Letters

Dear Wedge:

The milk I regularly buy is Organic Valley 1%. Unfortunately, when I buy it at the Wedge, it is frequently already sour, or sours within a matter of just two or three days, despite my keeping an extra-cool refrigerator.

However, the same brand of Organic Valley 1% milk at Byerly's in Roseville is always fresh, and stays fresh. So I started checking the dates on the cartons over the past three or four months, and noticed that the same milk at Byerly's is invariably anywhere from about 2 to 4 weeks fresher than at the Wedge.

I would much rather be able to buy all of my groceries at the Wedge, rather than shop in two places, but not if it means buying sour milk or nearly-sour milk.

Somehow Byerly's is able to provide much fresher milk than the Wedge, despite it being from the same producer. I hope you will be able to correct this, so that I don't have to keep making separate trips to Byerly's for my milk.

-Eric C. Nelson

Dear Eric C. Nelson,

Thank you for the recent e-mail about the Organic Valley Milk program at the Wedge. In your milk comparisons you state the date discrepancy between Byerly's and the Wedge. In fact, you are comparing the Ultra heat treatment (UHT) process milk found at Byerly's (shelf life up to 56 days) and the High Temperature Short Term (HTST) found at the Wedge (shelf life up to 18 days).

Co-op Partners Warehouse's (Wedge's dairy supplier) quality control program is stringent. We pick up the HTST milk 3 times per week and distribute it to the Wedge under constant refrigeration. In comparison, our UHT milk program comes in once per week, and the same Q.C. protocols exist.

Enclosed is a statement from Organic Valley, our dairy supplier. They carefully go over the different processes.

Thanks for your inquiry. Hope that this clears up any confusion that you may have about the Organic Valley product line.

-In Co-operation,
Edward J. Brown
Co-op Partners Perishables Dir.

Editors note: Material about the pasteurization methods can be found at the Customer Service Desk.

I just want to thank you for including an article on natural foods for pets in your latest newsletter. I have been feeding my dog a raw, natural diet for 5 years and people think I'm absolutely nuts. I've been told that I'm spoiling her, she's going to get worms and that dogs shouldn't eat people food. My dog, Ceres (named after the Goddess of Agriculture), used to get sick from her dog food almost daily. She was developing arthritis in her shoulder and was generally unwell much of the time. I noticed improvement within days after changing her diet. The arthritis has completely disappeared and the only time she has been sick is when I accidentally fed her spoiled meat from a large chain grocery store. Ceres is 10 years old and is still energetic and healthy. She is lean, has a shiny coat and bright eyes and does not have any of the problems normally associated with aging in dogs. I buy all of my food for my husband, myself and my dog at the Wedge. I know that I can trust the quality and purity of the food I am feeding to my family.

I would like to add that finding the proper foods for my dog took time and diligence. The Whole Dog Journal and The Wholistic Guide to a Healthy Dog were great resources for me in determining her diet. Thanks again for being another great resource of information and products.

-Tracy Johnson and Ceres

Editors Note: Jennette Turner, who wrote the article about pet nutrition to which you refer, is teaching Nutrition for Cats and Dogs again on August 8.

Thank you for Elizabeth Archerd's story "Misleading Headlines Scare the Wits Out of Concerned Organic Shoppers." It contained valuable information about how mainstream media can be deceptive. Just as Wedge Co-op members are particular about the foods we eat and where we shop, we should be equally particular about the media we consume each day.

Here are some tips for newsletter readers to help weed out unnecessary and potentially unhealthy media aspects. If you watch TV, mute the sound when advertisements are on. You will find yourself better able to enjoy the program and less distracted. Stop by the Arise Bookstore and Resource Center (2441 Lyndale Ave. S.) after your next visit to the Wedge and pick up a copy of the Free Press - a locally grown, ad-free newspaper that is part of the Global Independent Media movement (www.indymedia.org.) Tune into community-supported radio (such as KFAI) and support public ownership of the airwaves.

Mainstream corporate media is comparable to big agribusiness' processed foods - a lot of fluff but not much substance. Being critical of media consumption is as necessary for our grandchildren's future as buying organic.

-Jennifer Liebenow, Minneapolis