Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Equal Exchange is proud to launch our new Climate Justice Initiative!

As Vandana Shiva explains in her new book, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis, the solution to climate change lies not only in our ability to exercise our collective will to immediately reduce the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that we emit INTO the air, but in our willingness to support, and thereby benefit from, the regenerative capacity of small-scale, organic agriculture to actually pull existing CO2 out of the air - back into the soil.
Equal Exchange now joins an emerging movement of farmers, scientists, researchers, and activists who advocate this new perspective to combat climate change.
for more details on how to participate in:
http://equalexchange.coop/climate-justice-initiative



Why the Green Team Sells Fair Trade Products

Fair Trade Products are available for purchase every 3rd Sunday in Fellowship Hall after worship service (excl. July and August).  Why do we sell these products?

Through the UCC Fair Trade (Coffee) Project, small farmers and their families gain more control over their lives, earn a fairer share of income, have access to credit and technical support, and gain a trading partner they can trust, a fair trade organization called Equal Exchange.  By making this consumer choice, you support small scale farmers and workers throughout the world and encourage careful stewardship of God's creation. 

For each pound of fairly traded coffee, chocolate, tea, and foods purchased through the UCC Coffee Project, 15 cents per pound from Equal Exchange goes to the Justice and Witness Ministries' Small Farmer Fund.

At fellowship coffee hour, you will be taking action in a spirit of love.   We also include a small donation above the wholesale cost to help the coffee hour fund.   Cash and checks accepted.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Nutrient Dense Farming

If you interested in learning about growing highly nutrient dense produce in your vegetable garden. Here the first few videos of a series. Just released, short videos from one of the talks I went to last June. The speaker Dan Kittredge is a farmer in central Ma. And executive director of Bionutrient Food association (BFA). I thought these will be very helpful pulling the concepts together.

Dan Kittredge intro. (5 min)
http://youtu.be/3fk30MyQ21Y


Basic Plant Structure and Function (6 min)
http://youtu.be/z6EkBnAhlKg

What does soil need to flourish? (2 min)
 http://youtu.be/0OddvhrGTXI

Will post more later in the week.

Why Fair Trade Chocolate Matters

Americans consume millions of pounds of chocolate per year, but where does it all come from? 

Forced child labor and child trafficking are a rampant, documented problem in the conventional chocolate industry, but big companies have done little to solve this crisis. So what can you do?

Fair Trade chocolate means that cacao farmers are paid a fair price, that they are able to invest in their communities and land, and that their farms are free of forced child labor. By choosing Fair Trade chocolate, you support a system that is better for farmers, their families and the planet. 

Say no to forced child labor. Choose Fair Trade chocolate.

Watch this video:
https://youtu.be/lnpsFRcsnE0