"NewSeasonsMarket" news and stories

When reading about New Seasons Market in the New York Times, I came across a reference to Rockstar energy drinks and their highly conservative provenance. According to the Times, "Rockstar's chief executive is Russell Goldencloud Weiner, who developed the company with the help of his mother and his father, Michael Savage, the far-right talk radio host." Because of this, New Seasons won't sell the beverage.

I don't drink it because of the high fructose corn syrup, but now I'm considering changing my view to not drinking because of the politics. I did a little surfing and found several references to the "anti-immigrant, gaybashing, intolerant, hate-filled" rhetoric of Savage ("Facism Cola") and the connection between New Season's decision and that of my neighborhood co-op, People's, to stop carrying Oregon Rain water because Lars Larson was their pitchman ("Radio-Active Fallout").

My mother grew up on a dairy farm in central Oregon, near Madras. My relatives, and those who grew up around her, now supply beef, lamb, dairy products and produce to the citified folk in Portland.

They would be sending most of their stuff to wholesalers, who would in turn send it to processors, or ship it overseas, or... who knows. A few decades ago, many of them were near bankrupt. Until New Seasons market happened along, with its commitment to sourcing locally. New Seasons is just part of a movement among those flamingly liberal Portland folk to buy local, organic, sustainable. And according to this article in the New York Times, it's working. And most ironically? Those farmers, they're conservative and straight-laced. But they're supplying the liberals.

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