Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan Gillotte <gm AT wheatsville.coop>]

Hello Wheatsville friends!

Happy Valentine's Day! It's still not too late to get your sweetie, your friends or yourself some lovely goodies at your co-op. Come in for delicious baked treats! We've got cute Linzer Cookies, a hazelnut shortbread with a cut-out heart-shape and raspberry jam. We're introducing rich and decadent Hazelnut Chocolate Tartlets, too! And, we also have sweet Heart-shaped chocolate raspberry cake (which is delicious AND vegan!)

Chocolove is the perfect chocolate for your loved ones. It's super-premium chocolate with a love poem in each pack. I like the cherry and almond one myself! They are on a great deal, too. Just $1.69 a bar all month long! 

Equal Exchange and Dagoba Fair Trade Organic Chocolate are also on sale and are also delicious!

We will be sampling some select chocolates at our "Let the Love Linger" Third Thursday this week. (More on this further down the e-mail.)

The Frozen department isn't generally the first place people look for Valentine's candies, but don't miss it this year! Our friends at Blue Heron have created special heart-shaped truffles for Valentine's Day. These treats are dairy and sugar free, sweetened with agave nectar! Try these for an extra special taste treat!

If you haven't made a Valentine for your favorite, person, food product or department, there is still time! We've got Valentine supplies at the Member Center for your delight! Give a shout out to someone you love! We'll keep them posted through the weekend!

Third Thursday on Guadalupe! This Thursday from 6-9, join us as we "Let the Love Linger" at Third Thursday on Guadalupe! As mentioned before, we will have chocolate delights to sample and we'll be selling any left-over Valentine's goods from Housewares at deep discounts! This could be your chance to get out of the doghouse, or plan a head for next year!

We'll have Mr. Smartypants making balloon animals and live music from our favorite house band, Herb Pharm!

So, come on down and "Let the Love Linger" on Guadalupe!

Now for something serious...

This issue was brought to my attention by our friends at Alexander Family Farms and Carol at Boggy Creek Farms and I thought that you would all like to know about it.

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is a national program to identify and track livestock animals, including poultry, horses, cattle, goats and sheep for the purpose of disease containment. NAIS plans to use RFID and GPS technology to track animals, and requires every farm or “premises” be registered with government agencies, even if that premises houses a single animal. While NAIS’s purported goal of disease containment appears to be beneficial, the requirement for American citizens to register privately-owned property for tracking and monitoring purposes has very serious implications for our privacy, rights and freedoms. 

This means that anyone who is trying to do family farming (like the Alexanders or Boggy Creek) as well as people who have their own small flocks of chickens or goats (or even a pet chicken or goat, for that matter) will have to comply with this law. After a little research, this seems potentially problematic to me and I thought you would like to know about it. 

There is a special meeting on February 16th with public comments about this proposed program. For more information and action steps, go to http://www.tofga.org or http://stopanimalid.org/

Thanks you all!

Hope you have a great week!

Dan
Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy