In the world of capitalism and entrepreneurism, it is common to get a name or idea trademarked so it is protected under copyright and makes it difficult for anyone to profit off or steal the term or idea. However, in certain organized communities, there are specific terms that are used across the board about a specific product – for example, Fire Cider, that cannot be trademarked and should be available to all.

Recently, Kathi Langelier of Herbal Revolution (ME) Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs (RI) and Nicole Telkes of Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine (TX) won a 9-day trial in court for their case of making Fire Cider a generic term in Herbalism. What this means is that corporations or other for-profit organizations cannot trademark Fire Cider. In Herbalism, certain terms and names often come from tradition and if trademarked the meaning and tradition can be lost.

Why is this significant to our cooperative community?

Two years ago, the co-op discontinued Fire Cider made by Shire City Herbals because of the legal action they had taken against community herbalists for using a traditional remedy and term. This decision was not made lightly. In a statement regarding this issue, back in June of 2015, we did our best to remain neutral, urging Shire City Herbals and all parties involved to find a peaceful and equitable resolution to the conflicts over the trademark issue. The fact remains that the term “fire cider” was not created by Shire City Herbals and had been in use by herbalists all over the country long before they started making their product. Shire City Herbals did not invent this formula. Decades ago, the basic recipe was published with that name, in a book by Rosemary Gladstar. 

The Recipe and Tradition

Fire Cider is a blend of herbs mixed with apple cider vinegar and honey used for its health-enhancing properties. This formula and name were coined by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in the 1970s. It has been reproduced, adapted, used and sold by thousands of herbalists over the past forty years. Traditional fire cider is apple cider vinegar infused with warming herbs like horseradish, garlic, onion, ginger, and hot peppers, among other things.

From Rosemary,

I would say that fire cider does have a long history. It goes back to how people were using apple cider vinegar and we had some very famous formulas, one of which was apple cider vinegar and honey, and another being apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper.

I would almost go as far as to say that all herbal remedies and formulas are handed down and passed down through many generations. The information comes from ancient plant wisdom that doesn’t belong to us, but it’s ours to use and to share. So this particular recipe is based on ancient history.

It was just this particular configuration of herbs that made it unique back in the 1970s. The reason it became famous is that it’s very user-friendly and easy to make. Plus, it costs next to nothing to make a batch, especially if you grow those herbs and make your own cider vinegar.

This one recipe became very famous because it also became the poster child for the issue of trademarking traditional herbal formulas that have existed for decades and even for centuries. It became a very political issue and there’s been a huge amount on social media and in newspapers all around the country about what’s happening with traditional, herbal remedies in this regard.

Kathi Langelier of Herbal Revolution, (ME) Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs (RI) and Nicole Telkes of Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine, (TX)’s recent win in court is a huge precedent-setting case because it will prevent future corporations and for-profit organizations from trademarking a tradition or term. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ginger, fresh (grated)
• 1/2 cup horseradish (fresh, grated)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 10 cloves garlic (crushed or chopped)
• 2 pepper, jalapeño (chopped)
• 1 lemon (zest of)
• 2 tablespoons rosemary, dried (or several sprigs of fresh rosemary)
• 1 tablespoon turmeric, ground
• apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey (plus more to taste)

Instructions

Put ginger, horseradish, onion, garlic, peppers, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary and turmeric in a quart canning jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar by about two inches. Use a piece of natural parchment paper or wax paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal. Shake well. Store in a dark, cool place for one month and shake daily.

After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Add ¼ cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another ¼ cup until you reach desired sweetness. Fire cider should taste hot, spicy and sweet. It is great as a winter time tonic and as a remedy for colds and coughs. Often people use it as salad dressing, on rice, or with steamed vegetables.

Many New Englanders this time of year go to the beach and often have a variety of seafood: cod, salmon, swordfish, shellfish, etc. but did you know that sea vegetables are more and more becoming a larger part of the seafood category? While the Japanese were one of the first groups of people to jump onto the benefits of seaweed, the nutritional benefits are quite surprising! Seaweed has been known to be nourishing for those who have certain deficiencies.

Check out some of the key nutritional benefits of seaweed below. 93 Bio-available nutrients have been identified in Seaweed… more than any other class of food!

Iodine, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, B-Complex, Protein, Amino Acids, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Antioxidants, Myostatin, Antibodies, Fucoidan, Alginate, Laminarin, Glyconutrients, Lignans, Sulfate, Galactans, Phloroglucinols

In addition to the key nutritional benefits, there are 56 minerals and trace elements in seaweed: it is very high in Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron & Iodine, Perfect Potassium to Sodium ration.

Seaweed is also Antiviral, Antibacterial, Antiparasitic has more vitamin C than oranges, 10x the calcium in milk, 25x the iron in beef

Nutritional experts recommend eating seaweed from all three-color groups:

Green: Sea Lettuce, Spongeweed, Ulva
Brown: Kelp, Wrack, Bladderwrack, Wake, Combo, Fucus
Red: Dulse, Nnori, Laver, Irish Moss, Carrageen Moss

Many of the above nutrients are helpful for those who have an autoimmune disease, to eat the vitamins, minerals and trace elements already found in food that their autoimmune disease is causing a deficiency in.

At the co-op, there are many products available in our snack and international food aisles that have seaweed as a key ingredient. Aside from grounding up sheets of seaweed used for sushi making, there is a popular seasoning called Nori Fume Furikake. It only has organic seaweed, organic sesame, salt and sugar and is great to mix in with some California Jasmine Rice that is found in our bulk section.

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     Seaweed has also been beneficial as a natural seaweed supplement for dogs, cats, birds, fish, horses  and other farm animals.

Below are some recipe suggestions to use these products to incorporate seaweed’s nutritional benefits into your diet. These have been reposted with permission from NCG:

Asian Cabbage Salad with Pan-Seared Tofu Steaks

Orange Wakame Salad

If you are someone who happens to fear seaweed while swimming in the ocean, the ugly truth is that seaweed has a lot of nutritional value that can provide a huge source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are important for your day-to-day diet.

Sourced from: www.allnaturalpetcare.com

FDA Disclaimer: Statements on this website may not have been evaluated by the FDA, Health Canada nor any other government regulator. The information and products provided by AllNaturalPetCare.com are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and are intended for educational purposes only.

Whipped coffee is all the rage these days and with this simple five-step recipe you can enjoy a barista-made drink in minutes! There are many ways to whip up (yes, pun intended) this coffee treat, and as a result it comes out in many different ways. From others who have made this drink, matcha and cocoa powder seem to work just as well. The co-op carries a variety of instant coffee varieties, including fair trade and instant coffee substitutes. We recommend using a real instant coffee for the best results!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of instant coffee

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of hot water

A glass of milk, or 8-16 oz.

Adapted from: https://tasty.co/recipe/whipped-coffee

Measure out your ingredients 

Pour ingredients into a bowl

Whisk ingredients until it is foamy and frothy

Pour milk into a glass with ice and pour whipped coffee on top

Enjoy!

Himalayan Oatmeal Bath Soak

05/08/2020

Oatmeal baths have a strong and well-known reputation for their restorative qualities. They can balance and moisturize skin, calm inflammation, relieve itchiness and restore pH. Oatmeal soaks can even soothe common irritations such as sunburn, eczema, bug bites and rashes. 

This type of soak can relieve aches and pains, improve sleep and circulation, relieve water retention and calm inflammation of the skin and body. It works its magic by restoring pH levels, drawing out impurities and delivering much-needed minerals to the body.  

Ingredients

1/2 cup Organic Oatmeal

1/2 cup Himalayan Salt

1/2 cup dried herbs  

Optional: Your choice of skin-friendly essential oils and only about 10 drops diluted in a carrier oil.

Add ¼ – ½ cup of your bath soak into the bath to use. 

Measure out ingredients

Put all in a bowl and mix.

Pour into a blender

Blend until it’s fine and smooth

Store in a mason jar until ready to use.

Adapted from: https://jenniraincloud.com/himalayan-oatmeal-bath-soak/ Please note that this project’s health benefits have not been evaluated by the FDA and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

Looking for ways to have fun with your kids this coming weekend? Take some time to relax and enjoy the outdoors with DIY bubbles! You can make your own bubbles using everyday household items, and with surprisingly little effort. In addition to the solution below, we have provided two ways to make a bubble wand with common craft supplies. Make a fun, creative one using pipe cleaners and pony beads or a simple one with jewelry wire—either way works

You’ll Need

1 part liquid hand soap

1 part water

⅓ cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

Step 1: Find a bowl, jar or container you can use to store your solution. A mason jar works great for this since you can easily seal away any leftover solution for another occasion.

Step 2: After gathering your ingredients, start by adding one cup of water.

Step 3: Pour an equal portion (one cup) of liquid hand soap into the water.

Step 4: Measure out ⅓ cup of cornstarch and combine it with the water and soap. This will help add strength and durability to your bubbles—making them more stable so they don’t burst as easily!

Step 5: Next, add one teaspoon of baking powder to your solution. The baking powder acts as a reactant, much like it does in regular baking. Combining the dry acid and base into a solution will cause a reaction producing carbon dioxide bubbles. Single-acting baking powder produces all of its bubbles when it gets wet. 

Step 6: Stir gently to avoid forming bubbles in your solution, until the ingredients are dissolved. The end result may look different for everyone depending on the type of soap you use, but this does not affect the quality of the bubbles themselves!

Making the Bubble Wand!

Making a bubble wand is super simple and easy to do, take some jewelry wire, two pipe cleaners and 6 smaller pony beads and 3 larger ones in the colors of your choice.

Step 1: Unspool some jewelry wire and cut it to your desired length. Then fold that length in have by making a loop.

Step 2: Take two pipe cleaners in the colors of your choice and attach them to the base of the loop, then wrap one around the base to securely fashion it. Repeat this with the second pipe cleaner for the other side. By this point, you should have two pipe cleaners on either side of the wire base. 

Step 3: Start feeding your beads onto the wire base and begin with the smaller pony bead. The beads should alternate between small – large – small with a twist of the pipe cleaners at the end. Repeat this until the wire base is completely covered.

We hope this DIY will bring you closer to your loved ones this summer and inspires you to make similar projects! For more activities and backyard family fun, click here.

THE IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS

by Claudia Broman from Stronger Together

A simple lunchtime meal could look drastically different without bees. We can thank these pollinators for about one out of every three bites of food we eat, including many of our favorite fruits like blueberries, peaches, blackberries, grapefruit, raspberries, oranges, pears and plums.

As pollinators, bees flitting around apple orchards and cranberry bogs move pollen from the male parts of trees and plants to the female parts. This shift of pollen allows the flowers to produce fruit. Many crops, like almonds, avocados, cucumbers and even onions, wouldn’t produce much, if anything, without the help of bees. In the U.S. alone, bee pollinators annually contribute to about $20 billion of products people use every day. Recent scientific studies show that bee pollination is directly connected to human health.

People need to consume a variety of nutrients to stay healthy. Globally, the crops that provide these nutrients vary widely from place to place, with developing regions of the world being more dependent on particular fruits and vegetables than others. 

Were these crops to fail on account of a decline in pollinators, it could result in a global malnutrition problem.

Unfortunately, researchers have seen declines in the success of wild and commercial bee colonies over the past 50 years. This drop in bee numbers in the U.S. is attributed in part to an increase in private and commercial pesticide use. Other conditions contributing to the struggling numbers are habitat loss due to development, monoculture agriculture (growing just one crop, like corn, year after year), animal grazing and the introduction of non-native insect species. Cumulatively these conditions have crop farmers concerned about whether there will be enough honeybees to pollinate their fields, and beekeepers concerned about collapsing honeybee colonies.

Despite the challenges honeybees are facing, there is hope. Scientists confirm that the diverse ecosystems found on organic farms provide friendly places for bees to nest and roam. Organic farmers often grow more than one type of crop which provides bees with a varied and nutritious diet, and they don’t use the types of synthetic pesticides that have been connected with bee population declines. Organic farms are helping the bees that eaters rely upon for meals every day, whether a person chooses to eat organic food or not.

Reposted with permission from www.strongertogether.coop

POLLINATORS ARE THE FUTURE OF FOOD

If pollinators disappeared from the planet, even beef and dairy products would be scarce, because pollinators are vital to crops that feed cattle and other grazing animals. From apples and almonds to strawberries and tomatoes, many of our most beloved foods depend on pollinators. There’s a link below that will show you the number of flowers and foods that will be scarce without bees. 

MEET THE BEE’S FRIENDS

Other types of pollinators work alongside bees, helping to maintain the diversity of plant life and playing crucial roles in our ecosystem. Meet some of the honey bee’s fascinating friends – bumblebee, monarch butterfly, hawk moth, firefly and hummingbird. Honey bees pollinate more than 100 types of crops in the US – but they can’t do it alone. 

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ALMONDS

Farming monoculture, in which land is devoted solely to one crop (e.g., almonds), makes it hard for pollinators to find year-round food and means that almonds and other crops are increasingly dependent on commercial bees that are trucked from one crop to another. Almonds are dependent on honey bees and other pollinators to bear fruit.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Beekeeping

Reach out to Ben Warren in Customer Service at the co-op who has a history of beekeeping! He has agreed to provide his work email and a bit about his background as a resource for our cooperative community to learn more about beekeeping and how you can start your own bee journey. If you have any questions please reach out to Ben here: bwarren@rivervalley.coop

I have been beekeeping for less than a year. Unlike most businesses, and perhaps a select group of homeowners with the same hobby or profession, I did not have the space to keep my bees on my property. I spent weeks scouting a home to set up my hive and eventually found a quiet spot in the woods.
Now the woods are not the ideal placement for a hive: the sun takes longer to wake up the bees and there is a greater chance of animals trying to weasel into the honeycomb. BUT so far I have not had any issues with my hive and it’s a very beautiful space among the trees.

For the first few weeks, I had one box for brood, a special frame to hold simple syrup while the flowers were still blooming, and a foundation to keep the hive elevated off the ground. As the summer progressed I added another hive body (for hive growth), removed the special frame and then added a honey super: the box you collect honey from. I acquired ratchet straps to lock the boxes together just in case something tries to snag a taste of honey (I’m lookin’ at you, Ursula). 
I didn’t harvest any honey this year, I probably could have but a hive needs around 70 pounds of honey to support themselves over the winter. Collecting honey will be a special treat next year, but I just want them to be happy and healthy.

Buying Local

Buying local honey products not only increases demand for our local honey companies which help these businesses as there is no middleman at the co-op but supporting local hives keeps them sustained and in turn helps out the bee population.

Make Your Own Bee Hotel

Mason Bees in particular appreciate dry housing within their habitats to help them survive harsh climates. There are really nice bee hotels made of wood and other materials, however you can use the DIY article below to make your own out of bamboo and an aluminum can. If you don’t have bamboo, you can easily use rolled up pieces of paper glued together to get the same effect!

Share Information

But be careful of false information, it’s always helpful to spread information to your friends, family and co-workers, however make sure it’s accurate! We have provided social media graphics and a cheat-sheet consolidating this post into one document. 

SUPPLIER PARTNERS FOR POLLINATORS

Red Barn Honey Company

43 Fort Hill Terrace

Northampton, MA 01060

North Hadley Sugar Shack

181 River Drive

Hadley, MA 01035

Resources

1) DIY Mason Bee Hotel: https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/mason-bee-habitat/ 

2) Pollination Information: https://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/pollinators/

3) List of Pollinated Food: https://www.pollinator.org/list-of-pollinated-food

Social Media Graphics

 

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Download the Cheat-Sheet Below