ORGANIC NEWS

NEW ORGANIC WINERY IN NACHES HEIGHTS
Sunday, October 28
A Yakima Valley winemaker is teaming up with a well-known Seattle wine establishment to start an organic winery, tasting room and nature recreation facility in Naches Heights.

Working with Naches Heights Vineyard owner Phil Cline, Wines of Washington -- The Tasting Room plans to open a facility on more than 85 acres in the Naches Heights area, not far from the Fred Meyer supermarket. Wines of Washington has a popular location at Seattle's Pike Place Market that features wines from across the state.

The tasting room, a converted, century-old farmhouse at 250 Ehler Road, will showcase wines from Naches Heights Vineyard, Harlequin Wine Cellars in Renton and Wilridge Winery in Seattle.

The project took shape after Cline and Paul Beveridge, co-founder of Wines of Washington and winemaker and owner of Wilridge Winery, found the property in April.

In May, Beveridge planted an organic and biodynamic vineyard. Initially, the grapes grown there will be used for wines under the Wilridge Winery label. But Beveridge hopes to sell some of the grapes to other winemakers.

The new facility will open in time for Wine Yakima Valley's annual "Thanksgiving in the Wine Country" event. The tasting room hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, including through the winter.

Wines of Washington also is working with the nearby Cowiche Canyon Conservancy to establish recreation trails linking the tasting room to the nearby canyon.

University of Washington architecture students have been working onsite providing ideas for a full-blown winery and other facilities, such as a customer self-picking orchard and bicycle trails.

"This is more than a tasting room experience, it's going to be a lifestyle," Cline said. "We want people to have a unique experience."

He said he hopes the new venture will bring more winemaking attention to Naches Heights, which has a cooler climate than winemaking areas in the Lower Valley.

Many observers were skeptical when Cline started growing wine grapes in the Naches Heights area. But he has won critical acclaim from several industry publications for his wines made in Naches Heights.

By MAI HOANG YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

LATEST ORGANIC NEWS FROM THE ORGANIC HOME

AFFORDABLE ORGANIC FOOD
More and more parents are switching to organic and whole foods as they worry about the effects of chemical pesticides and fertilizers on growing children. Organic food is pricey though, and most families have to work within a budget. I know mine sure does.

Cooking and stocking your kitchen with organic food is affordable if you’re willing to do a little extra work. Often, you can buy better quality food for just pennies more if you forego some convenience. Here are three easy ways to save big on organic groceries for your family.

1. Do the trimming, peeling, skinning, and other preparation yourself.

Free-range whole roasters are more affordable than a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and whole, unpeeled organic carrots cost less than a bag of ready-to-eat baby one. Prepared food costs more because you’re also paying for the work, not just the food itself. Someone has to stand behind the counter chopping and skinning all that chicken, and that employee doesn’t work for free. If you have the time to spare but not the money, examine which organic grocery items will fit into your budget if you take on the prep work yourself.

2. Buy in bulk.

Generally, the cost per item goes down as the number of items you buy goes up. Buying in bulk makes sense for organic foods your family eats frequently or those you can store safely for several weeks or months. Even canned foods work this way. A jumbo can of organic diced tomatoes is usually a few cents cheaper per ounce than the standard size. Use what you need for a recipe, and freeze the rest. Websites like Amazon feature a wide variety of organic non-perishables like granola bars at bulk prices.

3. Buy direct from farms.

In the U.S., check out Local Harvest and Eat Wild for family farms and farmers’ markets near you. If you can drive to a local farm with sustainable practices, you can pick up free-range eggs, milk, and butter and grass-fed beef for much lower prices than you’d pay retail. In fact, you can combine this tip and the one above by buying meat from farmers in bulk. Want the good prices but don’t have a separate freezer to fill with an entire side of beef? Get together with two or three other families and put in a large order together. That way, you share the low price and the meat.

Committing to a lifestyle of organic food does not have to strain your household budget. If you have the time and inclination to do a little extra legwork, you will get clean, natural food for your family in return.

By AboutMyPlanet

LATEST ORGANIC NEWS FROM THE ORGANIC HOME

ORGANIC WASTE IN CANADA
The future of your banana peels might be rolled out at city hall Monday.

A number of companies will be presenting technologies for dealing with organic waste at a special meeting of council.

But some residents argue that with an ongoing waste planning process, it's far too early to be talking specifics.

But it's a significant step in the city's efforts to reopen its beleaguered composting plant.

The companies are ones that sent in a preliminary bid to rebuild the city's wet plant instead of sending organics to an incinerator in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

The 14 responses are variations of aerobic digestion -- composting -- and anaerobic digestion -- a kind of composting that happens without oxygen. Incineration is not an option because the province doesn't consider that diversion from waste, said Janet Laird, the city's director of environment.

"We're looking for proven technologies only," Laird said.

The companies have been asked to prepare information about how to build an organics processing plant on the site of the former plant in the city's east end.

"We will be asking in the (request for proposals) what use they will be making of the current property," she said.

After the presentation, city staff will prepare a request for formal bids, give companies a few weeks to respond, and then rank the bids. Laird said that should be done by early in the new year. Council will then select one of the options and the city will apply for approval from the province.

Construction will likely take a year and a half. Laird figures the new wet plant should be ready to go in 2009 or 2010.

But some argue Monday's presentations are devaluing an ongoing waste planning process that's supposed to figure out what will happen with our trash for the next 25 years. That process is expected to finish up next year.

"I'm concerned that it appears to me that they're getting the cart before the horse," said David Birtwistle, a former city councillor. "There's a waste management study going on, so what is the big rush to have a look at these technologies?"

"Is council bypassing the organics part of the solid waste master plan?" asked Ken Spira, who lives in the area of the wet plant and is part of the Guelph Waste Management Coalition. "I don't know why someone is having special meetings looking at organic waste. Organic waste may not be part of the master plan agenda."

Laird confirmed that could be the case.

"I guess the master plan committee could choose against organic waste processing," she said. Dealing with organics separately is not required by the province. But the province has set a goal of diverting 60 per cent of waste from landfill, and that would require some kind of organics processing, she said.

Birtwistle was also concerned that people won't be able to ask questions at the meeting.

"That gives me the impression we're not really too interested in what people have to say," he said. Birtwistle asked to give a presentation, but was advised presentations won't be allowed.

The meeting is Monday at 7 p.m. in council chambers. It will be broadcast on Rogers Television.

From MAGDA KONIECZNA

LATEST ORGANIC NEWS FROM THE ORGANIC HOME

ORGANIC GRANOLA BLUES
Saturday, October 27
North Country Co-Op will shut down by November 4. The venerable grocery store has been selling organic vegetables and bulk granola to West Bank residents and University of Minnesota students for 37 years. But mounting debt and declining sales led to a bleak financial forecast for the store. The decision to shut down, sell the building, and pay off the organization's debts was made at a meeting Monday evening.

The Twin Cities original co-op was in some ways a victim of its own success. "It's a bit of a Phyrric victory for us," says North Country board member Doug Sembla. "Originally the vision of the co-op movement was that organic and local foods would be accessible to everyone. Now you're seeing organic and local food at Cub, at Wal-Mart, at the corner stores. North Country was a big part in inspiring that."

Roger Dumas recalls shopping at the co-op as a long-haired U of M music student in the early 70s. "It was kind of dark and unadorned with industrial size drums of honey and very liquidy peanut butter and granola," recalls Dumas, who is now a researcher at the university's Brain Sciences Center. "If it wasn't for those three things I probably wouldn't be alive today."

Posted by Paul Demko at October 26, 2007 7:40 PM

LATEST ORGANIC NEWS FROM THE ORGANIC HOME