Co-op shouldn't be in the boycott business

A small but vocal faction at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op is unnecessarily dividing a flourishing local institution.

The co-op, which sprouted during the natural foods movement of the early 1970s, has steered clear of political issues. There's no reason to change course now to placate some members who want to show solidarity with Palestinians by banning products made in Israel.

As The Bee's Ryan Lillis reported Thursday, the simmering dispute is coming to a boil. The activists, who say that Israel is violating Palestinians' human rights, have gone to court to force their initiative onto the ballot at the co-op's annual meeting in September. They have outside help from the National Lawyers Guild and have made their cause known by picketing outside the co-op....

The board of directors is understandably concerned that any such boycott could lead to a substantial exodus from the co-op, which has grown from 1,500 to 12,000 members in the last two decades.

Maggie Coulter, the co-op member leading the initiative, argues that the co-op is already political because it espouses sustainable farming and humane treatment of animals.

But those causes are right in line with the mission of an organic food store that aspires to offer healthy products and to be environmentally conscious. They are of a different order entirely from an issue like the Mideast conflict.

Co-op leaders make a persuasive case that a ban on Israeli products could lead to a never-ending cycle of boycotts and litmus tests over any number of issues.

.....Should it ban products from rural parts of California that voted for Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage? Should it ban products from Arizona, since it passed an immigration law that is widely viewed as hostile to Latinos? Where does it stop?....

Democrats Unveil the Weapon of the Future "What do the political battles in Wisconsin and the Spanish Civil War have in common? A disturbing characteristic. .............Something similar, though on a much lower key (no massacres or bombing raids yet) has been occurring in Wisconsin over the past few months: a nearly open civil war instigated by the left in order to test an array of new tactics. ............."

********************

Wednesday, Feb 23, [2011] 6pm, Palestine/Israel: Overcoming Colonialism and its Legacy. Talk at Sacramento Activist School by human rights activist, Maggie Coulter who lived six months in Palestine's West Bank, working with Palestinian and Israeli activists seeking to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank, siege on Gaza and systemic discrimination (apartheid) against its Palestinian citizens. Sol Collective, 2574 21st Street Sacramento Sacramento Area Peace Action Calendar Update February 2011

Citizen Action for Palestinian Human and Civil Rights: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions By Maggie Coulter.

Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento

Monthly Meeting

Thursday, June 23 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Colonial Heights library 4799 Stockton Blvd Sacramento, CA (MAP)

This month, courtesy of Glenda Wertenberger we have a special guest Speaker Carolyn Fink from the Soldier's Project! (http://www.thesoldiersproject.org/)

The Soldiers Project was established to provide free psychological services to military personnel who have served during the conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan and their loved ones. They also educate the community regarding the psychological effects of war. Carolyn Fink is one ...of the dedicated psychologists who donates her time to this worthy cause.

Agenda for Thursday June 23rd, 2011:

Welcome - Introductions

Special Presentation by Carolyn Fink - Soldier's Project Introduction by Glenda Wertenberger [Progressive Democrats of South Placer County]

Citizens United Resolution - Chris Niehaus

Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Resolution - Maggie Coulter

Discuss next officer nomination / election cycle

Wellstone Camping Retreat info update [end text]

...."What all this amounts to is the baptism of fire of what I have taken to calling the "liberal superstructure." This superstructure is the vast constellation of advocacy groups, think tanks, single-issue outfits, unions, and various other flotsam constructed by the left over the past half-century or so. There are literally thousands of these groups, ranging from the ACLU and the Sierra Club with their hundreds of thousands of members to the local "Friends of the People's Venezuela" outfit which amounts to a retired feminism professor and her six cats. These organizations are ubiquitous, universal, and networked to a fare-thee- well. They are also liberalism's last great hope of controlling politics in the United States."..... ----- Democrats Unveil the Weapon of the Future

Each Line on this list has LINKS to more LINKS and more groups in the liberal : Lists of Lists of Lists of the Superstructure of the Left ready to join up And there are many more radical groups and organizations not listed, add to that the many groups who will fold like a cheap suit in the face of so many.

I don't know how it is in other metro areas but in the Twin Cities all the co-ops were born in leftist activism and are deeply steeped in it today - regardless of the upscale makeovers they got in the 1990's. Nearly every product is whining about "sustainability" or "corporate responsibility" and the personnel look like refugees from that last (fill in your least favorite lefty cause) protest/rally/riot. Check out the rag racks on the way out and read all about worker revolts, gay festivals and Marxist activism de jour.

Like public radio's lock on classical music, the co-ops have found a niche where they can agitate while finding widespread support for their products - not their ideology.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.