SunRidge Farms is very excited about our participation in the Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival this Sunday, January 21st. Come out to the Cocoanut Grove at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and support the UCSC Women’s Club as they put on a flavorful event that funds re-entry Student Scholarships at the University of California Santa Cruz. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz and Capitola, Bookshop Santa Cruz,Norrie’s Gift Shop and Bay Tree Bookstore on the UCSC campus. To learn more, visit [link] See you there!

The planting of round up resistant sugar beets and canola ( as well as cotton, corn, and soybean) is causing the spreading of the resistance to weeds like Kochia, a seven foot tall weed that handles drought conditions very well.  This is forcing Monsanto and it’s rivals to modify their seeds even more with other genes to resist other weedkillers since Monsanto’s proprietary Round Up isn’t working on these plants.  To read more, see the story on Bloomberg – [link]

Organic foods offer so many advantages that demand from consumers is creating new problems that will have to be overcome.  We, as consumers, have to be aware that if we wish to be able to have these foods it’s important to know what concerns the growers are facing.  Check out this article in the NY Times, [link]

Here’s a link to an interesting article on the Bloomberg Business website that discusses the fact that Monsanto GMO corn is failing to kill the insects it’s genetically modified to kill.   Please educate yourself on GMO foods so that you are aware of the practices and can be in a position to decide if you wish to continue consuming them.   At SunRidge Farms, we source Non-GMO foods wherever possible. [link]

This was exciting news coming out of Iowa State University.  After studying organic farming versus commercial farming for 13 years it was learned that both similar yields and higher economic returns resulted from organic crop systems versus the traditional corn/ soybean rotation.  These type of long term experiments validate organic practices and certainly cast doubts on those who absolutely feel that GMO and conventional pesticide farming practices are both valid and necessary. [link] SunRidge Farms sources organic and Non-GMO wherever possible in order to support these sustainable practices that are in harmony with our planet.

Next week is National Bulk Foods Week but rather than us tell you about it, check out this story in ShopSmart Magazine – [link]

National Bulk Week is right around the corner!  Plan your grocery shopping around this event to learn how much money you can save by purchasing bulk foods.  To make this easier for you, please click on this link to find out participating retailers near you! [link]

Here’s a great little piece from Phil Lempert’s website.  Please click on the link to read more!  [link]

National Bulk Week is almost here and it’s not too late to participate if you are a retailer.  Though our deadlines have passed for providing preprinted materials, FREE Downloadable artwork is available by clicking on this link, [link] Help teach your customers the greener practices of bulk purchasing…better for the environment and the pocketbook.  Buy Green – Save Green ($)

The quote below by Phil Angell of Monsanto should be enough to convince you that staying away from genetically modified organisms in foods.  Knowing the trust issues we have with our government anyway, counting on the FDA to ensure food safety is tenuous at best.  Having a company knowingly working to exploit that weakness, at OUR risk, is reprehensible.   Join the Non-GMO project and fight to preserve the integrity of the food you eat.   To find out about the Non-GMO project, visit [link] To see more details on what Monsanto is doing, visit the following: [link] A Monsanto executive told… Read More