BISON is available at the Co-op!

Bison is stunningly tasty, healthy, and more earth friendly to raise than many other animals. It is available in many forms from local humane producers at the Co-op. Check out the National Bison Association site (http://www.bisoncentral.com/index.php) for health info-Pretty impressive reading!

Try a bison steak! No worries, not hard to cook. The trick is to NOT OVERCOOK. Best to go rare or medium rare. If you like it more well done (I do), no worries, it will just be a little drier than beef cooked well but still really tasty and healthy.

Here’s how:
Rub your steaks with salt, fresh cracked pepper, and a little onion and garlic powder. Place into HOT heavy metal pan with hot olive oil and sear. Reduce heat to medium high after a couple of minutes until steaks are cooked to desired doneness. Steaks are also good done on a grill if cooked over hot coals or flames. Marinading the steaks will help keep the meat moist if done on the grill but this is not absolutely required. Kebabs are really good and very easy to do on the grill-these go great with hummus (YES, available at the Co-op) and pitas!

   "Wow, you could be killed for transferring [sic] lettuce in this country," said Iraqi engineer and journalist Salim Taleb.  Taleb was talking to a room full of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who gathered north of Washington D.C. in mid-march to testify about their experiences.   The event was also attended by hundreds of Vietnam and Persian Gulf War veterans and about 150 journalists.  Taleb told the audience about returning home one evening after curfew.  He was terrified of running into a roadblock set by American troops and getting shot.  He was speeding to get home as quickly as possible and noticed a truck behind him.  He slowed to let the truck pass, thinking guiltily that if something happened, it would happen first to the truck in front of him.  Suddenly lights came on in the road ahead.  The lights were so bright that at first he could not tell what they were coming from.   As he drew closer he saw tanks and soldiers lying on the ground with weapons ready.  A voice through a loudspeaker commanded him in English to "Stop or deadly force will be used."  Taleb understood and slowed, but the driver in front of him continued on.  The soldiers opened fire.  When the truck rolled to a stop the soldiers pulled the driver's body out and removed a tarp covering the back of the pickup.  Beneath was a huge mound of lettuce. The soldiers had shot an Iraqi farmer hauling his goods to the city.  "That should be me," thought Taleb.

      This was one of many stories told during the four day "Winter Soldier" summit held at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland March 13-16.  Two hundred Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans and active duty soldiers came together to tell the world about their experiences of racism, rape, sexism and dehumanization in the military.  They talked about shooting Iraqi civilians, torture and brutal treatment of Iraqi prisoners, veterans being denied proper health care and treatment after returning from the wars, the use of radioactive depleted uranium in U.S. ammunition, and desecration of Iraqi dead.  Parents of soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq also attended to honor their children and condemn the ongoing occupation.  "Winter Soldier" was the first large-scale gathering of soldiers involved in the resistance movement since the Iraq War began and the atmosphere of solidarity and collective support was overwhelming.  Soldiers (and audience members) repeatedly shed tears and gave one another standing ovations during the course of the hearings.  The event was organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and its overarching message was clear:  the atrocities committed and witnessed by "Winter Soldier" testifiers were not isolated and limited to a handful of "bad apples", rather they reflect U.S. military policy in Iraq at its highest level.  The other consistent message was:  Bring the troops home!  The testimony of veterans and Iraqi civilians alike called for the unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. 

     "Winter Soldier" was modeled after an event of the same name which took place in Detroit in 1971 during the Vietnam War.  Both events were met with silence on the part of most major media organizations.  The exceptions this March were the Washington Post, which hid a story in its "Metro" section, NPR, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle and Time magazine.  The New York Times and all of the major TV networks were absent.  Hundreds of representatives of smaller, independent media outlets attended.  Hats off to Amy Goodman and "Democracy Now!" for airing soldier testimonies and interviews on 4 consecutive programs.  Most of the weekend's hearings are archived and can be viewed at www.ivaw.org.

-Israel Tockman