New to Organic?

The cooperative behind the Organic Valley brand has grown to be a family of 1149 like-minded farm families across America, offering simply good organic foods - milk, cheese, butter, eggs, juices, meats, produce, and soy beverages - for your family to enjoy!

http://www.organicvalley.coop/
The coolest place on earth!

http://www.organicvalley.coop/coupons/index.html
To print your coupons to try their products.

http://www.organicvalley.coop/our_story/coop_growth/index.html
Listen to their story and invest for future growth.

My absolute favorite brand of organic dairy products. After drinking this for a few years now, it is next to impossible to get me to switch to "normal" dairy. I admit that I am addicted to the chocolate milk and I love the fat free milk too.

It's pretty cool to know where your food products are coming from and to even meet the farming families. Plus the added health benefits from going organic and they offer coupons, gifts, and more. So if you have free time and want to learn more about organic products I would encourage you to check them out.

The Cooperative Way to
Organic Food and Farming
You probably know Organic Valley Family of Farms as a trusted source of delicious and healthful organic foods, but did you know that the key to our success is our cooperative business model? The 1149 farm families who produce our premium quality food products share a voice in the future of our business -- because they own it!

The Un-Corporation
In an era where corporations dominate all facets of business including government, global energy, agriculture and global food supply, Organic Valley serves small farmers and rural community health by combining two alternative business models - the family farm and the cooperative. Our cooperative was founded to nurture local communities by keeping farmers on the land, farming. We understood from the beginning that we would need to pool our product in a cooperative fashion to accomplish that goal.

Farmers with a Mission
Just as we believe in the interdependency of all living things in nature, we believe that our cooperative structure delivers what's good for everyone, including the consumer-partners who buy our products. To those citizens, we promise the quality of food production and environmental stewardship that they demand. The support and resources of our extended family give us a voice in the agricultural world, where large corporations have taken over 600,000 family farms since 1960. Together, the cooperative voice of our over 1100 farmers represents approximately 10% of the organic farming community in America.

The central mission of our cooperative is to support rural communities by protecting the health of the family farm - working toward both economic and environmental sustainability. Our stable, self-determined farmer pay prices and our love of the land are the best assurance that our co-op members will be able to continue the tradition of organic farming into the next generation.

Why does a cooperative of small family farms make a difference to you?
By keeping family farmers on the land, you are protecting your right to choose foods produced in the way you want - a way that ensures quality, health, humane animal treatment, and the stewardship of our environment.

How it Works
Farmer members establish equity when they join the cooperative. From the membership, a national Board of Directors is elected. Members' opinions are carried to the Board through regional executive committees. They also have the opportunity to serve on regional committees and participate in cooperative governance and marketing. In addition to a member-determined pay-price and equity ownership in a leading national food brand, members receive numerous benefits including support in production, certification, farm planning, feed sourcing, veterinary consultation and more.

Democracy in Action
We credit our success to the partnership society we've created between farmers, employees and citizens. Each plays a vital role in the balance of our health and stability. As more farmers join our cooperative, we continually work to balance supply with consumer demand and the labor needed to support our marketing operations. To enhance our sustainability, we have adopted a profit sharing model that recognizes the contributions of all:
45% profits to farmers
45% profits to employees
10% profits to community

Building our base of loyal customers allows us to bring more farm families into the cooperative, along with the land, water, and animals that they protect.

Together with you, we are crafting a new vision for family farming and healthy food in America!

This article is courtesy of the Organic Valley Coop
Organic Valley Family of Farms ©2007

Loan $25 to change lives through Kiva.org

I want to let you all know about a cool non-profit that is doing great things: Kiva.org

Kiva.org allows individuals to make $25 loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordable working capital for the poor (money to buy a sewing machine, livestock, etc.), empowering them to earn their way out of poverty.

It's a new, direct and sustainable way to fight global poverty, and the way I see it, I get a higher return on $25 helping someone build a future than the interest my checking account pays.

Anyways, if you have a minute, please check out the site: http://kiva.org. If you need more "reputable" validation than my recommendation :), know that they have received great press in publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal to NPR to BusinessWeek.

Thanks for reading! And feel free to spread the word!!

http://www.kiva.org/lender/erin3278

PS, If you sign up be sure to tell them that I sent you :)

This is a must read!!!

If you haven't checked out Prosper yet you seriously need to for a few reasons but mainly:

INVESTMENT:
If you want to invest in something or someone and want great returns this is an opportunity for you and while the risk varies you can invest small increments of $25. People referred to as "Lenders" bid for the right to buy a portion of the loan that is funded to a borrower or a group of borrowers. People with excellent credit history get the best rates, but even those can sometimes be high because of the bids pooled together. Usually funding is for 3 years but some investors have made 15% ROI. Plus you can avoid the retail banks and broker fees associated with online trading or investments and get higher return for your buck than a brokerage account, without the headache of a financial crisis. Or just as a hedge to your regular portfolio.

BORROW:
If you need an emergency loan and don't want to go to a loan shark or a pay advance place that charges astronomical interest and fees then check out Prosper. Depending on your credit score/history they may be able to fund you a loan in as little as 3-7 days. Just create a profile, have them verify your identity and then post what you need the money for, the terms you are looking for, and how long you need to repay the loan.

LEND:
People have created groups that pool resources and money together to lend to others. Although acting similar to lending/banking company you do not need a license because technically you are an investor purchasing the rights to the debt and not creating or originating the debt.

TIME magazine all-time best English-language 100 novels from 1923-2005

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html






Copyright © 2005 Time Inc. All rights reserved.Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited

Dulce - Chocolate & Coffee

Swiss, Belgian, French chocolate - the taste of perfection (sweet and filling with flavors of caramel, strawberry, cherry, vanilla)

Cuban, American - the modern take on chocolate (milky and smooth or dark; with or without nuts)

Mexico and Latin America - ancient and traditional chocolate (peppered, spiced, bold, intense, full of flavors, caliente)

Kenya/Ivory Coast/African - a blend of coffee and chocolate (aromatic, bean scented, dark roasted, exotic fruit and nuts)






business week article on chocolate: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/aug2007/db20070829_846210_page_2.htm

business week slideshow on chocolate:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/08/0830_chocolate/index_01.htm