Author: Daniela

  • Happy New Year

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  • Study Proves What We All Know: Organic Foods Are Good For You

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    Food Tank, “The Think Tank for Food,” celebrates the results of a study conducted by the European Parliament’s Independent Research Service.  Calling it a year-end gift to organic advocates, they note: …the European Parliament’s Independent Research Service, titled “Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture,” has concluded that eating organic food improves early…

  • Great News On the Co-op Front

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    Wallaces Farmer posted an article on the USDA’s recently released annual report on co-operatives. USDA recently released its annual report on cooperatives, saying the nation’s top 100 co-ops again set a record for net income in 2015. Net income for the nation’s agricultural cooperatives soared by 14% last year, according to data released Oct. 5…

  • Honey Cooperatives Help Afghan Women

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    I ran across this inspiring article from the Deccan Chronical on how honey cooperatives are helping Afghan women, in a formerly Taliban region, take control of their lives. In the mountainous central province of Bamiyan, one of the country’s least developed but most liberal regions, beekeeping complements its only other commercial crop, potatoes, and gives rural…

  • Argentine Cooperatives Help the Poor

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    When Argentina sank into economic crisis 15 years ago, worker-owned businesses helped keep food on the table for millions of poor families.  But even though the country’s fortunes have improved, cooperatives continue to play an important role.

  • ET Alert

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    If you are a fan of Extra Terrestrials, Science Alert  has an interesting article on the latest plan to contact the closest Earth-like exoplanet in our Solar system: Scientists are making preparations to send a transmission to Proxima b – the closest Earth-like exoplanet to our Solar System. The team is putting together a plan to build or…

  • Agroecology Popular in Latin World

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    I came across several good articles on agroecology this week.  First, Lois Ross at Rabble.ca feels we have a lot to learn from Cuba’s agroecological revolution.  After the collapse of the Soviet Union Cuba’s export market for sugar fell.  “It did not have the currency to import petroleum or petroleum-based fertilizers to continue cultivation of monocultures…

  • Co-ops Help Lift People Out of Poverty

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    Laura Flanders is a big proponent of co-operatives.  In her recent article in Yes! magazine, she demonstrates how Cooperative Home Care Associates, the nation’s largest cooperative lifts people out of poverty: When Arroyo convened a first-of-its-kind hearing on co-ops this February, New Yorkers packed not one but two hearing rooms at City Hall. Among the co-op…

  • A Conceptual Challenge to Capitalist Thinking

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    Pete Dolack at The Daily Times writes an extensive review of Peter Ranis’ latest book, Cooperatives Confront Capitalism: Challenging the Neoliberal Economy.  He notes that: As capitalism lurches from crisis to crisis, and a world beyond capitalism becomes a possibility contemplated by increasing numbers of people, finding a path forward becomes an ever more urgent task.…

  • Cooperative Helps the Formerly Incarcerted

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    Cooperatives, which are owned and democratically controlled by workers, often provide economic opportunity for the formerly incarcerated, the long-term unemployed and immigrants. In certain industries like commercial cleaning or taxi service, worker-ownership can prevent exploitative or hostile work environments. At TightShift, which provides moving, landscaping, and cleaning services, every member has equal say in the…