Your co-op, April 2002

Annual meeting addresses the future

Each year our cooperative holds its annual meeting to hear from the board and management about PCC’s accomplishments, meet board candidates and promote discussion among members. The annual report will be hot off the press at the meeting. There will be displays of our activities throughout the past year, and refreshments.

This year we look forward to having a discussion with members on the results of a survey the board conducted in March. The survey of active members who regularly shop our stores addresses the future of our cooperative and what its direction should be. We expect a lively and informative afternoon.

Nominating committee selects six board candidates

The six members selected by the nominating committee for the 2002 board ballot are a diverse group with great strengths. The board election is held in May each year, and the May issue of the Sound Consumer contains the ballot and statements by each candidate. You can meet and greet the candidates at PCC’s annual meeting April 21. The candidates are: Rebecca Crimmins, Alexander Rist, Taso Lagos, Bob Cross, Mary Simon and Kathy Barry. Each of these PCC members went through a rigorous application and interview process in order to qualify for the ballot.

In addition, Kelly Bryant and David Ward chose not to go through the nominating process, but instead gathered at least the minimum 200 signatures to be placed on the ballot as allowed in the PCC Bylaws. The nominating committee certified that the signatures on their petitions are valid.

This year’s nominating committee consisted of Nola Freeman, Genevieve Phillips, Stewart Rose and Reed Schilbach.

Writing checks at PCC

If you’d like to write a check for an amount greater than your purchase (members can receive up to $20 cash back), please remember to show your PCC membership card. Without it, our cashiers are unable to accept checks for more than the purchase amount.

PCC supports labels for irradiated foods

January 18, 2002
Dr. Bernard Schwetz
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
14-71 Parklawn Building
5600 Fishers Lane>BR? Rockville, MD 20857

Dear Dr. Schwetz,

I am writing on behalf of PCC Natural Markets and our 40,000 member households to urge you to maintain the current labeling law for irradiated foods, which requires irradiated whole foods sold in stores to be labeled “Treated by Irradiation” or “Treated with Radiation.” PCC Natural Markets has seven stores in the Puget Sound region of Washington State and is the largest cooperative retailer of natural and organic foods in the United States.

The American people have spoken loudly and clearly on the issue of irradiation. As you know, 98.2 percent of Americans responding to a recent FDA survey say they want the current law maintained or strengthened to include the labeling of irradiated ingredients. In recent focus groups, participants unanimously opposed the use of any substitute terms such as “electronically pasteurized” or “cold pasteurized.”
For the sake of honesty and integrity, any food that has been exposed to ionizing radiation must be labeled accordingly. Any attempts to hide, blur or deceive should be rejected by your agency.

Respectfully,

Tracy Wolpert
CEO, PCC Natural Markets