You may remember Karen’s Whole Trade roses post from last summer, sharing the story of the Ecuadorian Fair Trade certified flower farms that supply our Whole Trade Guarantee roses. Well, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, what better time to share an update on Whole Trade flowers with you?

I was one of the Team Members to visit the Ecuadorian farms. I look back on these trips & consider myself lucky to have been a part of them – such a beautiful country, incredible product, wonderful people and inspiring stories.

Over a year after the launch of the rose program, I am happy to report that the Whole Trade flower program continues to grow. Now, in addition to the roses (and calla lilies) from Ecuador, we have added Colombian product to the program!

We journeyed to Colombia to visit Rainforest Alliance certified flower farms last year (Rainforest Alliance is one of our certifying partners for the Whole Trade Guarantee). There we found another great fit for the program- a farm committed to quality, people and the environment. Working with this farm, we added gerbera daisies, alstromeria & spray roses to the Whole Trade offerings with mixed bouquets soon following.

Much like the Fair Trade roses and as a part of the Whole Trade program, we pay an additional percentage (called social premium) with each purchase of flowers we make. In Colombia, it is paid directly to local foundation providing health care, education and meals to the children of farm workers.

The foundation (the kids!)

The stories of the people behind these products are a constant reminder as to why this program is so compelling and so important. Just check out the pictures and quotes below. The social premium that Whole Foods Market has paid back to the communities producing our flowers – totaling over $200,000 since the launch of the program- is truly making a difference. This premium is in addition to the Whole Planet Foundation donation given with each retail sale …so this flower program is contributing to good things twice (three times if you count that everyone loves flowers!)

And the final super cool tidbit? As part of our Whole Trade Guarantee Month you can win Whole Trade Flowers for a year! 10 winners will receive a bunch of Whole Trade Flowers every month for a full year…all you need to do is enter online before March 4th, no purchase necessary…now how can you say no to that?

Here are some stories straight from Ecuador, enjoy and thanks for reading!

Alfredo Monta – farm worker on Fair Trade farm for 6 years

“To be able to work on a Fair Trade farm has permitted us to secure benefits that normally we wouldn’t have, for example, acquiring a hot water heater that allows us to heat water.

Before we have to heat water in a big pot to bathe ourselves, and since there are nine people in my household, we have to boil water many times, and could only bath at most twice a week. Now we have the hot water heater which is much better. We only have to watch that we don’t run out of gas in the tank and we have hot water all the time. We can bath every other day or every day if we want to.

Also, the people that had electric hot water heaters see a significant savings in their energy consumption, and are able to use the money that used to go to the electricity bill for other basic necessities of the family.

In our community there are quite a few people that work at Agrogana which is a Fair Trade farm. For that reason, the benefits are more palpable because we can observe how the quality of life for the people has improved with the different projects started by our joint body.”

Martha Chuquiana – farm worker on Fair Trade farm for 7 years

“The best benefit that we have received from Fair Trade is the capacity building given to our children in reading and English courses.

The English course for my daughter represents a higher level of learning for her, and through that we’ve seen a stronger commitment to her studies.

If we had to hire a private teacher, we definitely couldn’t have been able to do so, since money is limited for us. Thanks to the English courses, my daughter has been able to overcome a little bit her shyness.

In what we see as a benefit to the community, we have directly felt the work of the joint body that administers the premium as they work on community projects this year including donating desks to the school where our children attend. Not only the children of the workers of Agrogana which is a Fair Trade farm has benefit, but rather all the families that have a child in that school.”

Soraya Falcon – farm worker on Fair Trade farm for 6 years

“To work at a company that has Fair Trade certification has permitted me to improve my quality of life and that of my family.

Before (the Fair Trade premium), when I left work I arrived home to wash my families clothes on the rock (in the stream) every afternoon and eventually into the night. This caused me, in addition to physical exhaustion, pain in my hands from spending so much time with my hands in cold water.

I didn’t have much time to help my children with their homework because I was spending the afternoon washing clothes.

Now that we could acquire the washing machines, thanks to the Fair Trade premium, things have changed. I can spend my time with my family; I can help my children get their homework done and help them study, and the pain in my hands is gone, thanks to the fact that I don’t have to spend much time with them in cold water.

I think that not everyone can (access this benefit) due to the high cost of those washing machines, we achieve the purchase thanks to the micro-credit project that we have through the join body, and thanks to the premium that we receive for the sale of Fair Trade flowers.

In our community the people really didn’t have the possibility to access washing machines. Thanks to Fair Trade, we are the pioneers in improving our system of washing clothing, preserving our health in the future, and improving the quality of life of the whole family.”

February is Whole Trade Guarantee Month! (Enter to win Whole Trade flowers for a year!) During the season of romance, we are also celebrating fair wages, environmental sustainability and philanthropy throughout the world. When you’re shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts, I recommend browsing our Whole Trade Guarantee™ beautiful roses and decadent chocolates (Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange and Theo Chocolate, just to name a few brands).

Beyond romantic treats, I shop for Whole Trade teas, coffees, body care and grocery products throughout the store. Here are a few of my very favorite items:

Kombucha Botanica

I recently became a kombucha enthusiast. I kept hearing about the incredible health benefits of kombucha (fermented tea), due to its probiotics, acids, enzymes and B-vitamins. However, I never actually enjoyed drinking it…until I tried Kombucha Botanica. The Santa Cruz-based company offers organic and raw kombucha that are deliciously refreshing and mildly sweet. They get their sugar from Wholesome Sweeteners (another Whole Trade product) from Paraguay.

In addition to contributing 1% of sales to the Whole Planet Foundation, Kombucha Botanica is a member of the 1% For the Planet program. Its current recipient is the Homeless Garden Project, a community supported organic garden that provides job training and transitional employment to homeless men and women. This small company gives back in a big way!

Kombucha Botanica is also a recipient of our Local Producer Loan Program. Funds from the loan have allowed the small company to invest in more production space. Kombucha Botanica is currently available in Northern California and Southern Oregon, but will be expanding soon into the rest of California, Nevada and Utah.

365 Organic Swiss Chocolate

When I need a chocolate fix – especially while on a budget – I grab a 365 Organic Swiss chocolate bar. For just around $2, the smooth, rich organic chocolate satisfies my cravings without breaking the bank. My favorites are the Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Dark Chocolate with Coconut, both made with 54% cacao.

The cocoa beans are grown by the YACAO Project, a co-op of small-scale farmers in the Dominican Republic. YACAO works with producers to ensure fair and equal salary for equal work, absolutely no child or forced labor, purchase of whole production guaranteed, 10-25% bonus paid for organic production, and financing of all organic certification.

Alaffia Body Lotion

I am also a big fan of Alaffia’s Shea & Rooibos Antioxidant Body Lotion, which is made with unrefined shea butter, antioxidant rooibos tea, skin firming papaya and nourishing red palm oil. I use it daily after I shower, and love how it absorbs quickly and completely without leaving a sticky residue.

The Alaffia/Agbanga Shea Butter Cooperative in Togo provides fair income and medical care to over 80 families. I had the privilege of meeting Alaffia founder Olowo-n’djo Tchala, and was inspired by how he uses sustainable skin care to build awareness about women’s health issues in Africa. The back of my lotion bottle reads, “In West Africa, 1 in 16 women may die from childbirth related complications.” 10% of Alaffia sales benefit community projects, including the Fousena Fund and Alaffia Women’s Clinic in Togo, which provide prenatal care and funds for complications to help reduce preventable deaths. Check out their website www.alaffia.com for more info about Alaffia’s empowerment projects.

From teas to chocolate to skin care, the Whole Trade Guarantee program offers something for everyone. So, what’s your favorite Whole Trade product?

As we wrap-up 2008 and quickly approach New Year’s Eve, my palate dances with glee in anticipation of all of the delicious bubbly waiting to be discovered or remembered. The pop of the cork, the gentle bubbles in the glass, the beautiful elixir that we sip as the clock strikes midnight and the hope of the New Year fills us all. From Champagne to Cava, here is a bit about the bubble and some of my favorites for 2008.

Champagne is the name (strictly reserved for French wines made in this specific region) we often use when referring to the beverage that sparkles in our glass.  However, Champagne is actually the place where sparkling wine was born somewhere around 1700.  There, the “blind monk” Dom Perignon discovered champagne, exclaiming “Come quickly, I am tasting stars!” Dom Perignon is now known as one of the most famous House Champagnes., long-standing Champagne establishments that strive to blend the best grapes (chardonnay, pinot noir & pinot meunier) from the different regions within Champagne. This house style or house blend is what we love about them.  My house pick for this season is the Nicolas Feuillate Brut Extrem’ Champagne from one of the top three champagne houses.  Fresh and rich with very fine bubbles, this is predominately a Chardonnay blend sourced only from Premier and Grand Cru Vineyards.  Showing a very persistent, fine mousse, rich spice, baked-bread, citrus and white flowers. The Feuillatte is vibrant and fresh with a purity of fruit; it screams for oysters or French Brie (my mouth is watering as I write).

In the last 10 to 20 years we have had another gift from Champagne.  Some call it farmer fizz, I call it art in the bottle; the proper term is Grower Champagnes.  Grower Champagnes focus on blending grapes from their tiny parcels of terroir. These farmer/winemakers bring us their small parcels and give us a taste like no other and they do it all at a very affordable price.  Every time I take a sip of a Grower Champagne, my heart leaps and I feel truly grateful for the gift! This year’s show stopper is the Gaston Chiquet NV “Tradition” from Dizy (a small region within Champagne).  Only 7,500 cases were made of this gorgeous blend (35% Chardonnay, 45 % pinot meunier, 20% Pinot Noir). Soft and round with layers of flavor: fresh orchard apples dipped in caramel, a hint of cardamon, full-bodied with a walnut finish; truly special.  To identify grower champagnes, look for RM (recoltant-manipulant, or grower-producer) on the label.

Looking for a more affordable bubbly, something easy to drink and fun to celebrate with? I bring you Italy’s Prosecco and Spain’s Cava!

Prosecco wines are perfect for New Year’s festivities. Prosecco is a term applied to a specific type of wine as well as the grape that is used to make it. The Prosecco grape is primarily grown in a region of Italy known as Veneto. It is also grown in the Valdobbiadene and Conegliano wine regions, both north of Venice.  It’s a type of sparkling wine that’s light, simple and easy to like. Prosecco grapes are used to make two types of sparkling wine. They can be used to make spumante, a dry sparkling wine, or frizzante wines, which are semi-sparkling. I adore the non-vintage Presto Prosecco Brut. It is made in the spumante style, but with only 11% alcohol, it is the perfect palate pleaser! Not too dry, not too sweet, pretty effervescence, bright and refreshing – easy on the wallet.

The dazzling fizz produced in Spain’s Catalonia region under the collective name Cava may not be entitled to use the name Champagne, but it’s a superb party wine, made with a whole lot of delicious Spanish passion that shows in every bottle.  The grapes used to produce Cava include local Catalonian varieties such as Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel-lo, plus newcomers Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for certain wines.  The Organic Tarantas Cava Brut gets my pick!  It is made with the three classical Cava grape varieties (organic Macabeu, Xarel-lo and Parellada) following the “champenoise method” and laid to rest for more than 9 months.  This might be the best deal in the store.  Apple and spice tickles your tongue with the most pleasant hint of warm licorice! Try anything fried with this firecracker! Oh so tasty!

For those who enjoy the unexpected and esoteric sides of life, I have a souvenir for you to share with those you love to amuse. Algae. From green to red, slimy to coarse, and microscopic to enormous. Just mention the topic of algae, and many people think of the unsightly green film in swimming pools and fish tanks…or their eyes glaze over. Add to your unpredictability the story of potentially the most humble, unpretentious organisms on Earth.

My name is Tim Schaeffer, I am the founder of Depth, an exclusive brand at Whole Foods Market.  Depth offers body and hair care products based on the renowned skin benefits of marine algae, all formulated to meet the stringent Whole Foods Market Premium Body Care Standards. Prior to creating body care products, I was a marine biologist for ten years. My wife, Depth’s co-founder, is also a marine biologist, which is how we met. During my tenure as a marine biologist, my focus was on marine algae. I’d spend hours engulfed in all types of algae on land and underwater, studying their ecology and genetics. Believe me, I have first-hand experience in how algae can flabbergast friends.

Marine algae (or marine botanicals) range in size from microscopic to towering, and can broadly be divided into three main groups: green algae, brown algae and red algae with each designation being derived from these species’ actual coloration. All algae have two primary functions – primary production and the creation of habitat. Both functions are critical to maintaining balance beneath the ocean’s surface.

Think of primary production as the foundation of the food chain – tiny phytoplankton (the smallest of all algae) float in the water converting sunlight and carbon dioxide to food sources that are consumed by zooplankton. Zooplankton (the smallest animals in the sea) are then consumed by small fish. These small fish are in turn consumed by bigger fish, and the links in the food chain multiply from there.

In addition to forming the foundation of the ocean’s food chain, algae also create the oxygen necessary to help support respiring marine species. It’s easy to forget that fish need to breathe underwater. Through photosynthesis, carbon taken from carbon dioxide is used to help the algae grow, and oxygen is released into the water. Fish, crabs, clams, tuna, and sharks…to name just a few…all respire oxygen present in the water in order to live.

Creation of habitat is just what it sounds like…creating a home for other marine life. Just like a tree provides habitat for birds and insects, marine botanicals provide habitat for a wide range of species. Perhaps the most well-known is the habitat provided by kelp. Kelp is one of the few species in the world that completely change the habitat they live in, transforming a two-dimensional surface to a three-dimensional environment, much like a redwood forest does. For example, kelp provides a safe place for baby fish to hide. Have you ever had rockfish for your dinner entree? If so, kelp played a role by providing a place to hide from predators when the fish was much younger. When kelp is abundant, fishermen can typically expect more robust populations of rockfish in the future due to the sanctuary kelp provides. However, if storms or human activity deplete kelp forests, then these baby rockfish are more susceptible to predation, leading to smaller populations from which to fish. Other species rely on kelp for their habitat, as well…helping to keep the ocean community balanced.

How does all of this relate to your daily life? You’d be surprised; there are a wide range of human uses of marine algae. Some species of red algae are used to harvest a compound known as carageenan. Carageenan is used in beer, ice cream, and toothpaste. Other species are used in fertilizers, and many are used in nutritional supplements. In body care, marine botanicals are known to be extraordinarily hydrating. Depth body products rely on wildcrafted marine botanicals to create products that are luxurious and moisturizing for skin and hair.

Perhaps the most well-known and biggest industry of marine algae is that of Nori – the species you find wrapped around sushi. Yep, that’s algae on your sushi! The cultivation of Nori increased ten-fold from 1950 to 1980 after a British scientist, Kathleen Drew-Baker, began to understand the biology of the species. Nori farmers were so pleased with her discovery, and ultimate improvements in aquaculture, that they erected a bronze statue in Drew’s likeness overlooking Shimbara Bay in Japan. To this day, farmers place a tribute of Nori from the current crop at the statue’s feet every year.

If you want to see pictures of some interesting species, do an internet search on any of these: “kelp,” “acetabularia,” “sea lettuce,” or “postelsia.” If you have a question about the ocean, algae, or other marine species and their role in our lives, let me know and I’ll try to answer them in future posts.

The third Thursday of November has always been the first day where the new vintage can be tasted in the form of Beaujolais Nouveau! Beyond the first taste of the year’s quality, Nouveau is more about celebration. Celebration of the harvest, celebration of the first revenue from a year of hard labor, and celebration of another year past all the way through the holidays.

Best enjoyed fresh, or before spring returns, Nouveau is a terrific compliment to the rich, earthy and spicy flavors that come across the holiday table. The crazy complex flavors of roasts, game, mushrooms, squash, root vegetables and flavorings such as sage, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, peppers, and the like are perfectly complemented by Nouveau’s grapey flavor and refreshing acidity.

In order to get Nouveau on the third Thursday of November, it is flown around the world to restaurants, bars and parties. Historically, fuel was low cost and the environment not foremost of consideration, so the carbon footprint wasn’t an issue. But with the environment ever more important to an increasing number of wine drinkers, the cost and fuel required to fly wine bottled in heavy glass around the globe has caused wineries to reconsider how this fun and eventful wine is distributed.

Whole Foods Market is proud to present the first ever bottling of Nouveau in plastic bottles! This lowers the carbon footprint of getting this wine to your table. Just think, less guilt while enjoying wine with friends! And it lowers the cost for you to get it to the table too. Just imagine sitting on a fatter wallet while you’re enjoying the same exact delicious wine with friends! It’s more than delicious. It’s a new way to enjoy this traditional regional wine.

Worried about how plastic changes the way a wine may taste? Well don’t be. Nouveau is for near term drinking. This wine should be in your belly before either plastic or oxygen has the time to impact the fresh juicy character of this wine.

Nouveau drinkers can rejoice with a lower priced and greener wine in 2008. If you’re not a Nouveau drinker, then there is no better year to join the celebration.

Erez Klein, our Wine Buyer for the Pacific Northwest Region of Whole Foods Market, began a passion for food and wine when travelling the world during his childhood. In college, his studies in political economy were waylaid by a course in wine appreciation and he found himself reading (and drinking) everything he could get hold of regarding wine and history. Before joining Whole Foods Market, Erez worked in Napa Valley with famed wine centric restaurateur Joyce Goldstein at Square One Restaurant and at The Auberge du Soleil Resort as Wine Director.

It’s time for the Holiday Edition of our Top Ten Wines!  In case you’re not familiar with the Whole Foods Market Top Ten wine event, a few times a year our national wine buyers select their favorite wines for exceptionally good values. Stylistically, the wines tend to be a fairly eclectic bunch, ranging from rustic to more refined. And, as is usually the case, there are more then 10 of them (12 this time ‘round). Why be limited by a number when you have a lot of good wines to choose from? Here is a short review of three of the Top Ten Holiday Wines that I believe deserve a little personal attention.

First up to bat is a wine from Parducci called Sustainable White. The name alone begs explanation. Parducci Wine Cellars is the nation’s first carbon-neutral winery, having converted to a 100% green power platform that includes solar and wind power. The Sustainable moniker refers to the fact the grapes used in the wine (Muscat, Tokai, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier) are not as yet certified organic, but are produced using environmentally-friendly methods. In the previous Top Ten run, the Sustainable Red (a juicy, ripe blend of numerous red varietals with a little kick of Viognier) was featured and was one of the surprise hits of the program. The Sustainable White is equally appealing.

Bright citrus, melon, peach and pineapple notes abound on the nose and palate. The acidity is just crisp enough without being over the top, allowing the finish to be clean. Vietnamese or Thai fare, particularly those dishes with quantities of lime, lemongrass or coconut milk, would be terrific matches. The abundance of ripe fruit character would also make it more than a match for handling the sometimes unwieldy and disparate food and wine pairings populating the average Thanksgiving table.

The next wine under delicate scrutiny, a red, also promises to be a friendly element in frequent orbit around turkey or ham this season. Beaujolais, you say? Good guess, great match, but wrong. The wine I speak of is the Block 45 Pinot Noir. Cherries, hints of other lighter red berries and luscious vanilla tones lace the bouquet of this wine and slide across the palate with a silky, essentially tannin-less finish. Lamb, grilled or barbequed salmon (cedar plank time!) would be other stellar pairings. With the growing popularity of Pinot Noir has come an unfortunate growth in its average price as well. To find a Pinot Noir which “walks and talks” like a Pinot, let alone having the character of this wine usually requires a considerably greater investment.  In the face of this, the Block 45 is truly a remarkable value.

Last up is definitely the heaviest bodied wine out of the current Top Ten group. The Vinum Cellars Reserve Petite Sirah is what I would qualify as really great entry-level Petite Sirah. Why? Petite Sirah is a grape varietal with a potential for creating big to huge bodied, very tannic and powerfully flavored wines that, I’ll confess, I absolutely love. In the past it seems like big, chewy, budget Petite Sirahs that you could almost cut with a knife were the norm, rather than the light, cocktail style often found in Petites under 20 bucks these days. At times these wines could be somewhat like the incredible hulk in bottled form, though decidedly not so green. Big wine, little price, what’s not to love? Well, for many folks the idea of having a symbiotic relationship with a large swarm of tannic acid molecules is not what they have in mind when you say the word “wine.”

Enter at this point the Vinum Reserve Petite Sirah, a wine with a body and tannic structure just big enough for some of us with a preference for the bigger reds, yet soft enough to be approachable for others looking for a new wine experience. Exuberant, ripe, almost jammy pomegranate and blueberry fruit are the primary players here with a juicy finish liberally dusted by mildly chewy tannins. Because of its big body and lush fruit, the list of foods that this wine could readily handle would be pretty huge. Pizza, beef stew, garlic roast potatoes, southern Indian food, most Mexican dishes, even burgers with ketchup or barbeque sauce. In addition, Vinum Cellars donates a portion of the profits from this wine to the San Francisco SPCA, the Society for Cruelty to Animals. Big and bold wine, yet warm and fuzzy. Gotta love it.

Back in the late 80’s, I hopped in a van with my band mates. Sleeping on floors across America, eating at truck stops, or on some lucky nights, enjoying a plate of tour spaghetti made with love and generosity by the people who loaned us their couches for the night. Eating healthy on the road took a bit of creativity back then. Often the most nutritious meal at a truck stop (filled with processed nacho cheese dip, soda pop and candy) was a can of sardines and some saltine crackers (which I would trade off with the occasional peanut butter and crackers). A truck stop salad was a wedge of iceberg lettuce smothered in thick Thousand Island dressing with a tomato slice and an olive thrown on top. Sometimes the only way to make my own “salad” was to order a burger with all the fixings and just eat the fixings!

As the years passed, I started to notice more and more mom and pop food co-ops opening across the country. I could not only find nutritious (and yummy) locally grown foods, but also the coolest feature in any food co-op….the bulletin board! The bulletin board in any organic store is the pulse of the community. You can find Yoga, massage, concert listings, bookstores, used van parts (crucial for a touring band), community political information and even lost cats. Despite the immediacy of the Internet, I still go straight to the organic food store bulletin board to find out really what’s happening in any town I find myself in.

Thankfully, organic, locally grown and nutritious food is becoming more accessible everyday across America and in every country I travel to in the world. That’s good news for people and for the planet. As someone who spends many months a year on the road, it made me think hard about ways that we could make our tours be less harmful to the planet. We started using bio diesel fuel for our tour buses, stainless steel water bottles for ourselves and our crew, and ceramic plates (or biodegradables) backstage. We also purchase carbon offsetting for our flights and ask that all venues we play provide recycling bins in the house and in the backstage areas. This movement is spreading across the music community and thanks to the encouragement of concertgoers many of the venues we play at are working year round to lessen their carbon footprint as well.

I feel that it’s imperative that we all work together. Farmers, retailers, consumers, businesses and families need to support and encourage each other to do what we can to keep the wheels turning in the right direction. So thanks for all you do to support locally grown, delicious and nutritious FOOD and MUSIC!

A healthy planet is a happy planet!

Be peace, Michael Franti

Check out Michael’s latest album, All Rebel Rockers in our stores right now!

Farm Aid and Whole Foods Market go together like locally grown peas and carrots! Anyone that was lucky enough to attend the Whole Foods Market sponsored event on Saturday would have to agree that the talent and energy around the show was truly inspirational. With performances from the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, The Pretenders, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and, of course, Willie Nelson, the message of support for farmers and local producers was loud and clear.

The Whole Foods Market Boston local teams outdid themselves with the massive task of catering 3 full meals for the VIPs, production crews and artists along with offering tons of free tote bags and product samples for any of the 30k+ attendees that stopped by our booths. The grand prize winners of our “Destination Summer” online sweepstakes (and lucky us, they’re farmers too!) also had a blast, eating great food and grinning ear to ear the whole day. Kudos to everyone who had a hand in this huge undertaking!

Our guest writer, Honey Thompson, works on our marketing team and had an absolute blast helping out at FarmAid.

Earlier this month, I found myself getting my hands dirty digging up the lawn outside San Francisco’s City Hall alongside such influential people as Alice Waters and Mayor Gavin Newsom.

The occasion was the creation of the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden in San Francisco and the mayor was letting the group rip out the lawn to plant a quarter-acre garden. It is now the centerpiece of the Slow Food Nation festival, which takes place in San Francisco this Labor Day weekend.

Whole Foods Market got involved with Slow Food Nation to highlight the connection between plate and planet. As I was planting seeds that foggy San Francisco summer morning, I was thinking about how our organizations would work together to develop greater respect for food and the people who produce it.

For our part, I’m happy that many of the food producers featured at Slow Food Nation sell their products in our stores. This includes farmers and purveyors who exemplify local, sustainable food such as St. Benoît Yogurt, a French-style yogurt maker in Sonoma, California. These guys source organic Jersey milk from a neighboring dairy, hand-select the fruit and honey used in the yogurt at Bay Area farmers’ markets and use ceramic containers to eliminate packaging waste. In fact, Whole Foods Market recently gave St. Benoît Yogurt a loan to help expand their business.

When I look at the bigger picture, Slow Food Nation really seems to be picking up velocity. This is the first time that a Slow Food event of this scale has been held in the US (the parent organization is based in Italy and got its start in the eighties in protest to McDonald’s opening in Rome). Foodies, intellectuals and bloggers are eagerly watching to see how the movement will translate here in the US. Early indications are positive. Tickets are sold out and the media is buzzing.

It’s my hope that our partnership with Slow Food Nation will help draw attention to food that is good, clean and fair. No small task, indeed.

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Look out for another posting from me. I’ll share my thoughts on what is sure to be a weekend packed with amazing food, critical thinking from leaders in the sustainable food community and some really cool music.

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If you can’t make it to San Francisco, here’s a Slow Food recipe to try at home featuring summer’s superstar veggie, the heirloom tomato.

Heirloom Gazpacho
Serves 4

3 ripe heirloom tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 purple onion, finely chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/2 sweet red bell pepper seeded and chopped
1 stalks celery, chopped
1 TB chopped fresh parsley
1 TB chopped fresh chives
1/2 clove garlic, minced
2 TB red wine vinegar
2 TB olive oil
1 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
3 or more drops of hot pepper sauce to taste
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
2 cups tomato juice
2 ounces shaved jack cheese

Combine all ingredients. Blend slightly, to desired consistency. Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend. Garnish with shaved jack cheese.