All Entries Tagged With: "business"
San Franciscan Bookstore Seeks Donations to Stay Open
Independent book stores, like Modern Times, are closing right to left as people de-prioritize buying books and magazines. But this San Franciscan bookstore is not going down without a fight.
Modern Times describes itself as not just a bookstore, but a politically progressive resource for its community. Its “exceptionally interesting” books focus on globalization, the media and feminism, and its collection includes creative graphic novels and children’s books.
Yet on the eve of its 40th anniversary, the Modern Times employees find themselves unable to pay their bills. All partial-owners, they have drafted a letter to friends, family, and customers asking them to donate whatever they can to keep the store afloat.
A member of the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives, Modern Times exemplifies a local, alternative business model. All of its staff members have an interest in the store beyond just the books they sell — some are writers, some are former community organizers, and all our advocates for a particular cause. They therefore believe that forums for discussion — like Modern Times — need to stay open. The store hosts several monthly events ranging from herbology classes to safe-haven gay shame weekly meetings. It’s also famous for its involvement with the Hispanic and Latino community, boasting an impressive number of books written in Spanish and facilitating low-cost Spanish lessons.
Modern Times is asking for donations as small as 10 dollars to help it stay in business for the next three months. Check out its website for more information.
Help Find the Food Desert Solution
September is Food Desert Awareness Month, and our nation needs it. An increasing number of regions in the U.S. see more McDonald’s and Wendy’s than markets — a trend exhibiting that cities would rather support the fast food industry than supply residents with the provisions necessary to improve their diet.
Food deserts can develop anywhere, even just blocks away from an area with great access. The most notable food deserts exist in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, and the general North Jersey area. African American and Latino communities are hit the hardest; traveling the farthest per capita for unpackaged food. It is a problem that has surpassed the demographic of gender, race, and age.
Michelle Obama has stated that raising awareness about and eventually eliminating food deserts is a key step of her anti-child obesity initiative, Let’s Move. She has pledged $400 million to the effort and has essentially outlined a parallel between the lack of food choices and obesity.
But bringing better food to underprivileged communities may be harder than you think. Businesses and banks do not want to associate themselves with areas with high crime and poverty. Furthermore, simply bringing better food into lower-income communities does not ensure it will be used. Supplying ingredients as opposed to meals assumes a multitude of factors: that people know how and are willing to cook, that they have time to do so, that their families will accept the new food and that they have an accessible, functional kitchen and supplies.
How do you get urban communities to care about their food? Merely re-stating health facts has not seemed to work, and how do you go against lifelong habits or the ruthless capitalism of American culture?
Do you have any ideas?
A Better World by Design has reached out to students and student organizations and is looking for ideas on how to deal with America’s food deserts. You can create and submit a plan that helps your local community, or propose a nationwide initiative! They ask that students please “consider the intersection of their design with cultural, environmental, political, and economic issues.”
What are you waiting for? Here are some resources to get you started:
Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago
USDA Report: Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food…A Report to Congress
Groupawn Survives a Year on Coupons Alone
Groupon — the Internet-based coupon company that makes frugality fabulous — launched earlier this year a contest that would leave a fan living off Groupons for an entire year. The nominee, Groupawn Josh Stevens, completed his 100th Groupon day on August 17.
At the end of his challenge, Josh’s frugality will earn him a diverse range of Groupons valid all over the country, as well as $100,000 dollars. But if he so much as touches a dollar, whether out of desperation or as a gift from a fan, his adventure (and earnings) will disappear.
In case you’ve been living under the proverbial Internet rock, Groupon is the most successful in a string of online coupon sites that in the last year and a half have exploded in popularity. In fact, Groupon has recently been named by Forbes as the fastest growing American company ever. Its function is simple but ingenious: vendors sign up on Groupon to give massive discounts on their goods or services, and a massive amount of people promise immediately to do business with them.
Stevens’s personal blog reports his Groupon adventure: he’s been to 16 states and has invited people to meet up with him, hear his story, and share daily deals. He has been met with much kindness, as people have taken a real liking to his adventure; treating him to free rides, free lodging and of course free stories. Emotionally, the experience has exposed Stevens to the visceral need to enjoy life regardless of monetary worth. How does fulfilling your dreams or simply having a day of overdue relaxation, sans cash, change your world perspective? Suddenly money doesn’t seem so important.
His secret? He’s learned to trade instead of using money as currency. Networking has also proven to be key; Josh has found that the world is smaller than one thinks, and that many people know somebody who knows somebody who has the means to help.
Stevens shows his followers that it is possible to use these coupons in your everyday life. These days nearly every major city has at least some company vying for deals for the public, whether it be through LivingSocial, Thrillist, or another of the myriad of locally based discount-seekers. Many of these companies send out coupons at least twice a week — some send them daily — and most are tailored to your general likes and interests.
Make these coupons work for you by using those that pertain to your life and needs; don’t just spend because something is on sale. For example, consider only going to salons that have at least a 50% off discount for the rest of the year. Or take advantage of the many fitness coupons that offer a few classes for the price of one. Additionally, start eating out intelligently. Restaurants are super eager to offer discounts, so make a pact with a friend to only eat out at places for which you have coupons. It’ll broaden your horizons and your wallet will thank you for it.
Lastly, these coupons are definitely worth using when traveling nationally – now there is NO excuse for vacationing at full price!
Fresh Bread offers Fresh Start for Immigrant Women
Jessamyn Waldman’s background isn’t in baking, but public policy. Yet she had the idea for Hot Bread Kitchen, a social purpose bakery that provides jobs and training for immigrant women. She learned to make bread, and now she teaches women from impoverished immigrant communities how to combine yeast with flour and water to make a livelihood.
Ten years of experience working for NGOs, the United Nations, and the government and focusing on human rights, education and immigration issues in seven countries was a good start in achieving her goal. But Waldman had to learn her way around a kitchen first. With a freshly printed Master Baker certificate, she became the first woman baker to be hired at Restaurant Daniel, one of the top restaurants in New York. Three years ago, she put her idea to open her own bakery into action.
Over 50% of immigrants in the United States are women, and foreign-born women are the lowest paid employees. When Jessamyn hears that statistic, she thinks of untapped human capital. In six months at Hot Bread Kitchen, women from Chad, Mexico, Morocco, Mali, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Tibet are trained to bake and also taught English so they can have access to better paying jobs. Some go on to work for Restaurant Daniel and other high-end bakeries and restaurants, and some go on to achieve management track positions in food manufacturing. A few learn how to start their own small businesses in the food industry.
The application to work at Hot Bread Kitchen doesn’t talk down to potential applicants, or make baking sound easy. Although professional baking experience is not required, they have high expectations of employees: “We are looking for a dynamic, entrepreneurial woman who wants to start a professional career in the culinary arts.”
At the end of six months, “low-income immigrant woman” is no longer the key descriptor for these women. They are highly skilled artisanal bakers whose cultural heritages complement their culinary abilities.
The breads made reflect the bakers who make them – tortillas from a grandmother’s recipe, lavash, Moroccan M’smen, floutas, French artisan breads, challah, foccacia, and granola. Hot Bread Kitchen doesn’t rely on grants or philanthropists; rather the popularity of the bread itself makes it an economically viable bakery that can afford to continue its mission as long as people keep eating. In fact, it is so economically viable that it is contributing to its community in another way – by moving its location to Harlem’s La Marqueta, an indoor market that has fallen into disrepair. The city is hoping that Hot Bread Kitchen’s new home in the market will draw in customers and help revitalize the community.
If you’re in New York, finding Hot Bread Kitchen breads is easy at many retailers and farmers markets. But if you are elsewhere and would like to contribute, you can donate directly, or purchase a “party favor” of chocolate covered Armenian lavash or granola, packaged and ready for party guests to take home with them. Locals can also donate their time as volunteers.
Sidecar for Pigs Peace is Hog Heaven
Seattle-based Sidecar for Pigs Peace grocery store offers a real treat for vegans, for whom there are few things more exciting than not feeling obligated to read nutrition labels at their local grocer. Sidecar for Pigs Peace carries 100% vegan products – everything from Tofutti Cuties to Crayons – but they take their animal-friendly ethics even further than their shelves: right into the pig pen.
Pigs Peace Sanctuary is a safe haven for unwanted, abused and neglected pigs – as well as horses, llamas, sheep, turkeys, dogs and cats. Many of the pigs at Pigs Peace were impulse buys. Pretty little potbellied Ella, for example, was purchased for $100 on Craigslist and unwanted just 24 hours later.
Hamilton, now a large pink pig with disturbingly human eyes, was rushed to emergency care when he arrived at the sanctuary as a baby. He was starved, weak, and had injuries on his lips that made him unable to drink from the nipple of a baby bottle; he had to be fed with a feeding tube. Pigs Peace has pictures of him — smaller than the length of two ballpoint pens laid end-to-end — passed out on a towel, scabbed and bleeding.
The sanctuary provides medical care, a healthy diet, and a permanent loving home for these animals – and owns the Sidecar for Pigs Peace grocery store as a means to support them. It’s a small store, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in hard-to-find edibles like vegan haggis and vegan Peking duck in a can. (Personally, I’m passionate about the Coconut Bliss ice-cream.) Even more unique than the food, though, is how the store is run: by volunteers.
I spoke with Doh, the store manager and only paid employee about how the volunteer-employee system works:
Generally, people learn that Sidecar for Pigs Peace is a non-profit and volunteer-run, so they offer themselves. There is an application and training process. Most volunteers have a set shift that they work weekly, or biweekly. I believe the main reason that people volunteer here is to be a more active part of the vegan community and support the Sanctuary at the same time. It’s also fun to be among the first to see new products come in!
Doh says the most popular items are Daiya Cheese and Tofurky pizzas, and that Ami is the best-selling animal food. Popular non-food items are wallets and bags made entirely without animal products. As a conscientious reporter, I also made sure they carry my favorite Coconut Bliss. According to Doh, they sell it “at the best price in town.”
If you would like to support Pigs Peace, the most fun way might be to visit Sidecar and stock your kitchen with vegan deliciousness. You’ll meet like-minded friendly people, see products you never knew existed, and know that your purchases are making happy lives possible for abused animals in a more immediate way than usual, even for vegans. But, if you don’t live in the Seattle area, Doh says:
The very best way to support Pigs Peace is through financial donations, ideally through a monthly recurring donation, which can be set up online at the Pigs Peace Sanctuary website. Judy Woods is an excellent fiscal manager, but more donations are absolutely critical for the best animal care, and the improvements the Sanctuary needs.
Seattle-area residents can make the decision to make Sidecar their first stop for whatever they can buy here. The number of people who made the decision to divert their shopping dollars to Sidecar have made us a very successful fundraising site.
You can also “like” their Facebook pages to hear about their frequent fundraisers, quarterly bake sales, and the annual Walk for the Animals, as well as other events that gather funds for Pigs Peace and serve the vegan community.
I love Sidecar for Pigs Peace not just for its noble cause, but because of the rich fodder of puns it provides. Vegans will find themselves in hog heaven; they’ll make pigs of themselves. Just don’t let anyone hog my Coconut Bliss.
Sidecar for Pigs Peace is located in Seattle’s University District, on the corner of 55th and University Way.
China and Germany Join Forces, Work Together
China is going full-speed ahead, not only with cutting-edge technology innovations, but with a staggering amount of industrially-minded laborers who are FINALLY getting a pay-raise. It’s the latest step in a shift from being a center of the Western world’s outsourced companies to a creative, capitalistic machine in its own right. And the nation has been reaching out to Europe, founding and forging friendships, including one with a not-as-obvious force: Germany.
When you have the chance, check out www.germany-and-china.com. I myself was floored as to how I had been missing this alliance. A German-Chinese city so forward-thinking it has a Urban Academy where students learn international urban sustainability issues? Should the United States be worried of the combined force of Germany’s experience as the most financially-solvent force in Europe, with a stable government and high production, and China’s massive growth potential and excess of money?
Are we on the cusp of, dare we say it…a superpower? To paraphrase Polish Press, the Germans are certainly no longer ashamed of their power. They’re slowly shedding their World War II guilt, and everybody is paying attention.
Consider the following:
Germany is in good shape, estimated to recover from the recession with a 1.5% surplus this year. Also, during the last three years Germany has surpassed the United States (and China) as the biggest exporter in the world. And all of this, with a population of 82 million- approximately 20% of ours.
This power is largely due to smart financial planning. Much of the argument and support for the adaptation of the Euro was spearheaded by Germany, who not only coined the term (der Euro) but also created the € sign. Quite appropriately, the European Central Bank and monetary center of Europe is located in Frankfurt, Germany. The very public objective of the ECB is to stabilize all prices within Europe, which for German citizens means having the space to grow quickly and not worry about inflation going out of control. The country has focused energy in being present in the international forum, rising to leader status within the EU and retaining that status through the panic of a worldwide depression. As quoted in The Trumpet back in April, “European nations fear economic collapse…Now they are looking to Germany as their financial savior.” Some have gone so far as to say that Germany’s power grows far beyond that. Their military forces and abilities have grown tenfold since the last time most Americans paid attention to the country as a dominant force.
It is obvious to everyone that our finances are in shambles and that we as a country are struggling to make sense of our credit-defaults, hot-potato-esque savings institutions and of course, our lackluster employment stats. Should we look to these countries who have spent the last ten years in prosperity for help? Are we too proud? Are you?
Additional Sources: here and here
Catfish Industry Stocked by Filthy Mekong
Health risks threaten the nation’s catfish consumers, while a 2008 bill for regulation of the industry sits unimplemented. The United States imported 85 million pounds of catfish last year from farms in the Mekong river, and only 2% of the fish were examined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Those that were examined tested positive for carcinogens, veterinary drugs, and salmonella because of unsafe farming.
Every year, 22,000 tons of industrial waste are dumped into the Mekong river, which runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The river’s banks are lined with cement and beer manufacturing plants as well as houses and toilets, and residents wash their clothing in the water. The catfish farms functioning in this river process 100 tons of fish for export per day. The Vietnamese government has warned the farms that their practices are unsafe and do not meet the health and safety standards of just about every country.
If implemented, the 2008 farm bill will switch responsibility for regulating imported catfish from the FDA to the better equipped US Department of Agriculture.
For those who crave catfish, there are options. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch site recommends looking “for the country-of-origin label to ensure you’re purchasing U.S. farm-raised catfish instead of imported catfish, like basa and swai, which are sometimes sold simply as ‘catfish.’”
Catfish farms in the U.S. are mostly located in Arkansas. They use fresh water and ecologically responsible and sustainable farming practices, but feed the fish a diet of corn and soybeans that Michael Pollan fans may find objectionable.
For more information on the conditions in the Mekong river, check out this Australian news segment on the subject:
To read more about the USDA’s treatment of imported catfish, see this recent Food Safety News article.
Google Furthers Benefits with Same-Sex Reimbursement
Google announced last week its plan to give employees a raise of approximately $1,000; retroactively affective as of January 1, 2010. But the raise, announced on the search engine’s blog, is only available to the the 700 employees openly registered to be in a domestic same-sex partnership.
Let me explain: under the federal government, health care provided for someone in a domestic partnership is still taxable income. The optional reimbursement is therefore only going to the homosexual couples who would be subject to pay this fee.
It is not the first same-sex benefit that Google has provided its employees. Previous perks have included elimination of the one-year wait for fertility-treatment aid as well as the wait to add domestic partners onto family leave (up to 12 weeks to take care of the loved on). Corporate Google is also very supportive of adoptions and provide up to 5,000 dollars to help those in the process.
The perk is the newest on the list of highly-sought after and demanded benefits of working for the technological and advertising powerhouse. Employees of Google enjoy all of, but not limited to the following benefits:
1. Five months of fully-paid maternity leave (Also, approximately a month and half for general paternal leave).
2. Choice of three medical insurance carriers, including dental, vision, life, and business travel accident.
3. Higher education focus: A 529 Savings Plan as well as up to 12,000 tuition reimbursement.
4. Donation matches of up to 3,000 a year when employees donate to partnered non-profits (my personal favorite)!
And don’t forget the free, catered, healthy lunch, dinners, shuttle service and on-site doctor.
Yes, Please!
Other companies that have provided similar money for domestic same-sex partnerships include Cisco and the Gates Foundation. Progressives are hoping Google will influence not only employers to provide similar benefits in the Silicon Valley, but help show policy makers that people want and need to be showed more appreciation in the workplace.
So, what is your opinion about this new Google employee benefit, or even their other above-and-beyond ones? Is this company stepping out of its bounds? Or, should other companies follow suit?
Sources: here, here, and here.
Haitian Farmers Burn Seeds in Protest
In response to the earthquake in Haiti, agribusiness giant Monsanto pledged 475 tons of seeds to Haitian farmers. Distributed by USAID, these seeds would have grown into hybrid corn, pest-resistant tomatoes, and other vegetables. However, they will be burned! Though common sense says otherwise, this is a great idea.
As is the case with many developing countries, most of Haiti subsists on agriculture — according to the CIA Factbook, about 2/3 of the Haitian population are farmers. Compare that with the 1% of North Americans involved in agriculture, and it’s easy to see how important the industry is to Haitian society. The farming culture extends to seeds as well, with local varieties existing not only as a recognizable food but as a balance in the ecosystem.
Though Monsanto’s offer may seem generous, it’s addressing a non-existent problem, because seed supplies in Haiti are not low. Farmers lack access to seeds because they have no money; the quake either eliminated the ability to make extra income through other jobs or posed new expenses including medicine and reconstruction, among many others.
The real answer to this problem would not be donating foreign seeds, but supporting farmers with local ones.
One might argue that it doesn’t matter why farmers can’t get seeds — the fact of the matter is that they do not have them, and Monsanto will give supply them for free. But this will ultimately create more problems. Monsanto’s seeds are tightly regulated and patented, meaning that farmers’ normal practice of saving seeds from a new crop is impossible, because Monsanto seeds either a) require payment to replant, since they are patented, or b) are genetically altered so that they do not create viable seeds (i.e. 2nd generation seeds will not grow. This alone should alarm you, but discussions of GMOs are for another day).
The donation will also make it even more difficult for local seed vendors to stay in business, which would devastate Haiti’s farming culture. Plus, the seeds have been sprayed with various toxins and pesticides, which would negatively affect the surrounding environment and ecosystem, especially because many of these species may have never been exposed to these supposedly “safe” poisons.
This story is a great example of how difficult development is, because sometimes efforts that aim to help do exactly the opposite. Monsanto’s very short-term band-aid solution would have devastating effects on Haitian culture, economy, environment, and society. It will be a great accomplishment if these seeds never enter Haiti’s soil, unless they arrive in the form of ashes.
