeather CampbellMaya ChandallySharon ChandallyDavid Cohen

Daniel ColemanLaura ComerfordCathy CumminsSeth CumminsMelissa DimasGinger DoldenNeil DonahueDonnieHenry DunnLauren ElfantClare EllisNaomi FairSonya FinkelDiane FitzgeraldGalina Dan GeorgeJocelyn Glei

Anne GoldbergAdam GonzalesDion GrahamEmily GrebleMarisa H.Ted H.Bryan HallGeralyn HarryFelix HernandezMichal HershkovitzGene HicksRiley HooperJared HorowitzDeborah HuntingtonRanah JalladKaren JeffersonAllison K.

Elie KatzTracey KeaysJaime KeelingRachel LaneSara LeschChana LewSophia LiLindaSuguna LorenzoLiza LowingerCatherine LuuClaudine MarrotteStephanie MatthewsLarry McGaugheyThomas McGaugheyBlair McNamaraRobert Minsky

Embry OwenGabriella PaiellaKatie PallattoMarcie PaperEmily ParkerRebecca ParkerMichael PerrineMatthew PintoKrista PlanoKathryn PopeZipporah PortugalTimothy ProlElizabeth ReillyKristy RobertsGuadalupe RosalesAdam RosenwachPhilip Sachs

Fia-Stina SandlundEli SchneiderMelissa SchulzHayley SevernsRebecca ShieldsSeanna SiffletRebecca SimonKia SisonErin StarkSusan SteinbrockIrma SuarezEvelyn SucherAlice TavenerHanna TulisDavid VigilJan VomackaMordecai Walfish

Hilary WallisKate WartherEvan WeissLois WilckenOlivia WilliamsonEric WinickStephen WoloshinLiz YoungLaura Z.Misha ZabranskaJen Ziegler

COMMUNITY CALENDARCommunity calendar listings are free. Please submit your event listing in 50 words or less to

[email protected] deadlines are the same as for classified ads.

Please refer to the Coop Calendar in the center of this issue.

SUN, SEP 8

11 a.m., Damo I Jin—a “tendon-

changing” form of Chi Kung

(“life-force energy practice”)—

continues in Prospect Park,

through the summer and fall.

Newcomers are welcome to join

the class any week. For more

information, contact quicksil-

[email protected] or 212-

946-1537.

TUE, SEP 10

2 p.m. Staged Reading of Theater

Three Collaborative’s Climate

Change Play, Extreme Whether,

With Zach Grenier (The Good Wife)

and Talkback with Dr. Jennifer

Francis, Arctic Ice Scientist.

Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Com-

merce St., NY. RVSP: compa-

ny@cher ry lanetheat re .org .

212.989.2020 FREE tickets, reser-

vations suggested.

THU, SEP 12

Party for Farmworkers and

Food Justice. Live on the edge

of food justice: join Rural &

Migrant Ministry to celebrate

Justice for Farmworkers with a

night of FOOD, live music, and

mixing. Ticket includes speak-

er, drink voucher and market

spread catered by Haven 's

Kitchen. For t ickets info:

www.farmworkers.bpt.me/ or

call 845-309-8420.

FRI, SEP 13

9 p.m. Flying Home with special

guest Cynthia Hopkins. Flying

Home continues to explore the

classic repertoire of the Benny

Goodman small ensembles

plus big band hits of the ’30s

and ’40s. 9 p.m. Flying Home,

10 p.m. George Cole: Gypsy

Jazz. One admission $10. Jalopy

Theatre 315 Columbia St., Car-

roll Gardens. www.jalopy.biz

SAT, SEP 14

12 p.m. The Fi f th Annual

Columbia Waterfront Fall Fes-

tival is scheduled to take place

on Columbia St. from Degraw

to Union and from Columbia to

Hicks on Union St. The Fall

Festival is a family-friendly,

annual festival held in Brook-

lyn’s Columbia Street Water-

front District.

THU, SEP 26

6 p.m. Learn how to manage

your finances, maintain good

credit and make the most of your

budget in this free five-week

course. Neighborhood Housing

Services of East Flatbush, 2806

Church Ave. (bet Nostrand &

Rogers Aves.) To register call,

718.469.4679. Sponsored by

NHS and Neighborhood Trust,

www.nhsnyc.org.

SAT, SEP 28

8-10:30 p.m. Peoples' Voice Cafe:

Walkabout Clearwater Chorus;

Faith Nolan at the Community

Church of NY Unitarian Univer-

salist,40 E. 35 St. Wheelchair-

access. For info 212-787-3903

www.peoplesvoicecafe.org. Sug-

gested donation: $18 gener-

al/$10 members/more if you

choose, less if you can't/no one

turned away.

Looking for

something new?Check out the Coop’s

products blog.

The place to go for the latest information on our current

product inventory.

You can connect to the blog via the Coop’s websitewww.foodcoop.com

PHO

TO B

Y KE

VIN

RYA

N

If you are interested in the history of the Coop or in when and how particular subjects have been

discussed in the Gazette...

Send an e-mail to Len Neufeld, Gazette indexer, [email protected], to request PDF files of

either or both of the following indexes:

◆ An alphabetized list of the titles of all articles published in theGazette from 1995 to the present, with issue dates.

◆ An alphabetized list of all subjects (including people’s names) discussed in Gazette articles from 1995 to the present,

with article titles, issue dates, and page numbers.

Many of the Gazette issues referenced in these indexes are available as PDFs on the Coop’s website.

Follow the Food Coop on

@foodcoop

9-5-13pp1-20_Layout 1 9/4/13 8:04 PM

Should the Coop Carry Genetically Modified Foods?

Documents

Transcript of Should the Coop Carry Genetically Modified Foods?