Guest guest Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 " VEGANICALLY GROWN " Would you like to see this label on organic produce? Would you like to eat food grown *WITHOUT* bonemeal, bloodmeal, fishmeal, feathermeal, or manure from factory farms? These are common fertilizers for most -- but not all -- organic farmers. Rainbow Grocery, the large worker-owned natural food store in San Francisco, is responding positively to my letter (below) asking if they'd label produce that's grown veganically, and are talking with various growers about it. This could be the first step toward establishment of " veganically grown " standards within the rapidly growing organic-foods industry. If you or anyone you know (please forward this) are interested in putting time and energy into this, please let me know. In addition, please forward this to any publications that you have the email address for (health, animal rights, vegetarian, ecology, natural living, organic farming, and any newsletters of organizations that you're a member of). You can also put in your two-cents worth by going to Rainbow Grocery's website and emailing them from there, or calling (415-863-9200, then " O " for customer service) and leaving a message on the voicemail of Kim the produce guy, or leaving a note in Rainbow's suggestion box when you're shopping. Thanks. Billy veganboi ----------------------------- LETTER: February 4, 2004 Attn: Kim Kaput (Produce Committee) Rainbow Grocery 1745 Folsom San Francisco, CA 94103 Re: veganically grown Hi Kim, As a 20-year frequent Rainbow shopper and long-time vegan, I'm happy about shelf labels designating vegan products -- even wines. Unlike in Europe, vegetarians and vegans here seem unaware that many wines, including organic ones, contain or are processed with animal products, making them non-vegan and sometimes non-vegetarian as well. Could Rainbow begin designating *produce* that's *veganically grown*? As I understand it, most organic produce is fertilized not only with manure from animal agriculture, but with bloodmeal, bonemeal, fishmeal, feathermeal and who knows what other animal products. Some growers use mostly or only " green manures " and " stockless rotations, " but it's impossible for us as consumers to know which products are so produced, because organic certification organizations don't distinguish between plant and animal inputs. It seems to me there are four good reasons for Rainbow to inquire of growers and other suppliers about the *extent* to which their organic produce might be *veganically* grown, and then to label produce accordingly: 1. VEGETARIAN/VEGAN/ANIMAL-RIGHTS SENSIBILITIES. A fair number of us Rainbow customers would like to minimize our support of animal-based agriculture and our consumption of produce fertilized with the products of animal agriculture. 2. ECOLOGY. Routine fertilization with slaughterhouse and ocean-dredging products and manure from animal agriculture operations, while good from the standpoint of personal nutrition and immediate soil health, would seem, in the larger picture, to be unecological because it helps support such unecological practices and operations. 3. FOOD SAFETY. The current flap over avian flu and mad-cow disease are just the latest examples illustrating that disease transmission from nonhuman animals to humans is common, while *no* diseases that I know of jump from plants to people. So eliminating animal inputs from crop production would seem to be a wise food-safety measure. 4. RIGHT-TO-KNOW. In order to make purchasing decisions in alignment with our vegetarian, ecological, and/or food-safety concerns, we have to have the facts of production; in this case, we need to know the extent to which organic produce is veganically grown. Thanks for your attention and consideration. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Billy Ray Boyd San Francisco veganboi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Thought you would be interested in this: Center for Vegan Organic Education P.O. Box 13217 Burton, WA 98013 206.463.4520 info http://www.veganorganiced.org ~cybrena veganboi Thu, 5 Feb 2004 02:36:56 EST " Veganically Grown " " VEGANICALLY GROWN " Would you like to see this label on organic produce? Would you like to eat food grown *WITHOUT* bonemeal, bloodmeal, fishmeal, feathermeal, or manure from factory farms? These are common fertilizers for most -- but not all -- organic farmers. Rainbow Grocery, the large worker-owned natural food store in San Francisco, is responding positively to my letter (below) asking if they'd label produce that's grown veganically, and are talking with various growers about it. This could be the first step toward establishment of " veganically grown " standards within the rapidly growing organic-foods industry. If you or anyone you know (please forward this) are interested in putting time and energy into this, please let me know. In addition, please forward this to any publications that you have the email address for (health, animal rights, vegetarian, ecology, natural living, organic farming, and any newsletters of organizations that you're a member of). You can also put in your two-cents worth by going to Rainbow Grocery's website and emailing them from there, or calling (415-863-9200, then " O " for customer service) and leaving a message on the voicemail of Kim the produce guy, or leaving a note in Rainbow's suggestion box when you're shopping. Thanks. Billy veganboi ----------------------------- LETTER: February 4, 2004 Attn: Kim Kaput (Produce Committee) Rainbow Grocery 1745 Folsom San Francisco, CA 94103 Re: veganically grown Hi Kim, As a 20-year frequent Rainbow shopper and long-time vegan, I'm happy about shelf labels designating vegan products -- even wines. Unlike in Europe, vegetarians and vegans here seem unaware that many wines, including organic ones, contain or are processed with animal products, making them non-vegan and sometimes non-vegetarian as well. Could Rainbow begin designating *produce* that's *veganically grown*? As I understand it, most organic produce is fertilized not only with manure from animal agriculture, but with bloodmeal, bonemeal, fishmeal, feathermeal and who knows what other animal products. Some growers use mostly or only " green manures " and " stockless rotations, " but it's impossible for us as consumers to know which products are so produced, because organic certification organizations don't distinguish between plant and animal inputs. It seems to me there are four good reasons for Rainbow to inquire of growers and other suppliers about the *extent* to which their organic produce might be *veganically* grown, and then to label produce accordingly: 1. VEGETARIAN/VEGAN/ANIMAL-RIGHTS SENSIBILITIES. A fair number of us Rainbow customers would like to minimize our support of animal-based agriculture and our consumption of produce fertilized with the products of animal agriculture. 2. ECOLOGY. Routine fertilization with slaughterhouse and ocean-dredging products and manure from animal agriculture operations, while good from the standpoint of personal nutrition and immediate soil health, would seem, in the larger picture, to be unecological because it helps support such unecological practices and operations. 3. FOOD SAFETY. The current flap over avian flu and mad-cow disease are just the latest examples illustrating that disease transmission from nonhuman animals to humans is common, while *no* diseases that I know of jump from plants to people. So eliminating animal inputs from crop production would seem to be a wise food-safety measure. 4. RIGHT-TO-KNOW. In order to make purchasing decisions in alignment with our vegetarian, ecological, and/or food-safety concerns, we have to have the facts of production; in this case, we need to know the extent to which organic produce is veganically grown. Thanks for your attention and consideration. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Billy Ray Boyd San Francisco veganboi BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find support. Free membership and lots of free events :-) Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ (/) and More! http://www.bayareaveg.org/ Bookmark this page! Don't miss local events! http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php Message board http://www.bayareaveg.org/forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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