<h2>Your Right to Know. Its coming. (really!)</h2> <p align="left">Something interesting happened last month - while we were watching the flood waters rise in Southern Alberta and thunderstorms blast through Edmonton, Vermont and Connecticut quietly started to change our food economy in North America. Connecticut passed the first mandatory food labelling law for Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) and Vermont took the first step towards a law by passing theirs through the State House of Representatives. The laws will be triggered once four states have implemented a labelling law with a combined population of 20 million.</p> <p align="left">We believe very strongly in consumer right to know legislation. There are studies which show that<a title=" 95% of people" href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-labeling/us-polls-on-ge-food-labeling" target="_blank"> 95% of people</a> support having Genetically Modified Foods labelled for consumers and most people don't realise that about 70% of food in Canadian grocery stores contain genetically modified ingredients. It is not Canadians who are holding this issue back, it is agribusiness. In Canada, we have our own right to know bill, <a title="C-257" href="http://openparliament.ca/bills/41-1/C-257/" target="_blank">C-257</a>. This bill was introduced into parliament June 23, 2011 as a private members bill and has been stuck ever since. Multiple petitions have been presented to parliament since, calling for progress on this bill but no action has been taken. There is a <a title="current petition" href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Bring_Mandatory_GMO_Labeling_To_Canada/?tySgXab" target="_blank">current petition</a> available for signature if you believe, like 95% of Canadians, that this bill should move forward in the next session of parliament.</p> <p align="left">If you are interested in reading about the food labelling debate, you can look at the Just Label It website: <a title="http://justlabelit.org/" href="http://justlabelit.org/" target="_blank">http://justlabelit.org/</a></p> <p align="left">Regardless, I am convinced that once a critical mass of local jurisdictions have passed food labelling laws the food companies will be forced to start labelling all products simply because of the cost differentials in producing different labels for different jurisdictions. Also, any food labelling law in either country will likely face a Supreme Court challenge, but once the labels are present consumers will begin to make informed choices and we will have struck a major victory in the fight against GMO foods.</p> <p align="left"><strong>What Can You Do Today?</strong></p> <p align="left">We don't have food labelling laws today, so what can you do to ensure your family is avoiding these products? In Canada, the only certification approved by the Canada Food Inspection Agency that assures against GMO ingredients is Certified Organic. Beware 'All Natural' labels, or 'pesticide-free'. These are not statements about GMO. All certified organic producers are federally inspected each year and must provide full traceability for all ingredients and inputs for any food products that they sell or make. This is the law and you can buy with confidence.</p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="left"><img title="No GMO" alt="No GMO" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/No_Gmo.png" /></p> <p align="left"></p> <div><div><p align="left"></p> <div><p>Havea Great Week!</p> <p>Danny.<br />Founder, The Organic Box.</p> <h2>FeaturedProducts and Producers:</h2> <table cellspacing="15" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#edf0e9"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><a title="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/Shady Lane.jpg" onkeypress="this.onclick();" onclick="try{window.open('/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/Shady%20Lane.jpg', 'MyImage', 'resizable=yes, scrollbars=yes, width=790, height=580')}catch(e){};return false;" href="#"><img title="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/Shady Lane.jpg" alt="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/Shady Lane.jpg" border="0" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/thumb_Shady Lane.jpg" /></a></td> <td><h2>Shady Lane Strawberries!</h2> <p>The local berry season is in full swing and these strawberries from Shady Lane Farms in Lac La Biche... well... they are really really good. Available fresh in pints and quarts, or frozen by the litre! So whip up some fruit salads, have a strawberry smoothie, make some strawberry shortcake, or a strawberry compote, or a strawberry salad dressing. Dream about them. Feast upon them. It's strawberry time. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="ScapePizza" alt="ScapePizza" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/scapepizza.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Garlic Scapes</h2> <p>Garlic scapes are the curly green whip that grows out of early garlic stalks. They are incredibly refreshing and have a crisp and spicy garlic heat to them similar to bulbs. They can often be substituted for green onions or straight garlic in recipes and provide a great addition to a lot of meal. Try making a bean dip with some garlic scape, add it to a pesto recipe, or try this garlic scape and kale pizza:</p> <p>Ingredients:<br />1 - organic pizza dough (try the Crust Craft ones if you haven't yet)<br />1 - can of crushed tomatoes<br />5-8 - garlic scapes, roughly chopped<br />1 - bunch of kale<br />A handful of fresh basil<br />A few handfuls of mozzarella cheese<br />Olive oil<br /><br />Brush olive oil over the pizza crust and then top with the crushed tomatoes and add the rest of the toppings (add anything else you can think of). Then just follow the Crust Craft instructions for cooking with their pizza crusts. </p> <p>In no time you'll have a super tasty dinner that is fresh, and comprised of mostly local ingredients! </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="IcedCoffee" alt="IcedCoffee" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/icedcoffee.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Summer Special: Iced Coffee</h2> <p>It's a cool treat that is refreshing and energizing. Iced coffee is a favourite for many people, so we figured it was time for people to try making it at home. There are a few methods out there on how to make the best iced coffee, here is a technique that we found worked quite well:</p> <p>1) Brew a super strong (triple strength) french pressed coffee. <br />2) Very slowly pour the coffee over a cup full of iced cubes (the slower the better), and while some cubes will melt it will dilute the super strong coffee to a desirable flavour. <br />3) Sweeten with some organic maple syrup, or raw agave syrup. <br />4) Add some almond milk, or cream. Stir and enjoy! </p> <p>Another great thing to do: Instead of pouring out old coffee from the pot, pour them into iced cube trays and make coffee iced cubes! </p> <p><strong>NXT coffee</strong> makes exceptional iced coffee! Try their Con Amore blend for a taste that is naturally sweet and well balanced. </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div></div>
