Monsanto has been in the news recently. More so than usual. I’m not sure what caused the uptick, but we thought, surely someone has made a documentary on Monsanto by now, right? Well, not one that we could find (though if you know of one, holler!) so we went with the next best thing, which turned out to be a very sobering doc called “The Future of Food.” It centers around GMO foods, which = Monsanto, mostly. 

The mood in the room when this movie was over was pretty heavy, but it also sparked some excellent discussions. We hope you take it on one day, if you haven’t seen it already.

Last Wednesday Meghan and I attended Vaute Couture’s friends and family party to celebrate the grand opening of the company’s Grand Street shop AND the launch of its Spring 2012 collection. Vaute Couture’s founder Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart was the guest brvncher at our January gathering to enjoy some delicious noms and talk about her products and cause, so it was a treat for us to see all of her hard work pay off in this celebratory night. Bartending and serving refreshing cocktails made in part with freshly juiced, farmer’s market pears (AND OF COURSE THEY WERE SCRUMPTIOUS) was none other than the Eco Bartender himself, Kyle! 

Above are some photos from the night, and Meghan modeling one of the jacket’s from VC’s spring line. She ended up taking home a very stylish royal blue long windbreaker after receiving the nod of approval from me and Kyle.

Vaute Couture shop is located on 234 Grand Street between Roebling and Driggs in Brooklyn. It’s now open so we highly recommend checking it out when you’re in our neighborhood.

Fa-riends!

Happy February! Apologizes for being a bit late on the invite but you know you love surprises. 

This month’s brunch will be this Sunday, Feb. 26th. 
244 Robeling (on the corner of S3rd and Roebling in South Williamsburg)
Buzzer 6
Please come between 12 and 12:30 pm. 

As always, friends and lovers are welcome, please just be accurate in your rsvp. 

Lots of stuff happening around here to chat about. We have several field trip ideas in the works, along with a special event, and would love to hear everyone’s thoughts/gauge interest in the field tripping. (so everyone better be nice to Mom so she will sign your slip, you won’t want to miss it!)

This month there won’t be a special guest, just Sarah with a Santa Sack full of soaps (simplesoapshop.com). As she is headed on an extended holiday, she will not be able to attend March or April’s brunch so please be mindful of how long your soap slivers might last and stock up! 

Our documentary will be The Future of Food. Trailer here : http://www.thefutureoffood.com/Trailer.html

The film covers key agricultural, social and political issues surrounding the industrialization of agriculture and genetic engineering of food. We will learn about Monsanto’s current relations with farmers and our government (ie, “patent infringement”), along with the scientific process behind GMO and the role these foods are playing on our dinner plates. 

..and now, the best part!

This month’s menu: 
- Kjam’s Kick Ass Chili
- Potato and Veggie Scramble
- Cornbread
- Donkey Coffee (aw, Athens)
- and a TBA cocktail (an Eco-Bartender creation, of course: http://www.eco-bartender.com)

See you there!

xx

RSVP in comments or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/225134954248811/

For those who haven’t heard, and to follow up with our “Gasland” viewing - Josh Fox, the man behind “Gasland”, and his crew, were arrested by Capitol Police on Wednesday as they attempted to film public hearings on groundwater contamination and its relation to fracking in a specific town in Wyoming. It’s rare for anyone to be denied access to public hearings (ABC film crews were also removed from the hearing - though not arrested).

Huffington Post has a few updates, including video of the arrest and Fox’s public statement: 

I was arrested today for exercising my First Amendment rights to freedom of the press on Capitol Hill. I was not expecting to be arrested for practicing journalism. Today’s hearing in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee was called to examine EPAs findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids had contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. I have a long history with the town of Pavillion and its residents who have maintained since 2008 that fracking has contaminated their water supply. I featured the stories of residents John Fenton, Louis Meeks and Jeff Locker in GASLAND and I have continued to document the catastrophic water contamination in Pavillion for the upcoming sequel GASLAND 2. It would seem that the Republican leadership was using this hearing to attack the three year Region 8 EPA investigation involving hundreds of samples and extensive water testing which ruled that Pavillion’s groundwater was a health hazard, contaminated by benzene at 50x the safe level and numerous other contaminants associated with gas drilling. Most importantly, EPA stated in this case that fracking was the likely cause.

One of our (many) super talented brvnchers Jess Blumenshied, is launching the first edition of her zine of personal writings, “Silence Will Not Save You.” We’ll have her say a little piece about what inspired her to do this, and then copies will be available for $5 each. Show a girl some love!