Tag: Business

  • Big Food Produces “Illth” to Boost Profits

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    The New York Times has a great article  by Mark Bittman in the Op-Ed Section.  He writes about how Big Food is killing its customers in its quest to increase profits : You can buy food from farmers — directly, through markets, any way you can find — and I hope you do. But unless you’re radically different…

  • Organics Under Attack

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    Daniela
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    The OCA has a long history of defending the integrity of organic standards. Last September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), under pressure from corporate interests represented by the Organic Trade Association, made our job harder. They also made it more important than ever for consumers to do their homework, even when buying USDA certified organic products.…

  • A Large Corporate Low Wage Service Sector Makes For a Town Without a Soul

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    Daniela
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    The Emeryville Tattler blog post, A Large Corporate Low Wage Service Sector Makes For a Town Without a Soul, delves into the debate about how to best develop the town.  The Tattler calls for a new paradigm – one that moves away from the “flawed auto-centric model” with “lots of shopping malls and drive-in drive-out lofts (formally condos,…

  • Co-op Provides Services for No Money

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    Daniela
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    John Darling profiles  the Southern Oregon Time Cooperative in the Ashland Daily Tidings.  This regional co-op provides local services to its members without money ever changing hands. How would you like your hair done, house cleaned or computer fixed without paying any money? It’s happening now for 300 members of the Southern Oregon Time Cooperative…

  • Who Knew This Could Happen?!!!

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    Daniela
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    A spectacular video from Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota demonstrates the incredible capabilities of nature.  The footage is of snow getting pushed ashore in the spring.  This is called an ice shove or shoreline ice pile up.  It is a surge of ice from an ocean or large lake onto the shore. They are caused by…

  • Fifth Season Cooperative Expands Product Line

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    Daniela
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    It’s so amazing to be living here in Wisconsin.  We have a conservative state legislature that passed a bill watering down environmental protections in favor of an out-of-state mining operation that wants to open a strip mine in one of the most ecologically pristine areas in the state.  We have acre upon acre of GE…

  • Cooperatives Inherently More Sustainable

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    Daniela
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    Thibault Worth (what a great name) at the Guardian debunks the idea that cooperative groups are “limited to small grocery stores in hippie towns.” Co-ops have become major forces in the banking, insurance and retail industries. Revenues from the 300 largest co-ops total more than $2tn worldwide, and co-ops employ more than 100 million people…

  • Cooperative Economic Model Cont.’d

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    Daniela
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    In a speech in honor of October as National Cooperative Month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak lauds the cooperative economic model: “Agricultural cooperatives are a driving force in the nation’s thriving farm economy. Because they are farmer-owned and operated businesses, the sales dollars and income generated are much more likely to be returned and spent in…

  • Get Ready for Co-op Week

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    Daniela
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    Donna Balkan of the Canadian Cooperative Association encourages “Canadian Co-operators to get ready for Co-op Week.” October 13-19 is Co-op Week in Canada, a time for co-op members and employees to highlight the contributions of co-operatives to Canadian society and to promote the co-operative business model to the broader community.  The week is timed to…

  • Celebrate Cooperatives this October

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    The Wisconsin Ag Connection encourages Americans to celebrate cooperatives this month: Wisconsin kicks off Cooperative Month in October, there is new evidence that people prefer to do business with cooperatives over investor-owned businesses. That’s according to Cooperative Network, which commissioned a survey through the St. Norbert College Strategic Research Institute that shows 47 percent of consumers…