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Open 7 Days A Week, 8 to 7Nine Washington Street

M iddlebury , VT

БОРЩ — BorschtThe Russian word for this wonderful soup is rendered inthe English language usually as Borscht. It really shouldbe Borshch, though, as the cyrillic version includes thesound of sh followed by a sharp ch, at the end. In any case,Borscht is a most tremendously hearty, nutritious, deli-cious soup whose flavors, if prepared well, will transport

you straight to a supper table somewhere in rural Russia during the time ofTolstoy. You'll find yourself near a warm fire inside a simple peasant's hut,while outside the wind is howling and the snow drifting, perhaps a troikaarriving with tinkling bells bringing friends to join you for the meal.Borscht is most popular in Eastern Europe. The word is of Yiddish origin,which can be further traced back to Proto-Indo-European roots meaninghogweed, which used to be the main ingredient of Borscht. It was the Ashke-nazi Jews that brought the recipe from the Ukraine to America.Traditionally Borscht is made with bone broth, sautéed vegetables, and fer-mented beet root juice (slices of beet root are covered with pre-boiled waterand left out for several days for bacteria to ferment some to the beet sugars).Some borscht is made with broth of beef, ham, lamb, poultry, sausage, oreven fish. Vegetarian broth is often made with mushrooms. Vegetables mayinclude beet root, green cabbage, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes; also tartapples, turnip, zucchini, and bell peppers.

February2016

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There are countless recipes for Borscht. In Poland and the Ukraine the recipesvary by region and can be quite different from one another. The soup can beeaten hot or cold, it can be blended or chunky, and it can be made with fer-mented beet juice which gives it a sweet and sour taste. Borscht can be servedas a refreshing summer dish or as a warm and soothing meal on Christmas Eve.The vegetables can be sliced, cubed, or julienned. Borscht is often served withsour cream or yogurt, parsley, scallions, hot peppers, or fresh dill.The recipe I'd like to share can be found in the Moosewood Cookbook, byMollie Katzen. This recipe serves 4 people. I like to prepare about twice asmuch to have lots of left-overs for the coming days. You could also blendsome of the left-overs into a broth that will be most soothing on a coldFebruary night after a day's hard work.Reiner

Place potatoes, beets and veggie stock (or water) in a saucepan and cookuntil everything is tender (save the liquid).

Begin cooking the onions in the butter in a large kettle. Add carawayseeds and salt. Cook until onion is translucent, then add celery, carrotsand cabbage. Add liquid from beets and potatoes and cook, covered untilall the vegetables are tender. Add potatoes, beets, and all remainingingredients.

Cover and simmer slowly for at least 30minutes. Taste to correct seasoning.

Serve topped with sour cream, fresh dill,and chopped fresh tomatoes.

2 tablespoons butter1 ½ cups chopped onion1 ½ cups thinly sliced potato1 cup thinly sliced beets1 large, sliced carrot1 stalk chopped celery3 cups chopped green cabbage1 teaspoon caraway seeds4 cups vegetable stock or water2 teaspoons saltblack pepper

½ teaspoon dill weed1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cider

vinegar1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon honey1 cup tomato purée

topping:fresh dill weedsour cream (the Co-op's Wallaby'sorganic sour cream is excellent!)chopped tomatoes

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Dear Member-Owners,It is my goal to give you regular updates as ourexpansion planning unfolds during 2016.January was spent pulling together our teamand beginning the design process. I reportedlast month that we hired the local firm, Ver-mont Integrated Architecture. In addition, wewill work with Otter Creek Engineering as civ-

il engineers. LN Consulting will be our mechanical engineers, whospecialize in energy efficiency. And Engineering Ventures will beour structural engineers.As I write this article in early January, we are beginning to inter-view for a construction management firm believing that with ourcomplicated downtown project, we’ll need them at the table earlyas we develop the project. The challenges of our site will take somevery creative out-of-the-box solutions! If everything continues togo smoothly, we would break ground in March 2017.Our vision: Designing a store that dramatically reduces our envi-ronmental footprint, increases our social footprint, while addingmuch needed space, and create a store in which people love to shopand work.We hope that by late February, member-owners will receive visualupdates on schematic design and site plans on display in the store,information on the website and social media. We will also inviteyou to open informational meetings.We’ll let you know about the times.It’s going to be very exciting! Even moreso because this year is our 40th anniver-sary. We’ll have lots to celebrate!Yours,Glenn Lower, General Manager

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Reiner Winkler: Hannah, whatbrings you to Middlebury?Hannah Murphy: I grew up on theUpper Peninsula in Michigan, on thesouth side of the lake. I came to Mid-dlebury to study Conservation Biology.RW: How did you like your exper i-ence at Middlebury College?HM: I really liked the academics; butsocially I felt a bit out of place. I hadgrown up on a farm in a fairly workingclass part of the country. I enjoyed myjunior year abroad in Aberdeen, Scot-land, where I studied Marine Biologyand Botany. During my time there Iexplored some of the islands, includingthe Shetland Islands and the Hebrides.RW: After Middlebury College youstarted working with us at the Co-op.That was about nine months ago, right?HM: Yes, I was not ready to devotemyself to the very competitive life ofscience research. So I started workingat the Co-op.

RW: What is it like to work asone of our cashiers?HM: I like it most of the time.But it can be very demanding. As acashier, we check out our custom-ers while at the same time dealingwith a lot of questions, such aswhere to hang a poster or placingspecial orders. Customers inquireabout products from the Wellnessdepartment... about all departmentsreally! Some customers voice theirdissatisfaction about some of theproducts or simply ask for recipes.Most interactions are positive, but Ido need time to recharge after myshifts!RW: As a shift leader you haveadditional responsibilities.HM: Yes, after 5pm I may helpwith a lost wallet, credit card or carkeys. I make sure cashiers havesufficient change on hand. On oc-casion I may have to deal with anunhappy customer.

Interview with Co-opStaff Member

Hannah Murphy

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RW: Did you know all the foodsthat are coming through at the registerwhen you started?HM: Most of them. I grew up onmy parents’ farm and we shopped at alocal co-op. I remember MarquetteFood Co-op when I was only eye-height with the cash-out counter. Theonly type of food I am not as familiarwith is many of the packaged items. Iam celiac and don’t purchase most ofthem.RW: Celiac?HM: Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease. Your own immunesystem attacks your small intestineand causes inflammation. To deal withit, I have been living on a gluten freediet for ten years now.RW: Were you born with celiacdisease?HM: : Perhaps. I don’t really know. Iwas very skinny as a child. When Iwas 12 years old, I had terrible skinproblems and was severely underweight. Doctors knew about food al-lergies but not much about celiac dis-ease, and there weren’t good testsavailable for the disease. One doctorfinally suggested I should try to avoidgluten. I started a six week glutenfree diet. For five weeks there wereabsolutely no changes, and then sud-denly everything cleared up! My skingot better, I felt better, and I started togain weight. Within a few months Igained almost 40 pounds.RW: That’s remarkable! What amajor life change! Do you find it easy

now to live on a gluten free diet?HM: I have gotten used to it. It’sso much better these days! Our Co-op has just about everything youneed, and even restaurants can ac-commodate for your gluten freechoice.RW: Are there some gluten freeproducts at the Co-op that you es-pecially recommend?HM: W est M eadow Farm Bak-ery! All their breads and productshave nice texture and taste. I’malso fond of the Panabel PizzaDough we sell. Tinkyada offersexcellent rice pasta products.RW: What is your favor itecheese?HM: I am very fond of DrunkenGoat and Blue Ledge Farm La Lu-na. I’m also excited about the Mid-dlebury Blue which, unlike mostother blue cheeses, is gluten free.RW: Blue cheeses are not alwaysgluten free?HM: Unfor tunately not. Whenthe blue mold is inserted into thecheese, a glutinous binder is oftenused.RW: Do you find it safe to buygluten free products from our bulkbins?HM: Yes, but only from the binsthat are far away from the wheat,barley, rye, and oat products. Iespecially appreciate the GlutenFree Bulk unit next to the Producearea. I’m also fond of millet and

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sorghum flours. They are good towork with and deliver nice taste andtexture.RW: What do you think aboutour Co-op expansion, Hannah?HM: I am excited about gainingmore room. My concern is losingsome of our Co-op integrity. I likeour buying criteria and Ends state-ments. I don’t want to have themcompromised. Above all I don’t wantto lose working with our small foodproducers! Sometimes co-ops losetheir connection with the small farm-ers when they expand. When I shop,I look for small farm products. The

other issue is the community feel. Ido feel optimistic, though, that wewon’t lose our sense of community.It’s a great strength of our Co-op.RW: Any future plans ordreams?HM: I just star ted attending theHerbal Medicine School in Mont-pelier. I will be a student for threeyears, which is something I am veryexcited about!RW: Thank you, Hannah!

Favor the kinds of oils and grains thathave traditionally been stone-ground.

When grindstones were the only way to refine flour and oil, flourand oil were generally more nutritious. In the case of grain, moreof the germ and fiber remains when it is ground on a stone; youcan’t get white flour from a stone. The nutritional benefits ofwhole grains are impressive: fiber; the full range of B vitamins;and healthy oils, all of which are sacrificedwhen the grain is refined on modern rollermills (highly refined flours are little differ-ent from sugar). And the newer oils thatare extracted by modern chemical meanstend to have less favorable fatty acid pro-files and more additives than olive, sesame,palm fruit, and peanut oils that have beenobtained the old-fashioned way.

from Michael Pollan’s Food Rules

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Reiner Winkler: Kar in, as headof the Marketing department, Edu-cation and Membership, you takecare of a lot of things. You adver-tise our Co-op with the local news-paper, radio, and TV; you organizealmost all of our Co-op sales pro-grams, you update our web pageand social media; you also organ-ize our Co-op events...Karin Mott: Yes, all of thosethings and more, but with a lot ofhelp from my staff and from theCo-op in general. Especially forevents, I rely on the support ofstaff, volunteers, board members,local non-profits and local produc-ers to make them happen. Ourevents are always a lot of fun, butmore importantly, they help us topromote our Ends.

RW: Co-op Ends?KM: Oh yes, the Ends! These arewhat really set us apart from mostother types of businesses. The Co-ophas five Ends – the reasons why weexist. Each of our events helps topromote these.

Around the beginning of Novem-ber, we host our Empty Bowl Dinner,to help make Healthy Foods – ourfirst End, more accessible to morepeople. The proceeds for this dinnerare donated entirely to our two localarea Food Shelves (HOPE andCVOEO), to help them purchasegood food for more people.

Our Fall Harvest Fest is a celebra-tion of our second End – Vibrant Lo-cal Economy. Local Producers are thestars at this event, providing freesamples of their tasty wares and lotsof first hand info about them.

Around Green Up Day, we cele-brate our third End – Environmental-ly Sustainable and Energy-EfficientPractices. We host around twentynon-profits who specialize in theseareas, helping to spread the goodword about ways to “keep it green”.

Every first week in June, we pro-mote our fourth End – CooperativeDemocratic Ownership – at our An-nual Meeting and Celebration. Mem-bers get a chance to meet our Boardof Directors, our General Manager,and hear all about how the Co-op isdoing.

Our fifth End is to Learn About theFirst Four Ends, and it is certainly myhope that these events, and all of our

Staff Interview:

Karin Mott

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marketing and education efforts helpto contribute to this!

RW: What is Food For All?

KM: Food for All is a MemberAssistance Program. About fouryears ago, we started this program tohelp make us more accessible to folkswho are food insecure. Food For Allmembers get 10% off of everything(excluding alcohol, by law), everyday. Plus, we sponsor their member-ship. Applications are available atthe Co-op, near the registers, or onour website at middleburycoop.com.Call and ask for anyone in Member-ship Services to find out more (388-7276)! As of today, around 180households are benefitting from thisprogram.RW: Tell us about the Co-opDeals.KM: The Co-op Deals Program is asales program, coordinated by theNational Cooperative Grocers, a big-ger co-op, made up of lots of memberco-ops, like ours! Co-op Dealschange over every two, three, or evenfour weeks, and that can be hard tokeep up with. Check out the fliers atthe front of the store and on our website, to be in the know about what’son sale, next. There’s also a greatcoupon flier at the front of the storefrom NCG, too!RW: What about the Weekly SalesProgram, at the front of the store?KM: Our weekly sales programruns from Thursday through Wednes-day. Each week, we pick a theme,

pick six items to fit into this theme,price them really close to whole-sale, or even at wholesale, and putthem together, for your conven-ience, at the front of the store. Wetry to include a coordinating recipeand/or educational piece to compli-ment these products.RW: Any favor ite theme youcan think of?KM: One of my favor ites com-ing up at the end of this month is“Soup”. I always like it, becausesoup ingredients really showcasewhat I think of as our core foodvalues – affordable, healthy, wholefoods. Soup can be vegetarian orcarnivorous, gluten free or packedwith starch. It’s easy to make andstore, and can fit into any lifestyle.RW: What about MemberDeals?KM: Member Deals are one ofthe best parts of being a member atthe Co-op! Every week, we featurea producer who we feel embracesour Ends. Lots of those producershappen to be local, but lots of oth-ers get featured because of theirsound business practices, environ-mentally conscious behaviors, fairtrade status, and a host of otherqualities. These producers get aspecial display in the store, we posta biography of them, and beautifulphotos, and members get an extradiscount (usually 20% - even 30%,sometimes) on their products, thatweek.RW: …on top of other discountsthey may receive, right?

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KM: You got it – that means 20%off, on top of say, your 5% SeniorDiscount.RW: It must be challenging attimes to justify including some pro-ducers and not others.KM: Very much so. No produceris perfect, and often one who sup-ports several of our Ends may beweak in supporting another. Forinstance, it feels great to feature alocal dairy, but not so great whenyou know that their practices may beharming the environment. There arealso lots of great smaller companiesout there who have great individualpractices, but are owned by muchlarger blanket corporations withoutsuch shiny reputations. We try tocelebrate the good parts!RW: We have a relatively newprogram at the Co-op, called Co-opBasics – what’s this all about?KM: Co-op Basics is awesome!Just look for the purple signs aroundthe Co-op. They’ll lead you to superaffordable prices on products thatlots of folks have on their every-week shopping lists. We’re expand-ing this program, as we speak, sokeep an eye out for new additions!RW: Kar in, you are knownamong staff as knowing a lot aboutfood. Do you miss being out on theretail floor at all?KM: Yes I do! I love my job, andmost of the time, now, I spend at mydesk. But, I’m lucky enough to getout on the floor every Tuesday

night, during my weekly Manager-on-Duty shift. I get to see our fabu-lous shoppers face to face and workwith our staff on the floor. I lovejust making things look pretty andanswering customer requests. Ilove the puzzle of helping someonefind just what they want – some-times when neither of us knowswhat that is, yet!RW: Any favor ite kinds of food?KM: Too many to count. I lovealmost everything, for better orworse! But, right now, I’m reallyloving Vietnamese Pho. I had thebest of my life last summer in Phil-adelphia, and I’ve been runningaround trying to recreate the experi-ence ever since. Pho is usually abone broth, supplemented by softnoodles, veggies and a protein thatis often cooked right in the broth atservice. A bowl of that makes mefeel like I’ve done something goodfor the rest of the day.RW: What do you think aboutthe upcoming Co-op expansion?KM: Well, I was here for the lastexpansion, and that certainly wentwell. But, having been through oneonce before, I know how muchwork it will be, during and after. So,I’m a little more cautious, this time.The most important thing I hope forin this incarnation of our Co-op isthat we become a place that’s moreconvenient, welcoming and accessi-ble to more people. We’ve got apretty great track record, so I feelgood about it.RW: Thank you, Kar in!

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BionaturaeNorth Franklin, Connecticut

Some 20 years ago, a group of young Italians andan American enthusiastically created an organicselection of authentic Italian foods. Bionaturæ®was born in 1994 and was quickly embraced by theAmerican consumer as the premier brand of organ-ic foods from Italy. Bionaturae has remained a

family-oriented, privately owned company, with a heartfelt devotion toquality and tradition.

All Pastas Are Not Created EqualOrganic Durum Semolina and Whole Wheat Pasta are made with wheat grownin Italy on small family-owned farms that have been using traditional agricul-tural methods for centuries. All ingredients are certified organic and are grownand processed without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. The pasta ismade with artisanal production methods of the past. Antique bronze dies,which create the shape of the pasta, are used in the Bionaturæ factory to presssemolina pasta shapes with a rough texture that better absorbs sauce. Most pre-sent-day pasta factories use Teflon® dies, which is more expedient but com-promises quality. The drying process is also a key to the delicious flavor of thisItalian pasta. Slow drying at low temperatures helps to preserve the flavor.

Gluten Free PastaYou no longer have to sacrifice great taste and texture to get a delicious glutenfree pasta meal. It took over a year of experimenting to create the recipe forBionaturae gluten free pasta. The pasta is made with organic rice flour, organ-ic rice starch, organic potato starch and organic soy flour. It cooks like tradi-tional pasta to an "al dente" texture and there is no need to rinse it before add-ing your favorite condiment. Whether you must eat a gluten free diet or are justlooking for a change from wheat, come try this product made in the Italiantradition.

Al DenteThe glycemic-index rating for pasta is 55, while whole wheat pasta is 40. Com-paratively, white rice is 82 and white bread is 100. The more you cook pasta,the higher the rating. Please test your pasta frequently and become accustomedto eating it "al dente", as they do in Italy.Foods with a glycemic index of 100 or above are very quick to release sugarinto the bloodstream.Here is a list of fun Bionaturae pasta shapes, many of them are really fun to say

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out loud: Penne Rigate, Fusilli, Chiocciole, Rombi, Rigatoni, Gebbetti, Spa-ghetti, Capellini, Linguine, Tagliolini, Pappardelle, and Elbows. Try them all!At the Co-op, we offer also Bionaturae Crushed Tomatoes, Diced Tomatoes,Whole Peeled Tomatoes, and Olive Oil!Buon Appetito!

Source: www.bionaturae.com

During the week of February 4 through February 10,Co-op members will receive a 20% discount

on all Bionaturae products.

AuracaciaWeaverville, California

Aura Cacia was founded in 1982 in Weaverville,California. The founders realized the power of

essential oils and began spreading the word about aromatherapy. The morepeople learned, the more they demanded essential oils and other natural aroma-therapy products — a process that is continues today.

When Frontier Natural Products Co-op purchased the company in 1993,Aura Cacia was well-established as the market leader in aromatherapy. Fron-tier had been selling essential oils in response to member requests since 1978and already had expert quality testing and sourcing capabilities in place. Thecombination of established quality expertise and the market leadership of theAura Cacia brand melded into a popular, premium-quality aromatherapy line.Aura Cacia continues as the quality leader in aromatherapy today via ourSource To Shelf Strategy. Our ethical and sustainable sourcing program, WellEarth®, and our in-house sophisticated testing capabilities, allow us to guaran-tee the quality of our essential oils. In the face of increasing adulteration andquality exaggeration in the marketplace, this is peace of mind for ourcustomers.Find out more at www.auracacia.com

During the week of February 11 through February 17,Co-op members will receive a 30% discount

on all Auracacia products.

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Lundberg Family FarmsRichvale, California

Committed to producing the finest quality riceand rice products for your family. Since 1937,the Lundberg family has been growing healthy,great tasting rice while respecting and sustain-ing the earth. Today, the third and fourth gener-ations carry on the family heritage by usingeco-positive farming methods that produce wholesome, healthful rice, ricecakes, rice chips and risottos while improving and protecting the environmentfor generations to come.Lundberg Family Farms has been an early leader in organic farming, energyconservation and renewable energy, providing safe and fair working condi-tions, and many other practices that are environmentally and socially responsi-ble. However, with one of their core values being continuous improvement,they know there is always more to do when it comes to sustainability and in-spiring greater change beyond just us.As a member of the Sustainable Food Trade Association (SFTA), LundbergFarms have signed a pledge committing to reporting annually the company’sperformance in the 11-action categories that include organic and land use,distribution and sourcing, energy, climate change and emissions, water useand quality, solid waste reduction, packaging and marketing materials, labor,animal care, sustainability education, and governance and communityengagement.Each year, Lundberg Family Farms audits their performance in these areas,publishes the findings, and makes them available to their customers and con-sumers

During the week of February 18 through February 24,Co-op members will receive a 20% discount

on all Lundberg Family Farms products.

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StonyfieldLondonderry, New Hampshire

Earth Efforts:Organic farming has always beenat the heart of our Earth-friendlyyogurt business. In one year alone,our organic ingredient purchaseskeep more than 185,000 pounds oftoxic persistent pesticides from theair, water and land. But Stonyfield’s Earth Efforts reach far beyond organicfarming. We’re continually refining the art of making more yogurt with lessenvironmental impact per cup. We organize these efforts around a handful ofimpact areas, like facility greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; milk production;sustainable ingredients; water; transportation and distribution; waste; and sus-tainable packaging.

Stonyfield environmental milestones:1997 First US manufacturer to offset all Greenhouse gas emissions from

facility energy use.2005 Installed on our Y ogurt Works roof, New Hampshire’s then largest

photovoltaic solar array.2006 Our new wastewater treatment equipment converts waste into biogas.2008 Our new green office building uses 40% less energy than a similar

building built to code.2010 Introduced the first yogurt cup made from plants.2012 We begin using biodiesel fuel (made from waste vegetable oil) in some

of our trucks.Find out lots more at www.stonyfield.com

During the week of February 25 through March 2,Co-op members will receive a 20% discount

on all Stonyfield Farm products.

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Glenn Fulop10 Years at Middlebury Co-op!

Ten years ago Glenn started his Co-op career in the Check-Out department… the fast-paced department that touchesevery customer in the store.

As Assistant Front End Manager, and Manager on Duty,Glenn’s depth of experience in life and work, including eightyears at Weaver’s Way Co-op in Pennsylvania, were quicklyinvaluable to the Middlebury Co-op staff and membership.

It was Glenn’s personality, however, his work ethic, hu-mor, kindness, and grounding presence, especially in thethroes of challenging, busy times, thatwon the hearts of the staff.

He’s a Co-op treasure, onecoworker says. So true!

Two years ago, Glenn decided toredirect his energies to the Wellness de-partment, where he is highly appreciat-ed for his calm and kind approach bycustomers and staff alike.Thank you, Glenn! And… congratulations from all of us!

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The WomanWho Chose to Plant Corn

Charles EisensteinNot long ago, a Diné (Navajo)

friend of mine, Lyla June Johnston,sent me a one-line email: “I am notgoing to Harvard… I am going to plantcorn.”

Her statement signals a profounddivergence from the path she’d set outon when she was an undergraduate atStanford University. She is choosinginstead to learn the lifeways of herculture, to become fluent in her language, to relearn traditional skills, to beintimate with the land. The dominant American culture does not encouragesuch a path.

We’d talked about it before, her decision to take a prestigious graduatecourse at Harvard. The usual themes came up: the doors that might be opened,the credibility that might be turned towards a good cause. I remember observ-ing how common it is to adopt the values and mindsets of the environment inwhich one is immersed – to become a creature of the very system one sets outto subvert. We appreciated the toxicity of the story, “See, a Native Americanwoman can make it big too and go to Harvard.” Toxic, because it celebrates thevery same system of status and privilege that has marginalized the worldview,culture and value system she comes from.

It is often said that people like Lyla are role models for others of likebackground. Role models for what, though? For being bribed into complicitywith the oppressor? For joining the world-devouring machine? For sacrificinglocal relationships and culture to the melting pot? Certainly, Lyla could risehigh in the world symbolized by Harvard; she could become a professor herselfone day, teaching young people anti-colonialist thinking. Nonetheless, all thatinstruction would be happening within a container – a classroom inside acourse inside an elite university inside a system of higher education – that im-plicitly contradicts all she would want to teach. Her students would be think-ing, “Sure, but in the end she is benefiting from the system too.”

Then there was the matter of a Harvard degree opening doors. The ques-tion is, doors to what? To be sure, many people today are more likely to listento a native woman who also happens to be a Harvard PhD than to one who

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“only plants corn”. The door to the prestigious conferences, the think tanks, thehalls of power would be closed. (Or so it would seem. Actually there are backdoors to such places.) And that would be a shame – if indeed such places con-stituted the fulcrum of change in our society, if indeed such places are wherethe Important things are happening. Certainly, what is happening on WallStreet and Washington is more important than anything that goes on in a corn-field, right? Certainly, it is the people of talent and worth that get to rise to po-sitions of power, and those of lesser gifts and lower cultural development whomust settle for the fields, the hearth, the humble realms, right?

Wrong. What we see as the locus of power in the world is an illusion,born of the theory of change that our cultural beliefs dictate. It is one kind ofrevolution to enter the halls of power with the intent to turn them against them-selves; to (paraphrasing the Caribbean-American writer Audre Lord) use themaster’s tools to dismantle the master’s house. It is a deeper kind of revolutionto recognize the limitations of those tools, and to know that change might origi-nate in the people and places we have seen as powerless. Lyla and the manypeople I meet like her no longer believe that the smart people at Harvard andYale are going to find the answers and fix the world; therefore, they no longerseek admission to the elite club of world-fixers.

Lyla’s decision is also a sign of changing times. In past generations therewere a few who overcame inconceivable obstacles to go to college, to make itin the White Man’s world. Their presence there was an affront to a ruling ide-ology that considered them part of an inferior race. Their achievements helpedto unravel that story, both in the eyes of the white people and, more important-ly, in the eyes of those of their own culture they inspired. Today, though, eliteinstitutions salivate over people like Lyla, because their presence buttresses anew, more insidious story: a story of ‘equal opportunity’ and ‘diversity’ thatobscures the ongoing systemic oppression of minorities, and ignores the demo-lition and absorption of their cultures into the dominant monoculture.I am not saying there is not important work to be done within the institutions ofpower. I am only saying that such work is no more urgent than the work thatolder cultural frames validate, but that ours does not. Nor would I condemnanyone who chooses to work within the system. Some of us have gifts that arewell suited to that work. But let us not overvalue what goes on in the halls ofpower; let us not blindly adopt the metrics of success that the establishmentoffers. It may very well be that a sense of purpose, play and life keeps you inthe system; or it could be its ubiquitous bribes and threats. We can all tell thedifference when we are honest with ourselves.

Who can know the effects of the story of The Woman Who Chose toPlant Corn? What I do know is that such choices operate levers of power thatare invisible to our culture’s Story of the World. They invite synchronicity and

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induce the unexpected. They bring us to places we didn’t know existed. Theycreate movement in a new direction, whereas abiding by the conventions of thedominant system merely adds to its inertia.

We are done with a world in which thelogic of power is more important than thecorn. When enough people live by that, thepowerful will make different choices as well,acting in their role as barometers and channelsof collective consciousness.

Please do not mistake Lyla’s choice foran exercise in ideological purity, as if she wished to avoid the taint of power. Abetter explanation is that she knows that Harvard is not where the action is.There are other paths to walk that are no less important, and it is crucial thatsomeone walk them. I see more and more young people seeking them out to-day, from within the dominant culture and from its margins. They are walkingout of our civilisation’s Story of the World; some are not even entering it.

The best and brightest are abandoning the ship, and even those who re-main aboard are participating half-heartedly as they sense the inevitable ship-wreck. Eventually even going through the motions of complicity becomes in-tolerable, as our hunger to live a meaningful life draws us towards a new andancient story of interconnection, interbeing, and social, personal and ecologicalhealing. Yet few of us are free of the programming of our youth, our indoctri-nation into the values of system; therefore our exit can be messy, subject tohesitation, relapses and diversions. As Lyla told me more recently, “While Iknow intellectually why I am doing this, I am still so brainwashed it is hard toreally know it from my body.”

When I say I hope that many others followLyla’s example, I do not mean to offer her as an idealof impeccable integrity. Like many of us, she has nomap to follow into this uncharted territory of our civi-lization’s transition; she has only a compass and, ifmy own experience is any guide, it is a wobbly one atthat. It points towards a healed and just world, andguides us into its service. When enough of us followit, however imperfectly, we will cut new trails lead-ing out of the maze that entraps our civilization.

Reprinted with permission.Charles Eisenstein is an author and speaker who addresses a wide variety of pressing issues of ourtime. For more information or to find other thoughtful essays of his go to charleseisenstein.net.

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Beets — A Bit of HistoryThey are said to have grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Elizabe-thans enjoyed them in tarts and stews. Thomas Jefferson planted them at Mon-ticello. Medieval cooks stuffed them into pies. The colorful, sweet root vegeta-ble known as the beet tends to spark an impassioned response from folks whoeither love it or loathe it. In the anti-beet camp arePresident Obama and his wife Michelle, whoasked that they not be planted in the WhiteHouse’s organic vegetable garden. Many com-plain that beets have an “earthy” taste, which isn’tfar off the mark. Beets contain a substance calledgeosmin, which is responsible for that fresh soilscent in your garden following a spring rain. Hu-mans are quite sensitive to geosmin, even in verylow doses, which explains why our beet responseranges from one extreme to the other. Some peo-ple adore the sweet and earthy flavor of beets,while others can’t stand the thought of them.Beets are most commonly a dark red color, however they also come in otherhues ranging from white to yellow to a “candy cane” red-and-white varietyknown as Chioggia. Not only are they colorful and full of flavor, they are richin antioxidants, folic acid, potassium, and fiber. They also contain unique anti-oxidants called betalains, which are currently being studied as a potentialweapon in the fight against cancer. Betalains give beets their red hue. The rosybetalain-rich juice of red beets was used as a cheek and lip stain by womenduring the 19th century, a practice that inspired the old adage “red as a beet.”Humans originally ate beet greens but not the thin and fibrous roots, whichwere occasionally used in medicine. The large beet leaves and stalks were con-sumed like chard, a close relative. Despite only growing well during spring andfall, beets were so well regarded in Ancient Rome and Greece that methodswere developed for producing them during the hot summer months. The rootpart of the beet was cultivated for consumption in either Germany or Italy, firstrecorded in 1542. Its earliest form more closely resembled a parsnip rather thanthe bulbous shape we’re now familiar with, which began appearing near theend of the 1500s. This variety is thought to have evolved from a prehistoricNorth African root vegetable. Soon it became the most recognizable form ofbeet, but it wasn’t a worldwide culinary success until two centuries later.Northeastern Europe was the first area to embrace the beet root as a dietarystaple; it was valued as one of the only vegetables that grew well throughoutwinter.

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In 1747 Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, a chemist from Berlin, discovered away to produce sucrose from beets. His student, Franz Achard, perfected thismethod for extracting sugar, leading him to predict the inevitable rise of beetbeer, tobacco and molasses, among other products. Though not entirely con-vinced that beets had a bright future, the King of Prussia eventually subsidizeda sugar beet industry. The first plant was built in what is now western Poland.It turned out to be a solid investment. Today, around 20 percent of the world’ssugar comes from sugar beets. Beet sugar production requires 4 times lesswater than sugar cane production, making it an attractive crop throughout Eu-rope as well as in more arid countries like Egypt.Beets have long been considered an aphrodisiac in manycultures. Ancient Romans believed that beets and theirjuice promoted amorous feelings. Frescoes of beets dec-orate the walls of the Lupanare brothel in Pompeii. InGreek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, atebeets to enhance her appeal. This quaint folklore actual-ly has a basis in reality. Beets are a natural source oftryptophan and betaine, both substances that promote afeeling of well-being. They also contain high amounts ofboron, a trace mineral which increases the level of sexhormones in the human body.This article, written by Tori Avey, is published in the History Kitchen(www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-beets/)