[imc-wmass-editorial] Draft - Boycott Corporate Globalization - Buy local

[Tribal Scribal]

Greetings Kate & Meegan,

Below is a draft of a feature i'm writing for the WMass Indymedia site on 
buying local. As you'll see
it naturally includes your Earthsky site. If you want to add the local WMass 
resources to your site i can edit out the part about "presently...limited to 
a few products". Forgive the html, but that's the way it goes up. I'll do a 
for print version later.
I'd like to hear any suggestions you might have to improve this piece. As 
you'll note i've yet to tackle the "services" section which will probably 
only consist of local banks unless you have some ideas along those lines. 
I'd love to have this feature up on Indy in time for your event at First 
Churches later this month so's we could do some sort of interface. Let me 
know.

in solidarity,

d.o.

***********

Boycott Corporate Globalization - Buy local

The corporate subjugation of most aspects of everyday life in the U.S. seems 
a given to many of us and is, sad to say, hardly considered at all by many 
more of our citizens. However, there are those who actively seek out 
alternatives to corporate globalization within the local community; 
alternatives to invasive products and services that actually harm local 
economies and, often, the health and well-being of the user.  In order for 
such alternatives to become common knowledge, much like corporate products 
become known through expensive and morally-challenged advertising, a great 
deal of outreach must take place to educate the public as to the why and 
where of choosing alternatives. We can begin such an attempt here, but this 
sort of information being organic, growing out of the community, can only be 
truly useful if it evolves with that community. The internet, and Indymedia 
in particular, is a good place to initiate such an attempt because it is 
inter-active and thus, responsive to a dialogue. If the reader has 
additional resources to add to those in the following hot links, or 
disagrees with one of the resources listed, they can add their comments at 
the bottom of the page. Then other readers can comment on the comments, and 
so on. It’s a conversation, as opposed to an edict, just like a town 
meeting. So, to begin. <p>

In terms of food, beyond growing your own or participating in a <a 
href=http://wmass.indymedia.org/newswire/display/2155/index.php>CSA</a>, 
perhaps the most apparent example of locally produced products available in 
Western Massachusetts is the <a 
href=”http://www.buylocalfood.com/farmmarket.html”>farmer’s market</a>. 
Here, like on the <a href=”http://www.buylocalfood.com/farm.html”>farm 
itself</a>, the user meets the producer face-to-face with no intermediary 
agent adding to the customer’s cost or subtracting from the farmer’s income. 
However, during the winter months or due to these market’s infrequent hours, 
people need more ready access to locally grown or value-added products. With 
that in mind, an organization called <a 
href=”http://www.buylocalfood.com/about.html”>Community Involved in 
Sustaining Agriculture</a> (CISA) formed to fill the gap and has created a 
marketing program called “Local Hero’s” that identifies area farms and 
producers, as well as <a 
href=”http://www.buylocalfood.com/retail.html”>retailers</a> and <a 
href=”http://www.buylocalfood.com/retail.html”>restaurants</a> that carry 
locally produced products. The Berkshires has similar<a 
href=”http://www.berkshiregrown.org/”>resources<a/> available, as do other 
parts of the <a href=”http://www.state.ma.us/dfa/massgrown/”>state</a>. <p>

As CISA notes on it’s website: “What happens to farmers remains crucial to 
our nation’s well-being, even if we never set foot in a barn or a pasture. 
Our connection to the farmer and the land is there every time we buy a loaf 
of bread or munch an apple, put on a wool sweater or lay down a plank of 
wood. Many of us may have lost our connection to agriculture, but none of us 
has lost our dependence on that connection….Here in western Massachusetts we 
are blessed with a farming community with deep roots and farmland that is 
some of the nation's best.  But farms cannot survive in our rapidly 
developing communities unless farming becomes a profitable and sustainable 
way of life.  For decades many area farmers sold their crops to wholesale 
markets, but the growing global economy pits our valley farmers against 
farmers with access to cheaper land and labor.  If our farms are to survive, 
they need to sell their products to local stores, restaurants and 
consumers”.  This is a nice way of saying that greedy corporados are hard at 
work shafting family farms and so-called consumers alike in their endless 
quest for wealth and power. In addition, some of the best farmland in the 
world is being paved over or chemically trashed by those same corporate 
forces promoting mindless growth and wanton destruction. Utilizing local 
sources for your food is one way to fight back against The Machine.  <p>

But food is only one of the many commodities we need to survive here on 
planet Earth. What about fuel, clothing, tools, housewares or building 
materials? What about services like transportation, health and health 
insurance, or banking?  Some of those goods may eventually be listed on a 
new website by the <a href=”http://www.earthskyexchange.org/”>Earth & Sky 
Collective for Cooperative Exchange</a>, a group that “seeks to promote the 
cooperative and sustainable exchange of goods, services and ideas” in the 
Mid-Connecticut River Valley. Presently, their on-line <a 
href=”http://www.earthskyexchange.org/fairtrade.htm”>shopping guide</a> is 
limited to a few products, but they encourage people to send in suggestions 
(fairtrade at earthskyexchange.org) for future listing.  Yet, common sense 
tells us that many such items are already available locally at thrift 
stores, <a href=”http://www.fleamarketguide.com/ma.htm”>flea markets</a>, 
tag sales and listed in classified sections of newspapers or on internet 
bulletin boards such as the <a 
href=”http://www.earthskyexchange.org/barter/”>barter board</a> at Earth & 
Sky.  <p>

The social “stigma” of buying secondhand goods, and limits in choice, are 
perhaps the only obstacles preventing many people from utilizing these 
sources. While the latter is a fairly valid reason for seeking products 
elsewhere, the former is a construct of social indoctrination furthered in 
great part by corporate advertising and the public relations industry. In 
short, Corporate America doesn’t want you buying secondhand goods, even 
though they may be in near perfect condition and, in some cases, better than 
the newest version of the same product (planned obsolescence being a 
relatively new marketing tactic). The same stands true for repairing items, 
rather than replacing them.  From cradle to grave we are trained to seek 
what’s new, to want the latest in fads and gadgets; usually crap we really 
don’t need. Additionally, the mantra of U.S. middleclass values we are 
exposed to casts a dim view of shopping at places like the Salvation Army 
store. The usually unspoken implication is that such places are only for 
poor people, that they are grungy and not cool. That’s simply the result of 
social engineering, much like the embarrassment some people feel when they 
are forced to seek welfare. The “shame” isn’t innate, it’s manufactured. The 
forces of corporate subjugation seek “consumers”, people who shop as a form 
of entertainment, people whose lifestyles are dominated by conspicuous 
consumption. If you stray from that corporate-sponsored piece of fiction The 
Machine, in the form of corporate advertising and social training, punishes 
you with fabricated feelings of inadequacy: what will other people think of 
me?  Am I inferior to my neighbors?  Actually, shopping at flea markets, 
used clothing stores or Goodwill Stores can serve as a form of empowerment 
if you consciously do it as an act of defiance against such personal 
manipulation; as an act of rebellion against corporate globalization and The 
Machine; and to further the critical ecological practice of recycling. If 
you really want to assert yourself, you might even consider “dumpster 
diving”, especially in the Five College Area at the end of spring semester. 
The amount of waste at our colleges and universities is appalling on the one 
hand, but the opportunities such waste allows one to obtain needed goods is 
truly exceptional. All one has to do is get over the phony stigma attached 
to such actions by slaves and masters of the status quo.  <p>

Long ago people made much of their own fabric and clothing at home (some 
still do), or if they could afford it they would hire a local tailor. Today, 
a few fabrics are <a href=” http://www.textilelinks.com/guild/ma.html”>made 
locally</a>, and one can find locally spun and/or knitted woolen sweaters, 
hats or leg warmers on occasion in <a href=”
http://www.woolworks.org/stores/ma.html”>knitting stores</a>. There are 
plans in the works for producing wool blankets in Massachusetts. There are 
also <a href=” http://www.fiberart.com/guilds_spin_ma.html”>spinners</a> who 
still produce yarn in Massachusetts. And, there are a few remaining <a 
href=” http://www.johnsonwoolenmills.com/news/style.htm”>woolen mills</a> in 
the region, but most mill owners abandoned New England years ago in search 
of cheaper labor and lower costs. Such local producers are more costly than 
the work of producers found in the malls, of course. Weavers, spinners, 
knitters and tailors in the Northeast can’t live on the kind of rock bottom 
wages corporations pay to workers in so-called third world nations. But, if 
people can afford to patronize local craftspeople for their clothing it is a 
far better choice than supporting multi-nationals. However, most of us may 
find it more affordable to utilize the second-hand sources noted above. <p>

In terms of building materials, a few area <a href=” 
http://www.cowls.com/”>lumber mills</a> continue to produce and sell locally 
grown and milled wood products, though be sure to ask specifically for them 
as some also sell imported forest products. The number of local mills has 
been shrinking over the years as cheap, ecologically unsound mono-cultured 
timber is shipped in from Canada or from down south.  <p>
A new source for quality but unwanted home improvement materials such as 
doors, windows, cabinets and fixtures, as well as building materials like 
lumber, sheetrock, plywood, tile, and carpeting is the <a href=” 
http://www.cetonline.org/Home/Restore.htm”>ReStore</a> in Springfield. The 
operation’s mission is to “make home improvement affordable for more people; 
create local jobs; provide job training; reduce disposal costs and promote 
the reuse of valuable materials.”  The ReStore also holds workshops and has 
information on such things as safe, sustainable <a href=” 
http://www.cetonline.org/Publications/sfclean.pdf”>alternatives to toxic 
household products</a>. Such products are produced by multi-national 
corporations and foisted on the public through corporate advertising. A 
number of  alternative household products like soap <a 
href=http://www.artscoop.com/mscweb/mscfront.html>[1]</a>, <a 
href=”http://www.nansoap.com/”>[2]</a>, <a 
href=”http://www.earthwormherbals.com/main.html”>skin care</a> and <a href=” 
http://www.berkshire.net/~patch/index.html”>herbal products</a> are made by 
small companies right here in Western Massachusetts.   <p>



Some of those home improvement materials at the ReStore, such as electrical 
fixtures and plumbing parts, as well as tools and housewares can also be 
found at flea markets such as the year-round indoor market at <a href=” 
http://www.fleamarketguide.com/ma.htm#Northampton”>Hill & Dale Plaza on King 
Street in Northampton, or in newspapers, classified publications such as 
Pennysaver publications or the <a href=” 
http://www.fhyouth.org/businessdetails.asp?BusinessName=Greenfield+Town+Crier”>Greenfield/Organe/Athol 
Town Crier</a>. Western Mass on-line classifieds like <a href=” 
http://www.masslive.com/classifieds/”>Masslive</a> or bulletin boards on 
various town websites are also a good source for these things as well as 
sports equipment, electronic gadgets, yard equipment and more.   <p>

Regarding energy production, fuel for home and hot water heating, as well as 
for transportation is seldom thought of these days as something produced 
locally. However, many area residents still heat with wood, either cut from 
their own property or bought from a local lumberjack. Though air pollution 
is an important consideration when heating with wood, the newer stoves are 
far less damaging to air quality than the older models. If one does heat 
with wood (or utilizes any wood product), it’s important to also consider 
the manner in which the wood was harvested. Sustainable ecological forestry 
practices, whether local or not, are key to protecting our woodlands for 
future generations. <p>

You’d be hard pressed to find a local or regional producer of fossil fuels 
like oil and gas, but there are ecologically sound sources for bio-diesel 
fuel, (though ingredients may come from out of the area), used for either 
transportation or heating. As of this writing, the bio-diesel production 
facility in Ashfield has yet to come back on-line, but a <a href=” 
http://wmass.indymedia.org/newswire/display/2163/index.php”>bio-diesel 
co-op</a> has formed in the hopes of creating another facility in Western 
Mass and there is a <a href=”http://www.globaleindustries.com/”>bio-deisel 
station</a> in nearby Cavendish, VT (http://www.globaleindustries.com/  
802-226-8133) and reportedly the former Co-opPlus bio-diesel distribution 
center in Holyoke on Canal Street is still operating (call: (413) 538-8000). 
Of course, the sun can heat your home as well as fuel, but usually solar 
space heating has to be built into a home and the initial expense can be 
daunting. One local place to look into such options is <a 
href=http://www.nesea.org/buildings/info/>NESEA</a> in Greenfield. <p>


In terms of ecologically generated electricity, two options are available. 
On the grid, one can purchase green energy generated in the Northeast 
through <a href=” http://www.greenerwattsnewengland.com/online.html”>The 
Center for Ecological Technology</a>, or you could generate your own power 
(or even sell surplus power back to the utilities) by installing your own 
wind, small hydro, or solar voltaic power generators. A number of companies 
<a href=” http://www.newenglandsolar.com/”>[1]</a>, <a href=” 
http://www.sunnysidesolar.com/”>[2]</a> in the region offer such equipment, 
but the initial expense is substantial.

Getting to those services mentioned earlier: there was a time folks had no 
need to go beyond their hometown for banking, insurance, healthcare, or 
phone service. Today, many of those services are either run by large 
corporations or subject to the will of such corporations.







******************************************************
Recall those days of yesteryear when hordes of Repugnican activists 
descended on Florida to rant & rave about the vote count, the whole fiasco 
leading to the enthronement of the
Bush regime?  Recall the lack of opposing forces during those dark hours? 
NEVER AGAIN!
Hook your activist wagon to the
PEOPLES PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE, a list of outraged U.S. citizens pledged to 
non-violent direct action for democracy in the event of another theft of a 
U.S. presidential election.
Peoples Pledge of Resistance, coming soon to a search engine near you.
***************************************************

_________________________________________________________________
Working moms: Find helpful tips here on managing kids, home, work —  and 
yourself.   http://special.msn.com/msnbc/workingmom.armx