The Chronicle

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The Chronicle Winter 2013!e members’ newsletter of Karma Co-op

!e Chronicle is published by members of Karma Co-op

739 Palmerston Avenue, Toronto, ON M6G 2R3 T: 416-534-1470 F: 416-534-3697 www.karmacoop.org

!e Chronicle is a link between members of this and other co-operative communities; the only viewpoints herein endorsed by Karma Co-op Inc. are those published as reports of the board of directors and its committees. !is newsletter is printed on Enviro100 stock, which contains FSC-certi"ed 100 per cent post-consumer "bre. !e paper is certi"ed EcoLogo, processed chlorine free, and manufactured using biogas energy. It is union-made in Canada by Cascades Fine Papers.

CONTENTS

Letter to the Editor .......................................................3Report from the General Manager ...............................4Report from the board of directors ........................... 5-6Meet the 2013 – 2014 Karma board ......................7-10Karma’s 2013 AGM. ................................................... 11

Report from the Finance Committee. ........................ 12

Report from the Community Dev. Committee ......12-13 Report from the Social Events Committee ................. 13An afternoon at the Fall Wellness Fair ....................... 14Report from the Building Committee. ....................... 14The GMO-free chef ...............................................15-16Sta! pick ................................................................... 17In the aisle ...........................................................18-19Homeopathy for preventing "u, and more ...........20-21Vegan corner ............................................................. 22Cranberry sauce with dates ....................................... 23

SUBMISSIONSWe welcome submissions from any Karma member, sta#, or board member! Submissions may be sent by email to chronicleeditor@gmail.com. Upcoming edi-torial deadlines are posted on the store bulletin board. !e Chronicle will publish any Karma-related material, subject to editorial policy guidelines. Letters to the ed-itor must contain the writer’s full name and telephone number, although names will be withheld at time of publication upon request. All published articles are eligible for work credits (letters to the editor and an-nouncements are not).

CHRONICLE STAFF FOR WINTERCONTENT EDITOR: KAREN LIOR MANAGING EDITOR: HILARY TURNER COMMUNICATIONS MANAGERS: KAREN FLIESS, LAYAH DAVIS, BILL HOWSON DESIGNER: ELLEN PAUKER COPY EDITOR: CALEY MOORE PHOTO EDITOR: LAYAH DAVIS PROOFREADER/PRINTING COORDINATOR: AMANDA LEWIS WEB EDITOR: MARA EKSTEINS SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER: MARA EKSTEINS

CHRONICLE COMMITTEE LAYAH DAVIS MARA EKSTEINS KAREN FLIESS BILL HOWSON AMANDA LEWIS KAREN LIOR

CALEY MOORE ELLEN PAUKER DIANE SAIBIL STEPHANIE SILVERMAN HILARY TURNER

Cover photo of Phylonian beeswax candles (available at Karma) by Layah Davis

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Letter to the Editor

A diamond in the rough

I have recently been accepted to the Karma board. I was informed about Karma by a close personal friend and was shocked such an amazing gem is hidden in our city. The produce is incredible and exceptionally well priced. The food stuff’s “mamma mia!” My personal favourite snacks are samosas (I usually leave a few for the next person when I get what I need for the week), and the organic chocolate milk and lemonade are the greatest. There is organic ketch-up! And bulk organic spices! I recently made some awesome organic dishes at home as well. The existence of Karma has totally improved my quality of living. The people, the food, the Karma! I have been part of many groups in my life, but the organization, effectiveness and awesome demeanour of the board is truly one of a kind, with people volunteering their time as if it was their full-time job. I see a lot of opportunities and continued growth for the co-op.

Phillip Lakin

Note from the content editor

Working on this issue of The Chronicle was a much di!erent experience from the last time, over a year ago. Then it was very di"cult to round up submissions from board members, committees, sta!, and members. This time it seemed as if the articles #owed in—someone even apologized for getting their submission in a few minutes late, a big change from 18 months ago. Thank you all for your contributions to making The Chronicle re#ect the spirit and generosity of our Karma community. Please consider sharing this issue of The Chronicle with friends and neigh-bours over the holiday season.

The Chronicle via email

If you’d like to receive The Chronicle via email, please send an email with the word ‘SUBSCRIBE’ in the subject line to: chronicle.subscribe@gmail.com

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Report from the GM

by Talia McGuire

What an exciting fall we’ve had at Karma! Sales have been picking up, we’ve had some great work-shops and events, saw an engaged and positive annual general meeting, and perhaps most exciting of all, Karma was voted Best Bulk and Best Green Grocer in NOW Magazine’s Best of Toronto issue! We also put up a good "ght in the category of Best Organic, "nishing "rst runner-up. Congratulations and thank you to all who voted for Karma! We ARE the best!

At the AGM in October, members voted to allow non-members (or guest shoppers, as they will be called) to shop at the co-op for an additional 15 per cent on top of the lowest, $at-rated member price. I feel this is an important step toward changing the perception among some people that Karma is a private, unwelcoming club. With the help of the board, committee members, and sta#, we hope to relieve some of the growing pains associated with this change by developing a guest shopper strategy. Guests will be given the information they need to shop knowledgeably at Karma (such as how to operate the scales), as well as learning about the bene"ts of being a member. We envision the guest shopper category as a stepping stone to member-ship for some. We hope to have the category in place by February 2014.

At the store, sta# and I are keeping busy prepar-ing for the holiday season. We are bringing back the Holiday Buying Club, which is a great way for members to purchase items on their holiday lists that Karma does not normally carry in the store. We will have catalogues for green toys, household items, and body-care products. Members simply

$ip through the catalogues and "ll out a special order form, and we take care of the rest. Orders will be shipped the week before Christmas or earlier, depending on the supplier. We are also looking at carrying some new items that will make great gi% ideas. Be on the lookout for them!

Earlier in the fall, Vivian Kim, a retail associate who worked Friday evenings, le% Karma to pursue another job opportunity. We miss her dedication to Karma and her calm demeanour, and wish her success in her new position. Colette Slone has been hired in her place. Colette is a hands-in-the-dirt, DIY fermenter who helped Karma with construct-ing and operating our vermicomposter. She is a wealth of knowledge, and we warmly welcome her to the Karma team!

Earlier in the fall we also said goodbye to Ailish Morgan-Welden, our member records secretary. She is studying community development in Dub-lin, Ireland. Congrats, Ailish! Kirsten Heyerdahl has been hired to replace her. Kirsten is a mom of two, an ultimate Frisbee player, past Karma board member and longtime member. She brings her knowledge and love of Karma, as well as a won-derful sensibility and sense of humour, to the job. Welcome, Kirsten!

I wish everyone a joyous, peaceful, and tasty holi-day season. Happy holidays, Karma!

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Report from the board of directors

by Arel Agnew

The annual general meeting

A%er many weeks of planning and organization, the day "nally came. As chair of the AGM, I was concerned that contentious issues might arise that I did not know about. !en I would have to steer the meeting through uncharted territory. To my delight, the evening went very smoothly.

Two motions were presented at the AGM. !e "rst, to permit people without memberships to shop at Karma (at a 15 per cent markup), was passed by the membership. A%er some discussion leading to a potential review of member categories, the second motion to rename the present membership categories passed.

!e board has already begun to discuss the request, raised by a member at the AGM, to allow non-member family members to shop at Karma. !ere is much to consider. We are a member co-op, and people either work or pay a fee or markup to replace the work; there are policies already in place. We will keep you informed as we consider this topic.

!e planning process for accepting guest shoppers and applying new membership category names is underway. A committee will look at best practices and implementation on Smart Vendor. We hope the kick-o# day for both will be February 1.

Kindness at Karma

At the end of the AGM, a member said the meeting was one of the nicest he had experienced at Karma, describing it as “kind.” He then thanked the board, and the membership clapped. We, the board, were delighted, as our broad smiles showed. We thank all those present for their wonderful support of us.

!e board is its own unit, but it works with the sta#, management, and membership, with whom we share a mutual support and respect. None of us can work in isolation; we are a team in which we all struggle to hear others ideas and alter our views to bring about consensus decisions wherever possible. As some have said, “the milk of human kindness” $ows at Karma!

A request

It has come to our attention that some sta# have been treated rudely by members. If le% unattended, this issue will fester and seep into other relationships at the store. We cannot have this kind of behaviour at the co-op. Please be kind, and be careful not to get angry at the person who may be telling you some-thing you don’t want to hear. If anger does erupt, an apology would go a long way to make amends. Your concerns can be taken to Talia, the general manager; Michael, the assistant general manager; or someone on the board, preferably the sta# relations o&cer (presently Paul Danyluk). !ank you.

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Board apology

In reporting on "nances in our August newslet-ter to members, we reported areas of saving. One area was the reduction in sta&ng costs because of a senior employee, Greg Miller, resigning from Karma. At the time, we should have also acknowl-edged the stress that was brought about by losing a senior sta# member. To comment on his leaving solely as a monetary concern was a mistake. In an earlier newsletter, we thanked Greg for his work at Karma and recognized that his leaving was a loss to Karma. Nevertheless, these two items were not juxtaposed and we apologize to the sta#.

!e board has promised the sta# that we will pro-mote Karma Co-op as a pro-labour workplace, and we will endeavour to represent that faithfully in our communications to the membership.

Best of Toronto awards

NOW Magazine has given us several awards, in-cluding Best Bulk Food and Best Green Grocer. We also came in second for Best Organic. NOW had this to say about Karma:

Although it was on the brink of going under for good this spring, this not-for-pro"t food cooperative grows from strength to strength. Organically grown and locally sourced product, non-GMO veggies, fair trade co#ee and chocolate — they’re all present and accounted for, o$en in bulk. !inking of joining? Sign up for a free one-month trial and see if it’s true that membership has its privileges.

For more on the awards, see the NOW website: http://nowtoronto.com/bestof/.

Policy reminders

Sharing member hours within a household

It has been a long-term practice that member labour credits may be shared with friends and families. We want to reiterate that members using the same household number may share member hours, whether or not they share the same physi-cal address. If you are interested in adding another member to your household number, please feel free to talk to a Karma sta# member.

Lapsed member policy

In August, the board passed the following mo-tion regarding lapsed members: !e board de"nes a lapsed member to be a member who has not shopped or paid their membership fees in three months. We encourage recently lapsed members to pay their outstanding membership fees and hours. However, the board gives the general manager discretion to waive outstanding membership fees and member labour hours for the reinstatement of lapsed members. In the case in which a member is repeatedly lapsed and returns, the GM will bring such cases to the board.

Holiday wishes

!is is a time of festivals and the beginning of a new year. !e board wishes everyone the best of the season and a happy 2014!

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Arel has been a member of Karma Co-op since its "rst year, feeding her family of "ve almost entirely from Karma’s shelves. Today, her two-year-old granddaughter, Olive, might be in the store while her parents continue the tradition of co-op membership and healthy food buying. Since joining the board in October 2009, Arel has concentrated on sta# issues, "rst as a member of the Negotiation Committee and as the board liaison with sta#, and later becoming the vice-president for sta# relations. She has been involved in all GM hiring and dismissal processes in the past four years. She acted as president of the 2012–2013 board.

Arel began teaching when a university degree was not required and earned her degree in English and Canadian studies in 2009. She has always been active in the community, serving organizations including co-op daycare, a teachers’ union, Houselink Com-munity Homes, and the Bob Abate Community Rec-reation Centre. She was the local NDP riding asso-ciation’s chief "nancial o&cer for nearly 20 years.

Roberta, with her partner, M i r i a m , j o i n e d K a r m a about 26 years ago. Over the years, Rober-ta has worked as a member on cash, restock, set-up, inventory, cleaning, and scheduling. She has also been a $at-fee member. Roberta has been both a lawyer and law clerk. For about a decade in between these jobs, she looked a%er her children full time. Roberta and her family appreciate many things about Karma, including the dedicated sta# and members, ethical sourcing of products, environmental commitment, local and organic produce, and addictive dark choc-olate “buds.” Roberta can’t imagine a Toronto with no Karma Co-op. She is inspired by the hard work of so many people over the years, especially this past year to help Karma survive and thrive. She hopes to contribute to Karma’s continued vitality as a mem-ber of the board.

Meet the 2013-2014 Karma board

Arel Agnew

Roberta Benson

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Yves has been appointed the treasurer and membership secretary of the Karma board. He has a diverse education in both "nance (actuarial science) and medical science (immunology). Yves obtained his PhD in immunology at the University of Toronto, studying the genetic predisposing factors in the pathogenesis of lupus. He is currently work-ing as a business analyst for a major high-rise con-dominium developer in the Greater Toronto Area. Experienced in analyzing projects from a "nancial perspective, he hopes to bring his skills to the Karma community in order to improve the co-op’s revenue and streamline the current operations.

Paul joined Karma on his birthday in early 2012. Walking into the store, he was excited to "nd a commu-nity in Toronto where people thought about not only the food they were eating but the ways that food was grown, produced, distributed, and sold. Eager to see close up the challenges and rewards of being involved

in a member-owned business, Paul joined the board in 2012 and has served as the co-op relations and outreach secretary. In that role, he works with oth-ers to help us realize our co-op’s potential. Outside of Karma, Paul has worked advocating for co-ops and the economic and social bene"ts they bring to communities. He currently works with credit unions across Canada to deliver training and devel-

opment solutions for sta# and board members.

Phillip joined Karma out of the blue in late 2013 and found his way to the board. His favourite items changed his health and eating patterns so signi"cantly that he had to become part of what he calls “the hidden gem of Toronto.” He has an interesting mix of education (parochial law, biology, computer science, and economics) and experience. He has successfully managed restaurants, retail locations, sales teams, In-ternet development projects, Internet security, contract negotiation, data management, "nancial reviews, and large-scale and boutique marketing programs from the ground up and in top-down fashion. He strongly believes in horizontal management, where everyone is the same and equally valuable, with “higher-ups” shouldering responsibilities. He hopes to bring his phi-losophy and eight years of experience in these areas to our co-op in the hope of building on Karma’s recent success. He truly believes that most people in the city would buy organic and environmentally responsible food, if they only knew it existed!

Paul Danyluk

Yves Cheung

Phillip Lakin

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Alex joined Karma a little over two years ago, motivated by a desire to purchase local, organic, and more ethically pro-duced foods from a democratic and co-operative institution, rather than a for-pro"t cor-poration. A lifelong activist with a strong interest in environmental and social justice issues, Alex currently works with Greenpeace on tackling climate change and promoting energy sus-tainability. He is excited about continuing as a Kar-ma board member for a second year. Alex is eager to help address Karma’s ongoing "nancial troubles and has a strong desire to see the store, and the commu-nity it supports, $ourish.

Lauren joined Karma in the spring of 2011, attracted by its member-owned co-op struc-ture and amazing organic produce and bulk sections. A health-food-store geek with a degree in socio-cultural anthropology, Lauren has primarily worked in the non-pro"t sector in hands-on community, administrative, and research roles.

She currently works at ChocoSol in an administra-tive and community role, where she merges her

love of vegan food with her passion for ethical and organic ingredients. A thri%y person at heart, Lauren is also passionate about people, the environment, social justice issues, and animal rights. !is is Lauren’s second year on the board, and she is excited to continue in her role to engage and help strengthen the Karma

community.

Stephen has been a mem-ber of Karma for "ve or six years, during which time he mostly worked on cash. He is a musician working variously as a pianist, singer, songwriter, teacher, musical director, or ac-companist, depending on the gig. Stephen is very

committed to things non-pro"t, co-operative, community-fostering, local, sustainable, equi-table — anything that disrupts the hegemony of soulless corporations. He has served on boards before, most recently for his housing co-op, giv-

ing him experience and knowledge to bring to the table. He wants Karma to endure and $ourish and is willing to help in any way to make this happen.

Stephen Targett

Lauren St. Louis

Alex Speers-Roesch

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Ernst joined Karma in 2012 with his family of "ve. His co-op experience in food (London, Waterloo, Richmond Hill) and in housing (Toronto, Waterloo) has enriched his understanding of co-ops. In the early 1980s, he advised the Ontario government on industry self-regulation. He later led a design team studying the community impacts of land"lls in Vaughan, part

of stopping a mega-dump in 1995. For the past six years, Ernst has worked as a wellness learning consultant in behavioural medicine. He is also an inventor and a consulting writ-er and editor on patent applications. As the

board’s planning secretary, he invites mem-bers to actively share their vision, experience,

and ideas. He looks forward to working together to support the transformative growth of Karma Co-op as a member-controlled organization serving our need for a community-building source of ethically selected, healthier, and environmentally sustainable food and grocery products.

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Ernst von Bezold

Photo by Layah Davis

Continued from previous page

!e 2013 – 2014 Karma board

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Karma’s 2013 annual general meetingby Caley Moore

Despite fears of closure earlier this year, Karma Co-op lived to see another annual general meet-ing. !ere was a sense of buoyancy in the room as 65 members gathered at Friends House on Octo-ber 21. To open the meeting, board member Paul Danyluk introduced two guest speakers from the wider co-op community. Loretta McHenry, man-ager of the London Food Co-op and vice-chair of the Ontario Natural Food Co-op, praised Karma’s pioneering role as a member-owned grocery store. Hannah Renglich, animator of the Local Organic Food Co-operatives Network, told of how other co-ops rallied to help Karma a%er hearing of its "nancial troubles. “Your story’s being shouted from the roo%ops all over Ontario,” she said. “!ank you for your strength and sharing your vulnerabilities.”

A%er the speakers, Karma’s auditor Jerry Ber-man presented his report. Compared to last year’s dismal numbers, the co-op’s "nances are looking brighter. Overall debt is down from 2012, and sales are up. Still, he cautioned, Karma posted a loss of almost $50,000 in 2013. “Numbers do talk, and you have to show pro"tability,” he said.

Karma treasurer Yves Cheung echoed this mea-sured optimism. While the overall trend is positive, the co-op will have to keep a close eye on sales and expenses in the coming year, he said.

!e most signi"cant item of the night was a motion to allow people without memberships to shop at Karma. As Paul Danyluk explained, non-members would be charged a 15 per cent markup on their purchases outside the one-month trial shop period. !e motion, which emerged from strategic plan-ning sessions over the past year, re$ects the co-op

principle of inclusivity, he added. Karma is o%en perceived as o#-limits to the broader community, and opening its doors to non-members will help to change that image.

Following some debate, the motion passed with almost unanimous support, as did another to sim-plify the names of Karma’s membership categories.

!e appointment of new board members pro-ceeded quickly due to a shortage of nominations. Current board member Lauren St. Louis was acclaimed to a new two-year term, and Stephen Targett and Roberta Benson stepped forward to serve as directors.

In her general manager’s report, Talia McGuire re-$ected on a “roller coaster year” at the store. Mem-bers gave her and the sta# a big round of applause for all their work in making Karma viable again.

!e meeting wrapped up with a ra'e draw for two gi% certi"cates to Karma. As one member ob-served, with compliments to the board, it was the most harmonious AGM in recent memory.

Photo by Shawn Caza

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Report from the Community Development Committeeby Melissa Berney

!e Community Development Committee took part in a terri"c event this November: the Eco Fair at Wychwood Barns. We stood alongside the best and greenest of Toronto’s eco-organizations at this fun, family-oriented event that “informs and inspires peo-ple to make greener choices in their homes and com-munities.” At our outreach table, our members chatted with attendees about Karma Co-op and handed out trial shop vouchers, while Karma member and owner of Anarres Natural Health, Tracey TieF, conducted mini workshops on do-it-yourself cleaning products (with all ingredients from Karma, of course!).

In other news, we are excited to announce that tote bags and T-shirts bearing the Karma logo will soon be available at the store! !is batch will be the "rst-run edition and ready in time for the holidays. !ey make great gi%s! !ere will be more to come in the new year — think various colours, slogans (a slogan contest is currently underway — visit the Karma website for details), and di#erent items made-to-order with your choices of the above.

And last, we’ve said it before but we’ll say it again — we could de"nitely use more hands! If you have any

Report from the Finance Committeeby Donald Altman

THINGS ARE IMPROVING BUT WE ARE NOT THERE YET

As you know, Karma has been in "nancial di&culty and the members and the Board have been working hard to put us back on a "rm "nancial footing.

I am here to report to you that we are getting there. We have gotten some publicity lately that has helped promote the co-op. We had a very successful membership drive. We have reduced our costs, unfortunately at the expense of some sta#, but we had to match the sta&ng to the sales. Overhead was just too high. Other expense items were constrained as well. We also put up prices on some products a bit, as well as controlling inven-tory, which helps to reduce interest expenses by reducing our use of our line of credit. We changed the rules around trial shopping to encourage new members and that has increased sales.

At year’s end we had about halved the loss from the previous year. Since May we have continued on that track. For the "rst "ve months of this "scal year sales are up $545,167 to last year’s $451,801. Expenses are down a bit from $158,774 to $140,192. More impor-tantly the loss has fallen from $31,662 to $4,515.

So we are still not making money and more impor-tantly not paying down our debt or eliminating our use of our line of credit which stands in excess of $150,000. Sales are about $109,000 per month and they need to be about $115,000 for us to break even and at least $120,000 to move us back into the black.

So buy as much as you can. Keep telling your friends about Karma. We cannot rest on our laurels, SHOP SHOP SHOP.

Tracey TieF, Susan Stewart, and Emily Van Halem

Continued on facing page

Photo by Layah Davis

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interest in helping with a website overhaul, market-ing campaigns, publicity materials, potluck party planning, partnership projects, outreach events, or [insert your idea here], PLEASE let us hear from you. Our email is community@karmacoop.org.

The Social Events Committee: Sharing the autumn spiritby Sharon Rose

For the Social Events Committee, this fall has been about sharing the bounty of the Karma Co-op experi-ence, both the harvest and the goodness of commu-nity. Apples were plentiful a%er last year’s blossom die-o#. Karma’s membership drive brought in a timely in$ux of people to take part in our co-op spirit.

We welcomed autumn with an a%ernoon social. Sharing harvest soup with Saturday shoppers in the September sun brought members together for conversation and activities. An innovative apple-bobbing competition stumped and delighted young and old alike. People enjoyed the event and le% fed and entertained, with spirits lightened.

In October, the sharing continued with a gardening exchange. Members were invited to share seeds, cut-tings, advice, and inspiration, extending the bene"ts of Karma membership from homes to gardens. An abundance of black-eyed Susan seeds, houseplant seedlings, and a live raspberry cane were among the o#erings. Healing aloe sucklings were also available, reminding us of the myriad bene"ts that plants and gardens o#er throughout the year. Our gardening swappers were also cheered by the news that a vermiculture project was starting at Karma. We enjoyed a visit from the new project coordinator and look forward to the worms’ wiggly success.

As a committee, we invest our energy in the spirit of swaps and exchanges to help extend the Karma experience beyond simply shopping. In that spirit, the Fall Wellness Fair brings healing practitioners to our members as a way to spread the bene"ts of their talents and abilities. Last April, we soaked up the sunshine at our Spring Wellness Fair. !is season, it seemed like an indoor event was in order. We are deep in the planning stages at this time, looking forward to connecting with Karma’s heal-ers and members.

Sharing friendship and encouragement enhances the bene"ts of a co-operative life. At our events, members are encouraged to enjoy themselves, bring what they have, and take what they need. We hope our swaps and exchanges will delight and surprise everyone who attends. You don’t need to bring something to take something — just jump in where you are. We have events planned through-out the winter, with our most popular exchanges and swaps saved for the spring. Please drop in and enjoy our activities. We will be glad to see you.

Winter events schedule

Holiday hot cider tasting Saturday, December 21 11:00 am to 3:00 pm Spiced cider hits the spot

Slow-cooker recipe tasting Saturday, January 18 11:00 am to 3:00 pm Sample some delicious dishes

Chocolate fondue Saturday, February 8 11:00 am to 3:00 pm Dip into something sweet for Valentine’s

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In mid-November, I had the honour of participating in Karma’s Fall Wellness Fair, hosted by the Social Events Committee. I brought my guitar and hope-fully added some pleasant ambience to the store. I received some compliments, but better still, I got to socialize, which was the whole point of the gathering.

Stefani Brown welcomed me with an o#er of tea. Unfortunately, I had missed Susan Green’s earlier Mitzvah Technique presentation, as our schedules did not coincide. But I have witnessed her excellent body-realignment displays at previous Karma events.

Tracey TieF had her Anarres Natural Health table set up, o#ering trials of her new lavender hemp lotion and featuring shea and cocoa butter creams for sale. Tynan, at the same table with Tracey, dis-cussed sexual health with members while display-ing $yers with information about her company, Toy Time with Tynan. Laura Coramai presented a display about her homeopathic practice, "elding questions about this system of healing.

In the meantime, as I strummed and chatted with members stopping by, I got to talk about varied topics, such as approaches to sustainable farming in Saskatchewan, or becoming aware of embedded energy, which is the energy a product gobbles in its manufacture.

!at’s why I love being a Karma member. !ere is such a diverse group of people from di#erent backgrounds, yet all of them seem to be passionate and creative about sustainable communities. !e Social Events Committee has many events planned. Please see page 13 for details, or visit the events page on the Karma website.

An afternoon at the Fall Wellness Fairby Tom Smarda

Report from the Building Committeeby Cathy Ta$er

!e newly installed eavestrough along the west side of Karma’s building was cleaned of fall leaves. Committee members also installed screening to stop leaves from going down the newly installed pipe extension along the south side of the building.

We have been in contact with our neighbour to the north, who is planning to replace the eavestrough so that it no longer drips on the pathway that everyone has to walk under when coming from Palmerston.

We are also going to improve the lighting along that pathway and are working with that same neighbour to reactivate the existing motion detector and lights mounted on the side brick wall of her house.

Another project is the replacement of the roo%op HVAC unit that supplies heating and air condition-ing. It was recently repaired so that it can continue providing heat for this winter. Art Jacobs and Talia have been in contact with Enbridge to bring gas to the building because Karma has maxed out its electrical capacity. When compared to our current electric heating, gas heating is less expensive and would also free up electrical capacity for future needs. Two options being considered are a gas-"red high-e&ciency furnace unit and an electric air-to-air heat pump.

!e holes at the bottom of the ramp will be re-paired shortly.

Everyone is welcome to help out with any of the projects. Please contact us at building@karmacoop.org to let us know which one you are interested in!

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!is trend works against companies that produce GMO-"lled foods. !ese companies do so in order to prolong the shelf life or extend the expiration date of these foods. In addition, GMO crops can be grown in less-than-favourable conditions. GMOs are found in countless products that we use daily at home, particularly in foods that require the least amount of cooking time.

!e adoption of a particular ap-proach to cooking will help you easily identify GMOs, help you understand why and how to eradicate them from your diet, and ignite in you a pas-sion for cooking. !is ap-proach is based on a philoso-phy of cooking that maintains optimal freshness by using sea-sonal and locally sustainable in-gredients, and promotes habits that nourish the body.

!ankfully, it has become common knowledge that the body requires living food to sustain itself well. !e reason for this is that the rawer or less cooked

the food, the more nutrients it provides for your body. !e process of cooking, at its core, removes the water content of food. Di#erent cooking meth-ods do this in di#erent ways, some healthier, like steaming, and some less healthy, like frying. Eating food that is alive and healthy is the most e#ective way of staying healthy.

Foods that are processed to remain inde"nitely in a package will not

provide your body with the es-sentials needed for health, since these foods are be-re% of life. Although some companies market foods as healthy that are pre-cooked and then packaged or frozen,

the source of these foods, as well as how they are cooked, is

not disclosed to the consumer. Chemicals and other preserving

elements are added during processing. Most packaged foods contain corn or soy, and

85 per cent of soybeans and corn are grown from GMO seeds.

The GMO-free chefby John Tzavelas

Consumers are demanding that food-manufacturing companies clearly label products that contain genetically modi!ed organisms (GMOs). Numerous studies have linked the mass consumption of GMOs to malnourishment and overall poor health. This concern is best re"ected in the increasing trend to eat seasonally fresh, organic, and locally sustainable food.

Continued on next page

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To nourish the body, foods need to be fresh and cooked a short time a%er they are purchased. Foods that are fresh and alive are also incredibly more $avourful. Cooking with fresh and live in-gredients requires preparation and consideration. However, if you expect your food to nurture you properly, you must nurture your food. You must love the di#erent aromas, the in"nite $avour com-binations, the bright colours, and ultimately the elegance and sensuality of cooking with passion.

Currently, I am the sous-chef at the Gladstone Hotel, and my many years of cooking profession-ally have taught me that the desire to cook using fresh ingredients is not enough; there must be a method. If food is fresh and without GMOs, then the $avours of the live ingredients do not need to be altered; the fresher and more natural the food, the greater the in-tensity of the $avour. !e original $avours of fresh and natural food are what any great chef desires to accentuate in a dish.

When I was living and cooking in Paris, I saw chefs work hard to develop good relationships with their produce suppliers, cheese sellers, "shmongers, and butchers. !ese chefs wanted the freshest ingredients because they desired the best product. !eir cel-ebrated dishes are wholly dependent on the culinary symphony that is Mother Nature. !e excellent chef does not create; the excellent chef elicits, harnesses, and emboldens the $avours imbued by nature.

!is is why the great kitchens in France adhere to the principle of cooking seasonally, using the seasonal palate. !ey understand that di#erent seasons present them with di#erent harvests, and

that nature, intelligent as it is, knows what $avours go well together. Like tomatoes and basil, squash and sage, mushrooms and root vegetables, berries and melons, and so on. We crave di#erent foods in di#erent seasons. If you cook according to the seasons and let nature be your guide, the savours, tangs, and zings will $ow with perfection.

!e French chefs have a luxury that we do not have here in Canada: their food is protected by the strictest laws against the use of GMOs in the entire European Union. Buying local is important, and it can certainly be done for most of the year.

In Canada, we do not have the luxury of a rich harvest every season. Unfortunately, in order to maintain good health, we must purchase some food that has been grown outside the country. But the greater the distance food has travelled to get to your home, the greater

the chance it is crawling with non-natural agents that are prolonging its life. In order to eat and cook in a nourishing way, we should avoid any food that can last inde"nitely on a shelf.

Cooking seasonally is important and is aided by purchasing locally sustainable ingredients. While cooking seasonally does not guarantee food that is without GMOs, there is very little chance that organic food will have unnatural elements. Using organic seasonal produce, foods that are alive and rich with vitality, is one way of ensuring a healthy and $avourful diet.

!is is the "rst article in a two-part series by John Tzavelas. Watch for part two in the spring issue.

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STAFF PICKPAUL DIXON, GROCERY BUYERMy staff pick is Mahem Bars.

These amazing little dudes

are like a Mars bar for hip-

pies. They self-describe right

on the wrapper as “chocolate

covered maple syrup hemp

nut delight,” leaving any re-

viewer precious little ground

to illuminate. Read it again.

This is concisely and pre-

cisely what we’re dealing with

here, folks. Chocolate. Maple

syrup. Hemp nut. Delight. All

I’ve got to chase that up with

are such pedestrian details

as “made locally,” “available

coated milk or dark,” and “a

bargain at $2.89 each.” Some-

one once married me when I

gave her one. True story.

You should try one.

i love my Mahem...

Photo by Marsha Shandur

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I spoke to Eva just a%er she "nished her "rst cash shi% at Karma.

How did you discover Karma? We are Swedish and were living in Lausanne, Switzerland. My husband came to live in Toronto two-and-a-half years ago, and my daughter came to visit him from the United Kingdom, where she is studying. As a family, we are very interested in organic food. She was exploring Toronto, looking for alternative places to shop, and found Karma. I just came to Toronto a couple of months ago. My husband couldn’t keep up with the work hours and we were behind, so I have taken over the membership duties.

Why do you shop at Karma? We like healthy and organic food, and we like alternatives; we like the concept of a co-op.When our children were young, we were part of a co-op daycare centre in Sweden.We are familiar with cooperatives. For me, it is a nice way of becoming involved in the city. It is a good way of getting to know people and "nding a base.

What is in your basket today? I have a lot of seasonal vegetables: pumpkins, car-rots, and parsnips and some organic avocados. I have some organic quinoa, rice, and buckwheat. I buy L’Ancêtre organic so% goat cheese in a roll and have some Felicetti spelt pasta (we always get spelt or another kind that is not wheat). For snacks, I have the Mad Mexican chips. I buy all my cleaning products at Karma; the prices here are good and better than other stores. Today I am getting laun-dry detergent. I have Bio-Vert, but I also buy Eco-Max or Ecover. It depends on what Karma has.

What is one product you discovered at Karma? Bob’s Creamy Buckwheat hot cereal. It is really good. I cook it up and mix it with $ax seeds in the morning.

Is there a product you would recommend to Karma members? I would recommend the mixed light and dark quinoa. It is a really good variety of di#erent kinds of quinoa and makes for a nice colour on the plate when you are serving it up.

Is there a memorable experience that you have had at Karma? I’ve only been here for a fairly short time, just a month or so, but I actually enjoyed helping out at the inventory. I realized how much work there is going on behind everything. !ere are quite a lot of people involved at Karma, sta# and working members, putting in a lot of time. When you come in to shop, you don’t necessarily see that, so I got an experience of the community.

In the aisle

by Karen Fliess

VITAL STATISTICS

Name: Eva Soderholm

Occupation: Pilates teacher

Length of Membership: 2 months (2 $ years for her husband)

Status: Flat-rated; works as a cashier

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Are there any next steps that you see for Karma? !e only thing that I actually miss here, and it is the same in many shops, is that I "nd it very dif-"cult to "nd a good loaf of bread. Most of the bread is already cut in slices, which dries it out. It would be nice if Karma looked for really good sour-dough bread made from organic in-gredients, maybe from a small bakery, something that you can cut yourself. If you treat bread well, it can last for a long time. I would be happy to buy lots of it!

I also think it would be nice if there were a small café at Karma where you could grab a co#ee and a sandwich. It would give members a possibility to meet, to have the chance to talk to each other more.

What book are you reading right now?I am reading a book of interviews with people liv-ing in the city where I used to live, Lausanne. I got it as a gi% from friends when I le%.It is interviews with people on the street. She [Laura Spinney] in-terviews everyone: the homeless, shop owners. !e only thing they have in common is that they live in

Lausanne. !ey talk to her about all di#erent sub-jects, and it is fascinating. It is the author’s way of getting to know the city.

Other than Karma, what else do you think is one of Toronto’s little-known gems?

I have been here such a short time that I haven’t really explored

much, but what I "nd ex-citing in Toronto is that

there are so many di#erent restau-

rants, [including] a large selec-tion of organic r e s t au r a nt s .My daughter just sent me an email from Sweden, tell-ing me which

restaurants to try here. She

suggested the Live Food Bar, Feel Good

Guru and Fresh. Fresh is a favourite we have

here; they have good food and reasonable prices.

Is there anything else you would like to add about your experience as a Karma member?Everyone is very friendly here, and this is also my experience of Toronto. It makes it easy to move here and to overcome the obstacles that there are with a move.

Photo by Karen Fliess

Eva Soderholm

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Homeopathy for preventing !u, treating colds, coughs & moreby Laura Coramai

Homeopathy was started in Germany in the early 1800s by Samuel Hahnemann, a medical doctor who reconnected to the Hippocratic tradition in Western medicine of respecting the inherent abilities of the life-organizing or healing force within every living being.

!e phrase that is commonly associated with ho-meopathy, “like cures like,” is based on the principle of similia similibus curentur, or the law of similars. It di#erentiates homeopathy from all other healing traditions, including western herbalism. Homeopathy most resembles the 2000-year-old Chinese Medicine System in terms of operating principles and as a com-plete system of medicine. Modern Western medicine uses the Law of Contraries, or “Opposites Cure.” Usu-ally it does not work with the body but against it.

Homeopathic treatments are used worldwide by home prescribers (think parents with teething babies, or "rst aid for cuts, sprains, and bruising). Here are some common treatments and prevention protocols to help you through the $u and cold season.

Treatments for !u and cold

In homeopathy, if you are treating something like a fever, you match a remedy to the state of the sick per-son. In the case of $u, if you have a fever that keeps burning, then you try to match it (along with other

signs or symptoms) to a treatment that in large doses would produce the same type of temperature, chills, and, say, discharges (perspiration or sweat) in the same area of the body or head. !e remedy will move you through to the next stage of illness. (All illnesses have phases: a beginning or onset, a middle stage, and an end stage.) If a fever is healthy, sometimes homeo-paths say to wait it out and then treat a%erwards.

Gelsemium or yellow jasmine is one early-onset remedy that is common for people to use with either warm or cold, damp weather, days that are windy, or thunderstorms that give them a chill. !is remedy is e#ective in cases with a low fever, mild shaking, cold feet, perspiration, $ushed face, headache, and other unpleasant symptoms of a bad cold or $u.

Preventing !u

I recommend four homeopathic options for prevent-ing in$uenza: (a) Anas barbariae hepatis et cordis extractum, (b) In$uenzinum, (c) !ymuline, and (d) Schuessler tissue cell salts.

Anas barbariae is made from the heart and liver of the Muscovy duck. !ese ducks can harbour the in$uen-za virus, and using this remedy is consistent with the principle of “like cures like.” !ere are various names for Anas barbariae. !e most well known is Oscillo-

Over the last few years at the start of "u season, more homeopathic medicines have been appearing on store shelves. Today, drug stores and even grocery store supplements sections are carrying these prod-ucts, in addition to the traditional selections at health food stores. Karma has been stocking homeopathic remedies for a long time.

21

coccinum, made by Boiron of France. Karma has the Montreal-based pharmacy Homeocan’s Flu Buster.

In$uenzinum is generally very bene"cial. It comes from labs in Europe that make new remedies for each $u season. It is made from the sputum of in$uenza patients that match the current viral strains that the World Health Organization predicts will circulate. If you are purchasing In$uenzinum from health food stores, ensure you are getting the 2014 strain. You can use this even if you had a conventional $u shot.

!ymuline is a remedy made from the healthy tis-sue of a human thymus gland. !is gland acts like a thermostat to provide the right balance of immunity, as it cranks up the heat to help the body "ght infec-tion and then goes down when necessary to prevent autoimmune disease. It works to support thymus function, whether or not it is $u season. You take this remedy for "ve consecutive weeks, one dose per week to stimulate your thymus gland. Follow the instruc-tions closely. Many health professionals recommend taking !ymuline in conjunction with In$uenzinum for $u prevention. If you’re using Anas barbariae, you can also take !ymuline.

Last but not least are tissue cell salts. !ese little white pellets are prepared homeopathically — that is, they are diluted and made more potent. !ey are biochem-ical in nature and help treat de"ciencies of essential mineral salts in our cells. !is remedy uses the miner-als in our bloodstream that are either depleted or are not able to be absorbed. Cell salts can be taken at the change of seasons. !ere are 12 essential ones, and some formulations are particularly good for certain things. !ey are easy to take, as you can put them in water and drink between meals a few times a day. Making up a formulation for cold and $u prevention is not di&cult. Please contact me for the directions. !e ingredients are easy to "nd.

I hope this overview has given you insight into homeopathy as a way to prevent illness this winter or treat yourself when you get sick. Homeopathy is a wonderful, healthy way to care for yourself, friends, and family.

Laura Coramai is a practising homeopath in the Karma neighbourhood. Contact her at lcoramai@rogers.com.

Homeopathy books

The following resources can help you treat colds, coughs, and !us. Most of the books are available in the Toronto Public Library system.

The Complete Homeopathic Resource for Com-mon Illnesses, by Dennis Chernin (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2006).

The Complete Guide to Homeopathy: The Prin-ciples and Practice of Treatment, by Andrew Lockie and Nicola Geddes (New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 1995).

The American Institute of Homeopathy Hand-book for Parents: A Guide to Healthy Treatment for Everything from Colds and Allergies to ADHD, Obesity, and Depression, by Edward Shalts (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2005).

The Complete Homeopathy Handbook: A Guide to Everyday Health Care, by Miranda Castro (London: Pan Macmillan, 1991).

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Vegan cornerby Siue Mo#at

Karma has a wide range of cruelty-free and tasty products for those wanting to cut out or reduce their intake of animal products. !is article fea-tures both sweet and savoury options.

Mystery cookies! !ere are cookies hidden away on a Karma shelf that vegans and gluten-free eat-ers will love. !e vanilla cinnamon cookies with apple butter are located in a glass jar above the ready-to-eat pakoras and samosas, across from the spices. !ese cookies are made from brown rice and cassava $our. !ey are sweetened with dates, organic maple syrup, and apple butter. !e cookies also come in a delectable chocolate-chunk version. If you’re a%er a local, tasty, yet healthy cookie, you can’t make a better choice in Karma’s aisles.

Looking for a di#erent kind of protein to eat with your veggies? Try polenta. Polenta is boiled, thick-ened cornmeal, and Karma sells the variety that has been pre-cooked and formed into a roll. Origi-nally from Italy, polenta was traditionally a peas-ant food. It can actually be made from other grains such as buckwheat or millet, but most people are familiar only with the cornmeal type.

Polenta with garlic mushrooms1 lb. shiitake mushrooms, chopped4 tbsp. olive oil1 tbsp. minced garlic1 tbsp. nutritional yeast1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

(!g- or pear-infused is nice)1/4 tsp.saltpinch of ground black pepper1 roll sun-dried tomato polenta

(located in the pasta aisle)Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a bowl, toss mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Spread mushrooms onto baking pan and roast about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. !e mushrooms will be tender.

Cut the polenta into 1/2-inch rounds. Fry the polenta on both sides in the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil.Serve the polenta with mushrooms on top.

Photo by Ellen Pauker

!e Food Merchant brand of polenta that Karma sells is organic and comes in tradi-tional, basil and garlic, and sun-dried tomato $avours. It is ready to eat, but much better grilled or fried.

!e recipe above will give you a delicate gour-met dish to impress dinner guests. Serve with a nice hearty soup.

Are you a vegan or vegetarian who’s concerned about the dwindling choices at Karma? Email me at beaterlicker@yahoo.com.

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Cranberry sauce with datesby Ernst Von Bezold

On the way through the checkout at Karma just before !anksgiving, I discovered that an anonymously inclined, artistically predisposed fellow shopper of cheerful longtime acquaintance was buying mouth-watering Medjool organic dates. He cooks them in cranberry sauce!

Here’s how it works: he cooks them s-l-o-w-l-y at very low heat, cov-ered (as if hermetically sealed) for hours — overnight if possible — and takes the pits out later.

So, having more haste than time while making !anksgiving dinner, I pitted and sliced a handful, about "ve, of these

beautiful stored-sunshine dates into a pot of about a pound (two 250-gram packages) of rinsed and

still wet cranberries. I cooked them on high heat to start, with only a tablespoon of water. A lid kept things moist and inside the pot when cranberries popped, and returned the valu-able distillate to the sauce.

To intensify $avour, you could carefully add a little salt, 1/5 teaspoon or less.

Turn the heat well down when the berries start to pop and cook, just until all of them have opened.

!en pour in maple syrup to taste, say about a quarter cup, and (optionally) a teaspoon or so of freshly grated

lemon peel (organic, please) and cook for "ve more minutes.

Or, instead of the maple syrup, add about 1/3 cup honey, to taste, once the sauce is o# the heat and cooling. Honey brightens the $a-vour more fully than cane sugar, while a light maple syrup breathes better. A dark-roasted maple syrup is more warming. Add plenty of ground cinnamon, which both adds to the taste and is said to help the pancreas with the sugar rush. !is is best added right a%er cook-ing the sauce, while it is very hot.

Serve at once, warm, though it keeps well refrigerated and gets yum-mier over time, I think.

Photos from Wikimedia Commons

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KARMA STAFF

GENERAL MANAGER: TALIA MCGUIREASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER: MICHAEL ARMSTRONGRETAIL ASSOCIATES: KATHRYN CAMFIELD, CARA GOLD , COLETTE SLONEPRODUCE MANAGER: MICHAEL ARMSTRONGGROCERY BUYERS: KATHRYN CAMFIELD, RACHEL CLIMENHAGA, PAUL DIXON, CARA GOLDHEALTH & BEAUTY BUYER: LEAHBULK BUYER: CARA GOLDBOOKKEEPER: DENISE STAPLETONMEMBER RECORDS SECRETARY: KIRSTEN HEYERDAHL MEMBER LABOUR COORDINATOR: PAUL DIXON

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT: ALEX SPEERS#ROESCH

VICE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY FOR STAFF RELATIONS, SOCIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE LIAISON: PAUL DANYLUK

MEMBERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE LIAISON: AREL AGNEW

TREASURER, MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY, FINANCE COMMITTEE LIAISON: YVES CHEUNG

PLANNING SECRETARY, BUILDING LIAISON: ERNST VON BEZOLD

ENGAGEMENT CO#SECRETARY, FOOD ISSUES COMMITTEE LIAISON: LAUREN ST. LOUIS

ENGAGEMENT CO#SECRETARY, ORIENTATION COMMITTEE LIAISON: ROBERTA BENSON

CORPORATE SECRETARY, CHRONICLE COMMITTEE LIAISON: STEPHEN TARGETT

TECHNOLOGY SECRETARY: PHILLIP LAKIN

MISSION STATEMENT Our aim is to:

people who grow it, and the other organizations who

by operating a viable co-operative food store.

CONTACT YOUR CO!OP GET INVOLVED!BOARD OF DIRECTORS: board@karmacoop.org

BUILDING COMMITTEE: building@karmacoop.org

CHRONICLE COMMITTEE: chronicleeditor@gmail.com

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: community@karmacoop.org

FINANCE COMMITTEE: $nance@karmacoop.org

FOOD ISSUES COMMITTEE: foodissues@karmacoop.org

MEMBER LABOUR COORDINATOR: mlc@karmacoop.org

ORIENTATION COMMITTEE: orientation@karmacoop.org

STORE HOURS:Monday: CLOSEDTuesday: 9 am – 9 pmWednesday: 9 am – 9 pmThursday: 9 am – 9 pmFriday: 9 am – 9 pmSaturday: 10 am – 6 pmSunday: 10 am – 5 pm