07-04-26 p 01-07-v6 4/27/07 2:55 PM Page 1 OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP Established 1973 Volume BB, Number 9 April 26, 2007 Post-Apartheid Help for Those With HIV By Hayley Gorenberg ight Coop “commu- your brother or sister is nity” stretch from down, pick them up!’ ” said M Park Slope to South Horwitz. “We are all responsi- Africa? PSFC member Laura ble for one another. We Horwitz, director of the New become a person through the York office of the Ubuntu people around us,” she said. Fund, thinks so. This month “And that’s how we approach she helped a teenaged South the work.” African orphan travel here to Founded nine years ago, test that connection, seeking Ubuntu initially focused on support for a community schools. That focus trans- that—like her family—has formed after a school meet- been ravaged by HIV. ing, where a parent stood up PHOTO BY LISA COHEN PHOTO and said, “It’s wonderful The Meaning of what’s happening around Humanity education, but are we going “Ubuntu” loosely trans- to talk about the fact that in How Safe Is the Food lates to “humanity” or “com- the past two months four of munity.” “It’s really an African You Feed Your Pet? ethical principle that says, ‘If CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 No Coop Pet Food’s Been Recalled By Ann Pappert owners—equal to the num- affected premium brands, like ber of pet food-related com- Hill’s Science Diet, normally n mid-March, Menu Foods, plaints they would normally only sold by veterinarians, the a Canadian-based pet register over 2 years. tainted pet food scandal has Ifood company that manu- Wheat gluten is used as a left many pet owners asking factures dog and cat food filler and binder in pet food. It just how safe is the food they under 90 different labels, is frequently added to wet- feed their pets. announced a product recall style, cuts and gravy-style pet The answer may lie in just after discovering that some of foods to provide a gelatinous what ingredients are in the its food was contaminated. consistency and thicken the pet food you buy. Menu Foods recalled 60 “gravy.” In addition to gravy- None of the pet food sold million cans of cat and dog style canned pet food the at the Coop was involved in food and at least six other pet recall has expanded to the recall. And that’s not just food companies have also almost 2 dozen dog biscuit luck. FUND OF UBUNTU EDUCATION COURTESY PHOTO recalled tainted products. brands and pet food jerky, “At the Coop there is Lungiswa Ngceza (far right), sister of Zethu Ngceza, with a The U.S. Food and Drug also contaminated with taint- already a consensus to carry case worker and other children at an Ubuntu Education Administration is the agency ed wheat gluten. more natural pet food prod- Fund event. that monitors the nation’s ucts,” Kevin O’Sullivan, a food supply. It says all the Coop coordinator who orders recalled pet food was conta- Gravy style pet food all the pet food sold at the Next General Meeting on May 29 minated with melamine, an and dog biscuits Coop, said. The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on the industrial chemical. The were contaminated. “Coop members already last Tuesday of each month.* The next General Meeting will be melamine-tainted food can know that there is a problem Tuesday, May 29, 7:00 p.m. at the Congregation Beth Elohim cause kidney problems, and with a lot of the food in this Temple House (Garfield Temple), 274 Garfield Pl. melamine was found in the country, particularly with pet The agenda will be available as a flyer in the entryway of the urine and kidneys of pets that The melamine appears to food. People make jokes all Coop on Wednesday, May 2. For more information about the died after eating the tainted have been accidentally added the time about all the junk, GM and about Coop governance, please see the center of this food. Twelve deaths have to wheat gluten produced by things like by-products, that issue. been reported, but the FDA a processing plant in China go into many pet foods.” * Exceptions for November and December will be posted. believes that is just the tip of that supplies the gluten to a But the pet food sold at the iceberg. U.S. distributor. The pet food the Coop is different. “We Since the story first broke, recall is one of the largest in carry more natural pet food IN THIS ISSUE the FDA has received over U.S. history. 12,000 complaints from pet Because the recall even CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Tales from Mali: The Global Fight for the Right to Food . 3 Helping Our Parks. 5 Thu, May 3 •Food Class: 7:30 p.m. Spring Vegan Highlights Coop Hours, Coffeehouse, Puzzle. 6 Coop Fri, May 4 •Film Night: 7:00 p.m. Beyond Conviction Coop Calendar, Workslot Needs Governance Information, Mission Statement. 7 Sat, May 19 •Children's Clothing Swap: 10:30 am Event Community Calendar . 8 Sat, May 19 •Poker Night: 7:00 pm Letters to the Editor . 9 Highlights Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue. Classified Ads . 10 07-04-26 p 01-07-v6 4/27/07 2:55 PM Page 2 2 April 26, 2007 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY Thursday, Pet Food Safety at the Coop May, 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But are these “natural” digestibility and biologic 7:30 p.m. products really better for value may seem more at the Coop products, many that are your pet? expensive on the shelf, but human grade,” O’Sullivan Lick Your Chops clearly the cost per feeding is com- explained. “Even the Purina thinks so. Responding to the parable, due to the reduced dry pet food we sell, which FDA recall, the company‘s volume needed to satisfy we carry because it’s a popu- website offers this summary: energy and health require- Spring lar supermarket brand and a “There are considerable ments.” Guest Chef Matt favorite of many of our differences in the nutrition- A Web site blurb for New- Vegan Menu Downes began exploring members as well as more al value between foods con- man’s Own pet food illus- the links between cul- trates the major differences ture, social responsibility between pet food sold in and food as a student of supermarkets and their Sociology and Psychology more natural food. at Wesleyan University. What’s In It and What’s He is a graduate of the Not, the Web site asks, and Natural Gourmet Institute goes on to list many of the products contained in MENU for Health and Culinary Arts and is currently the supermarket foods, includ- pastry chef at Pure Food ing: s with crostini • Poultry by-product • Favetta and m ushroom and Wine in Manhattan. meal, which is actually • Asparagus, cherries and pinenuts with Matt is a Coop member. ground, rendered and apple brandy jus oroccan cleaned poultry carcass • Saffron Israeli cous-cous with M parts such as necks and feet. spring vegetables Frequently, poultry and MEMBERS & • Cherim oya parfait NON-MEMBERS meat by-products have been WELCOME. rejected as unfit for human $4 materials fee consumption. Views expressed by the presenter do not Come early necessarily represent the Park Slope Food Coop. to ensure a seat. • Antibiotics and steroids • Chemical additives and artificial preservatives. Many of these additives are PHOTOGRAPHS BY INGRID CUSSON PHOTOGRAPHS designed to increase the A Coop member's dog chows down on Lick Your Chops. shelf life and reduce fat spoilage of pet food, but can Board of affordable, is still more nat- taining by-products, fillers cause allergic reactions in ural than many other com- and added animal fats and pets. mercial brands of pet food.” chemical preservatives and • Wheat, corn and soy. All Directors Currently, the Coop car- those containing natural of which can cause allergic ries three different brands of ingredients. Much of the reactions in pets. Processed dog food: Petguard and Lick nutritional value of com- soy can also cause bloating Your Chops, both in 14 oz. in dogs. Election cans, and Wysong bagged • Artificial flavors, colors dry dog food. None of the pet food sold or dyes. Artificial flavors are In cat food, the Coop sells at the Coop was involved made from highly processed seven different brands, both in the recall. And that’s not animal tissue. The General Meeting & The Board of Directors con- canned and dry: Petguard, just luck. Newman’s Own pet food the Board of Directors ducts a vote at the end of Wellness, Lick Your Chops, is made with organic brown From our inception in 1973 every GM whether to Newman’s Organic, One rice, Milo (a type of grain), to the present, the monthly accept the advice of the Earth, Wysong and Purina. mercial pet food has been barley, flax seed and oats, as General Meeting has been members that night. Mem- The Coop sells close to removed by over-processing well as organic veggies, the decision-making body bers of the Board are 1,300 cans and bags of cat and adding chemicals that kelp, probiotics and antibi- of the Coop. Since the required to act legally and food every week, and over preserve color and add tex- otic-free chicken. Coop incorporated in 1977, responsibly.