Coops

After all this fanfare about the car-coop, the question is… what exactly is a cooperative? The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) defines a coop as “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.” Did you feel that heart warming sensation too? And just wait, it gets better. A cooperative is based upon 7 principles:

1) Voluntary and Open Membership

2) Democratic Member Control

3) Member Economic Participation

4) Autonomy and Independence

5) Education, Training and Information

6) Co-operation among Co-operatives

7) Concern for Community.

This list is all well and good. But what really differentiates a coop from a membership based retailer?

Costco Vs. Coop

Until recently, I was sure Costco was a co-op. But what separates membership based corporations from say a cooperative Car-Coop are the 7 principles. When you buy a $400 membership at the Car-Coop, you’re buying shares. Yes, your money not only goes directly into getting what you want—convenient and affordable transportation— but also gives you the opportunity to vote on how the Car-Coop is run. Your membership to Costco does not buy you shares in Costco.

Another big difference: A Costco shareholder’s number of votes depends on the number of shares they hold. Everyone who is a part of a coop usually has only one share and only one vote. Also, while Costco is a publicly traded company and their shares depend on the market, the Car-Coop’s shares are bought through membership and prices are set by the coop. Already we see principle 2 and 3 at work.

"Coop"-eration

How about the principle of cooperation. While a store like Costco is a business competing with other like businesses, the Car-Coop forges alliances with other cooperatives. Case and point: the alliance between the Vancouver, Revelstoke, and other car-shares with the Victoria Car-Share. Rather than competing for business, they are working together to provide more accessible and convenient services for its members. This does not mean that a cooperative is not a competitive business model. It does make a profit in order to sustain the services it provides. However, a cooperative model seems to recognize that sustainable and productive growth that benefits its members can come from a combination of marketing and cooperation.

A Cooperative by definition also engages in community education and community support. The nature of the coop itself is that of community. It brings people together, gives people an equal voice in the running of the coop and strives to make connections with other cooperatives. The car-coop, by its very nature, teaches people about conservation, resource use reduction, cooperation, and community. Often cooperatives will also engage in other community activities outside of the cooperative, much like responsible businesses do as well.

A Couple Of Coop Options

As a viable business model, the cooperative seems to work. The Car Coop is constantly expanding, making new connections, increasing its fleet of cars and its membership base. Another case and point— just look at the Mountain Equipment Coop. You purchase a $5 membership (one share in the company) and you have one vote in how the coop is run and you know that your purchases (of the membership and products) go towards providing you continuous access to quality products at a reduced price. And at the end of the day, you can be rest assured that the Mountain Equipment Coop is a strong business and here to stay. What makes me so sure? Their huge base of members, constant revenue, and their smart and ethical business practices (but that's a whole separate post in and of itself).

Other co-operatives have been formed by people not quite satisfied by the services they receive from private business models. For example, there are health cooperatives popping up here and there. The Victoria Community Health Cooperative seeks “to offer integrative, primary health care education and services that are accessible to all Victorians through membership with, and participation in” the cooperative. The cooperative takes the approach that individuals should have a say in the management of the organizations providing health assistance and should have affordable access to integrative and holistic health options if they choose to use them. Ownership over how your health care system is run… maybe it’s not such a bad idea on a certain scale...

What do you think about the cooperative model? What does or does not make it a good business model? And for you Americans, what do you think about this idea of health cooperatives? These marmots don’t know a whole lot about them yet, but they can do some digging for sure.

Thanks for reading! Happy Greening!

Victoria Car-Share

After years of heming and hawing about trading in my Hawaii driver’s license, I finally sidled into ICBC, waited in the shortest DMV line I’ve ever been in and came out with a yellow sheet of paper saying I was a valid BC driver.

Great! Except I don’t have a car— or really any good reason to buy one. I live close enough to bike or walk to work, Victoria has an excellent public transit system, and most importantly, I have friends with cars.

For the last five years, living in Victoria sans car worked perfectly— that is until IT hit: the desire to go beyond the bus route.

To rent or co-op?

In March, the British Columbia Institute of Cooperative Studies (BCICS) at UVic organized a conference on co-operative models. It was here that I learned about the (and not to be biased or anything) amazing, Victoria Car-Share. This model, adopted across north america, is a way for infrequent drivers to save money, save the environment, and still get to those out of the way places when the desire hits. For my first, “oh shucks neither of us who want to go to the middle of nowhere old growth forest camping have a car,” trip I was daunted by the idea of investing $400 (fully refundable when you leave the co-op) and decided I’d go with the one time rent a car.

Clearly not my brightest moment.

Renting seemed like a good idea (don’t ask why) until I actually went to pick up the car and found out that due to my age (under 25), I had to pay a per diem premium. The total to rent a car for just 3 days exceeded the initial (and let me remind you again, refundable) investment I would’ve had to make had I just joined to car co-op. Plus I had to pay for the gas— it was a hunking $100 tank.

Was I ever kicking myself.

The CFL bulb finally lit up

For the subsequent camping trip with my fellow carless companion, I wisened up. I called the car co-op on a Tuesday and had an appointment for an orientation session that Thursday. I could and did book a car by Friday.

I booked the car for a three day trip to Sombrio (the same amount of time for the car rental to Carmanah Valley). What was the cost? 202.83. This includes the time for the car and the milage (Sombrio wracks up quite the milage). A couple weeks later I rented it for a two hour move and spent a few cents over $10 for the use of the car. While it’s priceless to be able to lend a hand to a move, it’s even better when there’s next to no price at all!

The good news:

At the end of the day I don’t have to worry about paying for insurance or car maintenance. I just book a car, hop in, and drive away.

The even better news:

With 18 different cars throughout Victoria, there is probably one or more within walking distance from your home or work. There are three vehicles within a 5-10 minute walk from me.

The great news:

You’re building community by engaging in a socially responsible co-operative model with other people from your vicinity.

The how can it possibly get any better news:

If you’re thinking about heading to Vancouver, Nelson, Kaslo, or Revelstoke and you need a car— well, with your Victoria Car-Share membership, you can also car-share with the coops in these areas. I might just go to Revelstoke-- just for the heck of it. Anyone know what's there? (Just kidding).

To sum it up:

Thanks to the Victoria Car-Share, this marmot is a much happier camper.

How bout you?

Have you had an experience with a co-op recently? Opinions on the co-op model? How about you Americans down south? Any opinions on medical co-ops? These marmots would like to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading! Happy greening!

Norman Bourlag and the Green Revolution

You’ve probably read the headlines. Norman Bourlag, the face of the Green Revolution, passed away last Saturday. This week, instead of just looking at the detrimental effects of the Green Revolution, themarmotmurmurs would like to look at the intent behind the Green Revolution.

A Road Paved With Good Intentions

The green revolution, for all the flack it gets now, started out as an idealist notion that countries should be able to provide food for its people. Not even nature should limit a person’s access to food. Mr. Bourlag's work on new strains of wheat undeniably provided affordable food to millions of people, including people in India, the Middle East, Africa, and here in North America. He is now, as ever, well deserving of his Nobel Peace Prize.

The good intentions quickly disappeared behind the greed of agro-businesses. Food began to be produced in mass quantities, not to feed the masses but to line the pockets of a few at the expense of the workers who harvested and tended the crops, at the expense of smaller, local farmers, at the expense of landowners who were evicted from their homes, and the people surrounding the agro-business’ plots who could not afford the food being produced in their back yard. The use of pesticides and GMOs of course had detrimental environmental effects such as endangering indigenous and heritage crops. Such crops are not only important to the environment, but often important to specific cultures as well. And undoubtedly such widespread use of pesticides introduced poisons into the soil and water supplies.

Despite good intentions, what the green revolution did not recognize was that nature is not the only limiting factor in a person’s access to food. Today many people recognize that limiting factors include environmental degradation caused by human contact, poverty and prices of food, disease and conflict, poor infrastructure, embargoes, a lack of farms, a lack of financial support to farmers, and a lack of ability or resources to produces one’s own food. The list could go on.

The equation should’ve been simple: higher crop yield = cheaper + more accessible produce. The equation did not factor in a global market that would exploit land, environmental and human health, labour, and economic circumstances of capitally poorer nations and regions….

Ooops.

Okay, so this post did focus on the negatives… but I’d like to remind you that the green revolution was built with good intentions. I respect Mr. Bourlag for his vision, for his brilliance, and for his compassion. And as with most great visions, it is not always the fault of the visionary that the vision has a detrimental side.

But as with all ideas promising sweeping changes, we must always consider the possible consequences. We must consider what it means to drastically and intentionally shape nature. We must consider the effects such changes will have on individuals directly engaged in the movement, those engaged in the production, and those who might be indirectly affected. While there is no crystal ball for all of this, the lessons from the Green and Blue revolution alike can provide helpful hints for future endeavors.

And how about you?

What will you do today to support food security? Will you join the good food box? Will you plant a garden? Will you go to your local farmer’s market? Do you have a brilliant solution to widespread hunger?

Thoughts?

Thoughts or comments about the green revolution?

Thoughts or comments on the blog? Should we head back to the reviewing of delicious things around the city? Any suggestions on the next yummy place we should hit up? Really, marmots just want an excuse to eat.

Best Book Review Job... Ever (that might be a hyperbole)

Are you deep in the midst of an eco-friendly book? Are you endowed with a love of the environment and the written word? Do you have a basic grasp on grammar and structure? If so... this might be the job for you.

If I had the qualifications to assess any of these books, I know I'd jump at this. I'm sure at least a few of our readers out there have a talent, experiential knowledge, and drive for this so without futher ado.... check out this call for book reviews.

7 Ways To Offset an Environmental Ooops!

Oooops

It’s true. Last night I committed a cardinal sin of environmentalism—falling asleep with the lights on. Right now I should be prostrate in front of the environmental gods asking for forgiveness and finding ways to right my wrong. What I am really counting on is that a) I will not pass out with the lights on in the near future (unlikely) and b) other past and future energy saving activities might make up for my increased carbon footprint last night (probably unlikely).

That said, I got to thinking about seven vindicating activities that might put me in the “okay, so you’re not sooooo bad” chapter of “oh-dear-the-earth-is-screwed-and-it’s-all-your-fault” book.

7 vindicating activities:

1) Taking shorter showers: We’ve all heard the 5 minute rule. It’s golden.

2) Cycling: Not only has cycling to work staved off increased muffin-topping, but it produces no carbon emissions. This bike was bought second hand meaning no new materials were used by purchasing it. Some people are making new bikes out of bamboo too!

3) Victoria car-share coop: Because not everything is bicycle accessible. I just joined the car-share and so far love it. You make an intial, refundable, investment of $400 (refundable when you leave the co-op), and then are able to book one of 16 cars throughout Victoria for trips up to 3 days long. You pay by the hour and by the mileage. It means you can have access to a car, share it with other people, not use more resources than necessary (e.g. materials used to make a car only for you), build community, and get where you want to go. Let’s face it, I like local, but I really like traveling too.

4) Only having lights on when it’s actually dark: Sometimes this looks a little creepy when I’m sitting in my office and the lights are off. The 2 x 1 window in the right hand corner of the room provides enough natural light to get the work done. However, when clients come in or when it’s cloudy and actually too dark to do work, on go the lights. I can’t appear too creepy all the time.

5) Composting: I have never felt less guilty about peeling vegetables.

6) Recycling: You can recycle just about everything. No joke. Check out the CRD's site about where you can recycle what.

7) Camping: If done “right,” camping can be a low impact way to vacation. You don’t use electricity, excess water, and you learn a little more about the place you are in. The basics of respectful camping seem to mean “leaving no trace,” adhering to rules of the camp grounds, not throwing garbage amassing raves (non-garbage producing raves are fine minus the noise pollution that might disturb the wildlife) on the beach (and yes… this does happen—DJs, lights, and all), and staying on trails.

There are so many more things that one can do to reduce their carbon footprint and a lot of them can be fun! While composting may not be the highlight of my day, going camping definitely is. Today I think I will eat from the garden—probably the most local way of eating—and try not to fall asleep with the light on.

New Beginnings

The best excuse these marmots can muster

We’ve been enjoying the summer too much to write!

We know, we know— that’s no excuse at all. But we’re back and very appreciative to you for sticking with us.

Thank you!

A quick update

After school ended, Emily moved back to the mainland to enjoy the summer. She hiked the Chief, went camping, is volunteering left, right and center, and as always is learning more and more about ways to live in an environmentally sustainable way. Emily’s take on Vancouver’s sustainability scene will be part of the resurrected Marmot Murmurs blog.

Katie opted to forgo her traditional summers at home in Hawaii and remained in Victoria to uncover what exactly these BC summers are all about (strictly for research purposes). So far she has been enjoying the new garden at her new place. (A post on the wonders of gardening and the wonders of having roommates with green thumbs to come). The unswimmable, but skim boarding, hang-out, drink-coffee-by, and yes— even surf friendly beaches burrowed a place into her little heart as has Nootka Island and week long surf/camping trips.

Both are ready to begin this little blog again.

Why start again?

“Approval of Modified Corn Worries Activist, Farmers.”

If the heading sounds familiar, you probably read it in the Times Colonist or whatever your favorite local paper might be. If you read the article, did you also slap your forehead in frustration (though not quite disbelief)? And if you haven’t read it, here’s the re-cap: The CFIA approved a new GMO corn engineered by Monstanto and Dow AgroSciences.

Have you smacked your head in frustration yet?

How about after this: “ ‘You’d think that a combination of eight GE traits would trigger and environmental assessment, but the CFIA has [provided] no public record of their evaluation’ said Lucy Sharratt, co-ordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.” (Michelle LaLonde of Canwest News Service). Yes, you read that correctly: eight genetically engineered traits. And it gets better. These genetically engineered traits “tolerate” pesticide products made by both Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences.

Still not bothered? Okay, how about this:

“The CFIA has also conditionally authorized for SmartStax a reduction in the size of the buffer zone, or ‘refuge,’ normally required around genetically engineered corn” (Michelle LaLonde of Canwest News Service).

So let’s get this straight: CFIA approved a GMO without publishing its environmental evaluations and provided less protection to farmers who do not want contamination of their crops by these GMOs. Well done, CFIA. Well done.

Thoughts? Comments? Is this too heavy handed? Is there a good reason for the CFIA's decision? Let us know what you think, and let's get this discussion rolling.

Slow Food: Not Just Escargot

Sorry for the late post, but we had Slow Food on our hands-- and in light of the idea of taking time to get to know the food, the produce, the land... we thought we'd take some time to get to know slow food (though we still don't really know Slow Food and would like your input on some of the questions and issues to follow). But before we get to our Slow Food bit, we'd just like to say thank you for reading, for your excellent suggestions for ways to expand the blog, of different services and organizations we can check out, for your comments, and e-mails!

One suggestion was a Food TV like post (video and all). Another was incorporating more about the "marmot" lifestyle that reached beyond food. We're totally stoked on this idea! (We promise we'll look into other things too, it just so happens food is a big part of a marmot's life, especially in the winter. Gotta stock up to keep warm!) Thoughts?

And now... Slow Food
In A Literary History of Canada (glazed over eyes is a normal response, but it’ll get better) Northrop Frye points out that the key to ‘Canadian-ness’ is not so much bound to the question “who am I?” but rather, “where is here?” Really you could go down the list of great Canadian minds and see that most of them (Margaret Atwood, George Grant, Tim Lilburn, Dennis Lee, Stephen Selmon, David Suzuki, to name a few) are in part pre-occupied by this question of place. What is this landscape we call Canada? What is its geopolitical relationship between the US and Britain? How has it changed and how have we changed it through the continuing processes of colonization? How have and do we interact with land? What does it mean to live here? And by proxy, what does it mean to eat here?

The Slow Food Movement gets these questions. And while Slow Food does not give the definitive answer that the “I Am Canadian” Molson beer ads seem to give (when Molson was still Canadian), Slow Food does set a good foundation for exploring what it means to be in this place by what means to eat in this place.

What is Slow Food?

At the heart of the Slow Food Movement is the connection between people and produce, between consumers and farmers, between respect and knowledge of the land, nature, processes, and culture that shape the food on our plates. In Slow Food Nation, the movement’s founder, Carlo Petrini, points out that it is not enough to read about slow food, “you must meet the small farmers, the people who produce and process food, the people who strive to make the production-consumption system fairer, to render it sustainable and enjoyable.” Slow Food is Wild Fire Bakery, it is the Good Food Box, it is Seedy Saturday, and Moss Street Market. Slow Food is the stance against fast food, against a life style that distances the consumer from the product and producers. The Slow Food Vancouver site describes it as a movement to "counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world."

Despite a set of philosophies we agree with, figuring out a stance on Slow Food was no simple task. Before cracking open Slow Food Nation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, we thought we had the equation laid out and solved. Slow Food + Focus on Sustainability + International Movement= Good.

Apparently we’re not so great at math.

As we learned more and more about slow food, we discovered the equation is much more complex. What began as a fluffy journey into a seemingly ecologically gold stamped and approved movement turned into a fairly impassioned and half thought out discussion on movements that begin from the economic “top.” Surely any true ecological movement would not be one that, simply by practice and by membership fees, excludes the not-so-wealthy. But here is Slow Food—an international movement courting their members’ fine palates with international, artesian food conferences. To join the Vancouver chapter, you have to pay a $90 membership fee. The good news is that if you’re under 30, you only have to pay $45. And as cited in The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved (a book supporting Slow Food), if you want to have a meal with Petrini, you’re looking at a $500 ticket. So far-- not what we’d call a revolution of the people.

Slow Food for Thought
Or is it? At a crossroads, Katie decided to write to her family and in the process tried to work through our conundrum. Here's an excerpt:

'While at a “Remaking the Economy Through People's Eyes" conference sponsored by the BC Insitute for Co-operative Studies, I ran into a woman from Slow Food Vancouver. She reminded me that slow food really is about the connection with the food, the farmers, the processes. And yet I'm not completely sold on a movement that at its core really excludes a huge economic segment of the population. At $90 a pop for a membership ($45 if you’re under 30 or $110 for couples), and links to articles about the movement that cost $5 each (courtesy Globe and Mail), and with food tasting conferences around the globe... it makes the movement chic, it makes it glamorous, but it also kind of makes it elitist.

'On the other hand Slow Foods Canada organizes neat community projects like the Bike the Blossoms event in Vancouver where (just for five bucks) you bike through bike trails and on the way stop off at local farmers' and artesian bakers' booths set up that day. I guess it's a good mix. But should the idea of being connected to your food and knowing where your food comes from really be something limited to people in a certain economic bracket? Should any social movement? On the other hand, I understand that a cool movement also needs to be well funded.

'I also understand that in general, North Americans do not pay for the full cost of their food. Instead, cheap prices come at the expense of externalizing other costs like poor working conditions for labourers on the farms and packaging plants in distant countries, poor conditions for animals raised for meat, milk, and eggs, strain on the soil from fertilizer use and monoculture practice, high GHG emissions as we import these goods, etc. What we don’t pay in cost, other animals, people, and the earth tend to pay for us.

'But perhaps the issue isn't so much the price of local, organic, fair trade foods. Perhaps the issues are the stunted living wage, the high cost of living in general, the need for improved social assistance (and not just through raising income assistance and employment insurance benefits but by creating a system where people on income assistance and employment insurance can actually earn money without being docked dollar per dollar while they're getting back on their feet), or increased funding for soup kitchens, for Beacon Community Center and other neighbourhood community centers that support the Good Food Box initiative.... Maybe slow food is on the right track, actually I'm sure it is, but maybe other social, economic, gastronomic systems need to catch up to the pillars of Slow Food.'

Our Not So Conclusive Conclusion
On the surface, Slow Food equals good food and not just delicious food, but fair, sustainable food that connects people to people, nature to people, place to people. And as Canadians (and the not-quite Canadians among us), as a nation asking "where is here?" what a better way to find out than through food, our relation to it, and how we foster our commitment personally and systemically to eating-- not just good food, but slow food.

Is there something you wanted to hear more about? What's your response to the Slow Food Movement? Are any of you members? As always, we look forward to your comments!

Thanks for reading!
Happy Greening!

Good Food Box

A box of fresh, local veggies, some great friends (and brave ones at that), fondue, and desserts made for a heck of an evening.

What fruits and veggies, you ask. The ones from the Good Food Box Program! Here, good not only refers to the quality of produce, but to their social, economic, and ecological quality as well.

Fresh, Local, Love It.

All the produce in the Good Food Box (save the navel oranges in the Fruit box) come from BC. 40% of these fruits and veggies are harvested right here on Vancouver Island. Because the produce comes from local farms like Michell’s on Island View Road, you can eat easy knowing that you’re sautéing fresh and in-season produce (hence having more-cabbage-than-we-know-what-to-with). Now before we get carried away and start getting into our week’s follow up post on eating local and the slow food movement, let’s talk about what exactly you get in these boxes.

If you check out last post’s photo, you’ll see two bunches of carrots, two hefty, organic spaghetti squashes, an armful of Klondike Rose potatoes, broccoli, two heads of cabbage, three onions, and a bag of Granny Smith apples rivaling those $10 Safeway bags, and about ten kiwi. Guess the price.

Fifteen dollars! At a supermarket, we’d be emptying our wallets for this cart-load. So if you’re like us and worried about the price of eating local, then this once a month service is perfect. And if you’re looking for organic produce, just some BC fruit, or a just smaller box, Good Food Box has options.

Keep in mind the contents change month to month depending on what’s in season. If you picked up the all-organic box, you could expect some beets, basil, red cabbage, red onions, red potatoes, carrots, squash, and Gala apples—all for $15 (and that’s all organic)! The $12 fruit box would be loaded with crunchy Asian pears, (not so local, but I’m sure delicious) Navel Oranges, local kiwi, Red Anjou Pears, and Fuji Apples. And if the size of our $15 Good Food Box seemed a little daunting, you can order a slightly smaller $10 box or even a $5 bag.

Tip: If you’re getting the $15 box make sure you have the upper body strength to lug that sucker to your place or bring your bike (or hybrid car).

Potluck or… Pot“shucks”

We’ll admit it; we were a little worried about Katie’s cooking skills and these local veggies. Would their fresh flavour hold out against the “ooopsies!” and “was that baking soda… or powder I just put in’s” that mark her presence in a kitchen?

Kim, Stacey, Sarah, and Lisa tested their taste buds’ mettle and dug their forks in. Luckily, whatever the outcome of these dishes, Sarah and Kim had brought fondue, bread, and sausage, while Stacey and Lisa covered dessert with some delicious peanut-butter, chocolate chip cookies and raspberry-chocolate strudels. Plus, there’s nothing quite like good company to salvage a meal.

But amazingly enough, the meal didn’t require any salvaging! Hooray for fresh produce!

The great thing about buying incredibly fresh vegetables is versatility. Your recipes can range from Iron Chef to, well—Katie, because at the end of the meal, it’s all about the produce. It’s about the sweetness of the carrots, the tartness of the apples, the texture of the squash. And when you’re cooking for a potluck, it’s also always about the people who are sitting around the table with you.

On the Menu from the Good Food Box:
Carrots, roasted in butter and rosemary
Klondike Rose Potatoes, boiled then pan fried in garlic
Carrots and Peas (peas not from the Box)
Spaghetti squash, roasted, spaghetti-ed, and sautéed in a bit of brown sugar
Home made applesauce

By the way, the carrots are so sweet, with such a bright flavour, you might just consider eating them all raw.

If you’re looking for some quality produce at a reasonable price, or if you’re looking for a way to reduce the cost of your 100-mile diet check out the Good Food Box Program at www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca/goodfoodbox.html. Find out the nearest distribution center to you before the next round of payments are due on March 4th.

The Good Food Box is also looking for volunteers. If you’re stoked about this program call (250)381-1552 ext. 33 or e-mail goodfoodbox@fernwoodneighbourhood.ca.

Thanks for reading! And don’t forget to check back for our post on eating local and the slow food movement coming up later in the week.

Happy Greening!

A little taste of next week

So this post was supposed to be on the Slow Food Movement, but after some thought it seems like Slow Food would be better placed with a bit about growing, buying, going locals-- part of next week's segment.   Plus, we had to figure out how we were going to prepare all these vegetables from the Good Food Box for a mini potluck with guest reviewers (and a reappearance by Lisa)!

Let’s be straight up—Katie is not the best cook.  So if these veggies turn out, it’s probably because of the natural taste of this fresh-from-the farm produce (and the recipes suggested by her father).  If they don’t turn out… we’ll talk about the veggies and fruits before their roasted fates (as well as give Katie a hard time about her cooking).

Hold your breath and let’s hope for the best.  The veggies started out beautiful!  Let’s just hope they stay that way.

Happy greening!

Red Fife: Eat Your Heart Out

Part of our goal is to keep the blog posts fairly manageable in size.  But what this might mean is an occasional “cliff-hanger” (we know you were all constantly refreshing the blog page in hopes of finding out what Red Fife was).  So instead of making a super long post and cramming everything in at once, we’ll occasionally have these follow-up posts to explain key terms and movements.  We will also try to identify what terms we will follow up on in the first post of the week.  Also, if there is anything you’d like us to follow up on, post your comments or send an e-mail!  We’d love to hear from you. 

What’s In a Grain? 

Now for the good stuff.  What exactly is this Red Fife that’s got artesian bakeries across Canada all in a tizzy?  

Well, for starters it’s one of Canada’s oldest heritage wheat, coming to these soils in 1842.  Don Genova in the Georgia Straight describes the mythical origins of this tiny grain, from an accidental trip on a hatband from a Ukrainian ship to a whacked out sample from Scotland.  In the end, however, it all ends up with a farmer in central Ontario named David Fife.  Because of Red Fife’s resistance to disease, early harvests, and heartiness in the harsh Ontario and later Prairie winters, it quickly became a staple of the Canadian landscape.

What are the benefits of Red Fife?  Well for one, because it is suited to Canada’s climate and soil, it requires minimal chemical inputs.  Red Fife is also the parent of most of Canada’s wheat. The fact that it was not manufactured in a lab is also a plus, creating a relationship between farmer and plant, human and nature—a relationship we are finding more and more important especially as we read Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement In the World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming.

Despite the environmental benefits of a low chemical dependency and natural adaptation to the Canadian landscape, Red Fife’s popularity on the farm diminished over the years.  This is in part due to a hybrid wheat called Marquis Wheat.  This cross between Red Fife and Hard Red Calcutta wheat seemed to be even more resistant to disease and the Canadian climate.  Promoted by the Canadian Wheat Board, it quickly took over the tilled land once set aside for Red Fife.  Today only a handful of farmers grow and harvest this heritage wheat.  Despite it’s heartiness and rich flavor (I highly recommend the Three Seed Loaf from Wild Fire), Red Fife teetered on the brink of extinction as of 2004.  But with the encouragement of bakeries like Wild Fire and efforts by environmentalists like Sharon Rempel of The Garden Institute of B.C., Red Fife is making a come back on the farms and on Canadian palates. 

Old Grain, New Buzz

In light of Red Fife’s deep history in the Canadian landscape, it almost seems glib to say that Wild Fire Bakery introduced Red Fife to Vancouver Islander’s palates in 2003.  But if you checked out the EAT Magazine article on the connection between Red Fife’s revival and Wild Fire’s success, you’ve seen how promoting sustainable agricultural practices can also be a boon to the economy.  

Red Fife is not all fluff; it’s substance.  Seriously, try one of Wild Fire’s Red Fife loafs (most loaves except for Rye and other specific-grain breads).  You’ll notice the difference right away.  The texture contains just the right balance of substance and give. The taste—a little  Emril Lagasi “Bam!” or what EAT Magazine describes more eloquently as a “unique herby and spicy flavour with a subtle touch of anise and fennel.”    

More than just taste and preservation of an important heritage wheat, the burgeoning market for Red Fife encourages farmers to move away from wheat with patent and ownership baggage.  How strange is it, by the way, that one can patent a seed?

Once people rediscovered the unique taste of Red Fife, the market picked up.  More and more farmers are opening up their acres to this heritage wheat.  While Wild Fire gets its Red Fife from Saskatoon, farmers in Vancouver Island are climbing on board with the Red Fife movement. It won’t be long before Wild Fire is able to be entirely 100-mile-diet-friendly.  

More questions about Red Fife and its ecological benefits? Ask away!  We look forward to your comments and appreciate the insightful, helpful, and encouraging comments we’ve received from our readers so far. Thank you! And thank you all for reading!

Happy Geening!

Katie’s favorite homemade sandwich: 

Two slices of Wild Fire Bakery’s Three Seed bread

Avocado 

Red Leaf lettuce

Alfalfa sprouts

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

and a little bit of mayo

(she would’ve taken a picture, but… she ate it)

Growing like a Wild Fire-- Bakery, that is

For our first actual post, we thought we’d take one for the team, do some hard-core research, get our hands a little sticky, and… eat? 

Let's face it, one of the best parts about being environmentally conscious is that your new mind-frame can open up new culinary doors. For example, located on the corner of Quadra and Pandora (right by the #6 bus stop for all you bikers and mass transit takers) is a beacon of Victoria’s slow food* movement: Wild Fire Bakery.  Though a little out of the city center, it’s hard to miss the colourful mural on the Pandora side of the building. But it’s not the mural or the juxtaposing cozy, rustic interior that keep a steady stream of customers coming from 7:30 a.m. till closing, (usually leaving with a couple of bags, a few boxes, or scattered crumbs on their sleeves).  Wild Fire is famous for their artesian breads, their use of Red Fife wheat*, their cakes, and pastries—all organic, predominantly made from products grown on Vancouver Island or along the lower mainland, and some products that are vegan friendly, as well as wheat, gluten, sugar, diary, and/or egg free. 

“Local Kine Grindz”

Organic in itself is not necessarily enough to make it on this list. What makes Wild Fire stand apart is its commitment to supporting local and organic farmers.  Why can buying local be such a great thing?  First, it supports local and often times smaller farms.  Wild Fire Bakery keeps development local and helps sustain the important business of agriculture on Vancouver Island and the lower mainland.  By buying local, Wild Fire also reduces the amount of carbon emissions it could produce by importing food from say the US, Europe, or Asia.  Keeping the business local creates a community of ecological economics, a term coined by Paul Hawken. (Refer to side bar for reading recommendation).

(We’ll have more on the benefits of eating local coming up in the following weeks—most probably with next week’s post on Victoria’s Good Food Box).  

Biting In

Now, before you admire the building art, let us suggest that you step inside and grab a few snacks (or a Raspberry Mousse Cake or a loaf of Sprout Bread). Today we played it a little light and picked up a croissant, a blueberry Danish, a delicious chocolate tart, and a piece of carrot cake (unfortunately sans cream cheese icing).  We even had a guest taster—the fabulous Lisa—to help us with the taste test and see if this organic, local bakery really measured up. 

“Delicious” was probably the dead giveaway about the tart.  Emily liked the way the tart was neither too rich, nor too sweet.  The filling, a light but creamy chocolate, complimented the flaky pastry.  The best part about the tart, though, was the thin shavings of milk and white chocolate on top.  They literally melt in your mouth.  

The carrot cake—we weren’t so sold on.  However, this might be due to the buyer’s faux pas.  Way to not ask for the cream cheese icing, Katie.  But let Katie’s mistake be a warning to you all—ask for the icing.  The slice was also a bit small, but for about $1.25, not too bad.   The cake itself was moist but did contain raisins (note to readers of authors’ bias: raisins in baked goods just don’t fly). 

The naturally leavened croissant proved Katie’s favorite—crisp on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside, with just enough flaking to make every bite mouth watering.

And last but not least, Lisa’s favorite and all around crowd pleaser, the Blueberry Danish.  While the Danish you usually get is thin with more custard than fruit, this Danish was leavened and lined in the middle of its curve with just enough blueberries to make a mouth happy (if you like blueberries of course).  The bread had just the right amount of give when your teeth first bit in and seemed to melt in your mouth by the center.  And while Danishes tend to be overly sweet, this one’s likeness to an unsweetened, un-cinammon-ed bun impressed the three judges.

Verdict: Check it out.  Whether you’re vegan and looking for some delicious pastries, or you're just looking for delicious pastries—it’s a yummy, local, artesian bakery to a grab breakfast, snack, or dessert at. They even have sandwiches (which look delicious). 

If you try the sandwiches or any of the other products, leave a comment and tell us what you think. Also, let us know what you’d like to hear about, how you think this blog can improve, etc. We’d love to hear from you. 

*Also, stay tuned for Wednesday’s follow-up post on Red Fife wheat and Friday’s post on the slow food movement, as well as next week’s post on Victoria’s Good Food Box.

Oh yeah, and remember to ask for the cream cheese frosting. 

Thanks for reading! Happy greening!

Wild Fire Bakery:

1517 Quadra St.

Victoria, BV V8W 2L3

(250)381-3474

wildfirebreads@shaw.ca

Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Here's a great article on Wild Fire Bakery and Red Fife to tide you over till Wednesday from EAT Magazine.

The Marmot Murmurs, "Welcome."

Thanks for stopping in to the marmot murmurs site!  Ever want some concrete suggestions?   Committed to reducing your environmental impact, but don’t know where to go to get a jump-start? This is just a little blog to keep us all updated and in the loop about the services, activities, workshops, and lectures on Vancouver Island to help all of us in our efforts to live a happy, healthy, eco-friendly life.  Each week we will highlight a particular eco-friendly service in this neck of woods.  The weeks will also be sprinkled here and there with posts about upcoming lectures and eco-friendly, sustainability related events (as well as the occasional lecture review and critique).   

In recent years, sustainability and environmentally friendly have become near meaningless catch phrases used by countries, businesses, and individuals alike to garner blind support from a world population that just wants to do some good.   In light of this, we should clarify what we mean by environmentally friendly and sustainable.  Also, in each of our posts, we’ll tell you why these places, events, and/or services earn this title—or don’t!  

By sustainability, we’re talking about sustainable development.  While some people might consider sustainability (literally a maintenance of a certain state) and development (literally the changing of a certain state) as an inherent contradiction, we’d like to think otherwise—as long as you assume the joint terms both refer to different things. 

Sustainable will refer to a low impact (admittedly not necessarily sustaining, but—close) on the environment, or an impact that is countered by acts of environmental restoration by the individuals, organizations, or services.  In the end, an environmentally sustainable service will be one that cultivates a mutually nurturing relationship between people and the environment. Development will refer in part to the economic portion, but also to the non-monetary progress created (e.g. through the enhancement of the environment and the fostering of critical discussion and new ideas).

For organizations whose practices do more than just sustain the environment and offset their impacts through other environmental contributions, we’ll reserve the label “restorative development,” as coined by Storm Cunningham in The Restoration Economy. 

Why this insistence over the co-habitability of economics and our ecosystem?  Exactly because of their names, economics and our ecosystem.  Connected by their root words, economics literally means “the laws of the house” while ecosystem refers to the very “house” economics seeks to order.  For all you bibliophiles and fellow word-lovers out there, isn’t it about time we start looking at these words as interconnected as their related meanings suggest?  Luckily, there are people and businesses already on top of it.  

Some of the “sustainable” and “environmentally friendly” criteria we are looking for in services and businesses are: local production, low carbon emissions, organic, and also fairly traded items (though not necessarily Fair Trade items).  We’re also looking for people, places, and services that contribute to the local environment in a volunteer capacity. In terms of lectures and workshops, we’re looking for speakers, facilitators, and discussions that provide a critical and complex look at the many interactions between humans and the environment.

And expect us to be honest in our posts. None of this tip-toeing, afraid to step on a few un-recycled cans bit (we will of course promptly pick up those cans and toss them in a recycling bin). That said, we welcome your comments and expect you to be honest—even brutally so if you think we’ve missed the mark.  We also welcome suggestions as to places, events, etc. to take a look at and review. J

Thanks for reading! Happy greening!