Bottles and Bags, Bans \And Boycotts
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
06-05-08 p 01-07B 6/4/08 6:40 PM Page 1 OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP OPE FOO SL D CO RK O A 1973–2008 P P Established 1973 35 YEARS Volume CC, Number 12 June 5, 2008 A Novel Approach Bottles and Bags, to Literary Acclaim By Gayle Forman or poet and now novelist Robin Messing, success came Bans \and Boycotts Fvery quickly—and then very slowly. By Daniel Burke The New York City native—whose lyrical and beautiful debut novel Serpent in the Garden of Dreams was published last month— never actually intended to be a writer. As a child, she always irst bottled water, then Minute Maid and Odwalla). At kept a notebook handy to jot down poems (her first verse was T-shirt-type plastic bags: one point, the Coop boy- published when she was in second grade), but in college she Ftwo popular items cotted all products from Col- removed from the Food Coop orado. All were removed for by a majority vote at the past political reasons, each two monthly General Meet- removal being intimately con- ings, in April and May respec- nected with the current tively. The bottled water ban events of the time. was two years in the making. Some of the items eventu- The plastic bags were ally returned, signaling tossed after more than that conditions were a year of debate. met. For others, sub- Over the years, stitutes were found. many products— Currently, the including some Coop still boy- popular ones— cotts Coca-Cola have been pulled and Nestle prod- from the shelves. ucts. Some were Many boycotts banned indefi- originate in the BY ANN ROSEN PHOTOGRAPH Brooklyn poet and novelist Robin Messing nitely, others form of a resolu- boycotted until LONG BY OWEN ILLUSTRATIONS tion, approved conditions were with a majority studied experimental psychology. After graduation, however, met. vote at a General she went to work in a neuropsychology lab and “realized it Meeting. Others wasn’t for me.” Boycotts Must Be have started in a less Part of Wider official manner, with- Early Days at the Coop Struggle out a vote, such as when After college, Messing joined the Park Slope Food Coop. According to General the Coop began to boycott Around that time, she heard well-known Beat poet Anne Coordinator Joe Holtz, bans all South African goods Waldman speak. “She just struck me as the quintessential and boycotts are possible because of apartheid. As poet,” says Messing, who approached Waldman, who in turn because of the stability of the Holtz recalls, “It was such a told Messing about the free workshops at the Poetry Project at Coop’s membership, not to no-brainer, obvious, that it St. Mark’s Church in the East Village. Messing started attending mention its political commit- never got voted on.” That and began working with Waldman’s then-husband, the poet ment. But the days are long gone boycott was eventually Lewis Warsh. “If we were really strug- of worrying about an exodus resolved with the fall of As Messing’s interest in poetry grew, she incorporated it into gling economically, and that of members disgruntled by a apartheid in 1994. the burgeoning Park Slope Food Coop. It was during the early means struggling to get lack of variety on the shelves. days at the Coop, when it was less a grocery store than a weekly enough members to help pay And the Food Coop can sell— Boycott Guidelines CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 the bills, to help share the or not sell—according to According to the Coop’s expenses of running this ever-evolving standards that “Boycott Policy History” Next General Meeting & Annual Meeting on June 24 place—because that’s what are often far different from guidelines, parts of which The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on the we do as members—then I those at your average super- were passed at the General last Tuesday of each month. The next General Meeting and think we wouldn’t be any less market. Meetings of April and July Annual Meeting will be Tuesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the pure or righteous if we decid- 1987, a boycott proposal must Congregation Beth Elohim Temple House (Garfield Temple), ed to do an education cam- A Little History be published in the Linewaiters’ 274 Garfield Place. paign instead of a boycott,” Holtz recalls some of the Gazette a month before it is dis- The agenda is in this Gazette and available as a flyer in the he says. “Because it could be more poignant boycotts: cussed at the General Meet- entryway of the Coop. For more information about the GM and that we would be killing our- Chilean grapes, Pep- ing. The stocking of the item about Coop governance, please see the center of this issue. selves, and no one wants us peridge Farm cookies, Tropi- must “upset a significant to kill ourselves, because cana juices, Nestle products, number of Coop members,” then we’d never boycott any- Domino sugar, GE light bulbs, IN THIS ISSUE thing again.” Coca-Cola drinks (including CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Truly a Child’s Play—Babywearing Hits the Stage . 2 Candidates for Board of Directors of the Park Slope Food Coop, Inc. 3 Thu, Jun 5 •Food Class: Doggy Diets 7:30 p.m. Puzzle . 4 Fri, Jun 6 •Film Night: Personal Velocity 7:30 p.m. GM Agenda . 4 Coop Fri, Jun 20 •The Good Coffeehouse: Female Voices Coop Hours, Coffeehouse . 6 of the African Diaspora 8:00 p.m. Coop Calendar, Workslot Needs Event Sat, Jun 28 •Pocketbook, Purse, Bag and Shoe Exchange Governance Information, Mission Statement. 7 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Community Calendar . 8 Highlights Letters to the Editor . 9 Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue. Classified Ads . 11 06-05-08 p 01-07B 6/4/08 6:40 PM Page 2 2 June 5, 2008 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY Truly a Child’s Play—Babywearing Hits the Stage (Along with Co-sleeping, Breastfeeding and Baby Sign Language) By Elsa Haas mute weekly to shop at the and provided with a night light) The baby cries Coop). Why does the baby cry? To signal his tribe If you choose baby slings, Member Slings at the Coop make it (In his safety-sealed crib The baby cries breastfeeding and a (carefully easier to get through the All smoke detectors in working (Hearing no heartbeat prepared) king-size bed over Contribution crowded aisles, and help keep order Touching no warm skin strollers, playpens, bottles babies and small children Temperature medically adjusted by Mouthing no soft breast and cribs, do you get a happi- woes stem in part from how from screaming their heads thermostat Breathing no shared breath) er baby who cries less and we treat our babies? off. Some parents wearing Baby monitor on The baby cries doesn’t suffer from insom- At the Coop, you’ll see lots them for practical reasons Emergency numbers in the speed- Alone in the wilderness nia? Is Jean Liedloff, an of babies in slings. Not so may not be aware of the histo- dial observer of tribal cultures, much on Staten Island, where ry behind their growing use. Loving parents at the ready) Elsa Haas and cast will be right in that our civilization’s our family lives (yes, we com- In 1975, Jean Liedloff’s The Why, oh WHY does the baby cry? performing her show, “Wearing Continuum Concept proposed The baby cries My Baby: A Stone Age Mommy PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP that parents in our culture In the jungle or on the savannah on Staten Island,” at the St. consider doing like the The baby cries George Theatre, 35 Hyatt natives (she had lived among As the marauding beasts edge for- Street, Staten Island, on June the Yequana of Venezuela, ward 14 at 10 a.m. For info, contact Product Return Policy stumbling into observations The baby cries Elsa at [email protected] or The Coop does not “exchange” items. You must return item and repurchase of their way of life after join- For protection 917-750-2643. ■ what you need. Returns of eligible items will be handled at the Second ing a failed diamond-hunting Floor Service Desk within 30 days of purchase only when accompanied by expedition). the PAID IN FULL receipt. I first read Liedloff’s book Please use the following guide to determine if an item is eligible for return: in 1985 after dropping out of college to work at the now- Produce May not be returned with the exception of (fresh fruits & vegetables) coconuts, pineapples and watermelon. Even if defunct homeschooling mag- the claim is that the item is spoiled or that it azine Growing Without Schooling was purchased by mistake, produce cannot be in Boston. It was only in 1999 returned except for the three items listed above. that our son was born, and by that time a babywearing sub- The produce buyer may be contacted on culture had grown up around weekdays by members to discuss any other books by Liedloff and others claims for credit. (for example, Dr. William Books May not be returned. Sears, M.D.). Juicers May not be returned. Babywearing often goes hand-in-hand with co-sleep- Bulk items & bulk items May not be returned. Members may contact ing—my show will address packaged by the Coop the bulk buyer to discuss any other claims for the co-sleeping controversy.