Yes, we compost!
The Davis Food Co-op is proud to participate in the City's Commercial Food-Scrap Pilot Program. This program diverts food waste from landfills, and will pave the way for any future plans to adopt a broader composting program in the city of Davis. All departments of the Co-op are involved in the composting effort, which has become a daily part of staff life at the store.
Conservation and Research programs at Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Davis Food Co-op uses several sources to inform us about issues in the oceans important to our members, or in regulation and promotion of seafood and sea products. At the moment, there is no sustainable seafood issue compelling attention, so we're going to link to the "Conservation and Research" page at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Why Pick Cork for Wine Closures?
By Doug Walter
Many vintners take positive steps that improve local soil fertility. But did you know that the choice of bottle closure can make a big difference for the environment? Cork, which can be harvested sustainably, helps maintains an ecosystem that guards soils against erosion, preserves fertility and some diversity, and supports wildlife. Natural cork closures are fully biodegradable, and can be recycled into useful products.
But a vintner might use another closure for valid reasons. I wouldn't uniformly disdain wines — such as those from Yolo County's Berryessa Gap — that use screwcaps to preserve the “just as bottled” taste. Plastic “corks” aren't my favorites, but they're a means of cutting packaging costs. However, a wine with potential to improve with age will benefit from a natural cork closure.
Skilled harvesters produce quality cork by sustainable cutting, in which the entire bark layer is stripped from the cork oak trees. If it's done well, it all grows back! Cork can only be harvested from the oaks about once a decade, but the benefits of the forest landscape are continuous. Several endangered species are dependent on cork oak forests, which “support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats” according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Wine stoppers are the most important product of cork oak forests. When you buy wines with natural cork stoppers, you’re helping trees, wildlife and people.
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/cork_rev12_print.pdf (p. 4)