Plastic Bag Ban in Austin

There's a group organizing with the goal of banning plastic bags in Austin. Here's their website: http://bagthebags.com/index.htm
I think it's awesome! There's really no need for the conventional plastic bags anymore. Yes, they are cheaper than their biodegradable alternatives, but their impact on the environment is significant. Many cities and countries have successfully banned them.

We here at Greenling looked for alternatives for our produce bags (what you put lettuce, etc. in to keep it from drying out) since we started. We finally found an alternative in oxy-biodegradable bags. From that point on we haven't used any non-recyclable packaging materials for anything we sell (well, unless it came in non-recyclable packaging - which we frown upon but will put up with for certain products). We also sell the bio-bags they recommend people using for their trash bags. They're so cool! Just don't leave organic waste in them for too long, cause just your kitchen scraps will eat the bag up. So we're ready for a ban and we'd love for the rest of Central Texas grocery to follow suit.

Dell Asset Recovery

We were recently featured in a short video about Dell's new asset recovery program. It's a good upgrade from their old system and really makes recycling technology equipment easy. Greenling is the feature of the video.
http://tinyurl.com/2dszp8

Texas Association of Organics & Sustainability

or The TAOS Group, is in the works. I'm very excited to be creating this association as an extension of the Organic Advisory board to the TDA that I had legislation drafted for and recently was signed into law. The Organic Advisory board's main role is to monitor the Organic food industry and recommend to the TDA activities and opportunities for the state to support the Organic industry in Texas. The TAOS Group will soon be the first legislative advocacy group for the Organic and Sustainability industry in Texas. My hope is that the group will help educate legislators on the industry and how the State can better develop public policy to support sustainable growth and organic agriculture.

Aurora Dairy finally penalized

This is great news for Organic Dairy consumers and valid producers. The USDA has stepped down and penalized the largest organic dairy farm in the US for its not-so-organic practices. See more here:
http://tinyurl.com/39mj45

This story first made the news almost 2 years ago when a consumer watchdog group investigated the dairy and broke the news. Hopefully in the future the USDA investigation process will not take so long. One problem, though, is that the USDA organic enforcement staff is all of 6 people for the entire $17 billion dollar industry. More support is needed to properly regulate the industry and ensure continued consumer confidence in Organic products.

Spider Plugs

So, by now you know that I am a founder of Greenling Organic Delivery.
What I just learned is that blogs like this can be a good tool for Search Engine Optimization. Inbound links are a fairly important part of a healthy google ranking for a website like www.Greenling.com
Obviously I don't want to overdo it, but please excuse this rant aimed at primarily being a vehicle for creating inbound links to Greenling. Some of you may also know that you can go to www.AustinOrganicDelivery.com and get to our website too. We don't advertise that anymore, but it's amazing how many times we still find references to www.AustinOrganicDelivery.com instead of Greenling.com. We thought AustinOrganicDelivery.com would be easy for people to remember, but it turns out we were wrong. People much more appreciated www.Greenling.com as our website.

I hope that wasn't too dense, but it's actually a valid topic. I should also mention that aside from your favorite local and/or organic fruits and vegetables, we also carry dairy, bread, meats, and many, many grocery items too. They all adhere to our strict standards for not just organic certification, but corporate principles as well. We investigate every item we sell and ensure that the company behind it is as committed to organic leadership as we are.

So, again, sorry for the plugs.

Mason Arnold

Google Alerts

I have set up google alerts to send me any new info published to the web for certain key words. I of course have my name set up and I also have alerts for several company-related topics - "organic food" "organic delivery" "greenling" and "terminator technology." The last one I follow primarily because I think it's just so scary. Anyways, I learn some very interesting things reading all the new articles on these topics. One hilarious website informed us that there's going to be a movie out next year with some little green men called Greenlings. Here's that link - http://tinyurl.com/247m3g
Luckily we have trademark on "Greenling" so I don't have to worry about a movie studio coming after me.....also being in completely different industries helps. Another interesting link is a fairly new website - www.wewantorganicfood.com. Seems to have some good tips and articles on organics.

It Appears a Federal Judge Agrees with Me

WASHINGTON -

Competition from conventional supermarkets would prevent Whole Foods Market Inc. from significant price hikes if it acquires rival organic grocer Wild Oats Markets Inc., a federal judge's ruling said. --Forbes Magazine

Whole Foods and Wild Oats

It has been a very interesting story to follow. Both sides have good arguments. The FTC is pretty adamant that Whole Foods' purchase would create a monopoly on the natural foods movement. #1 buying #2 with #3 far, far behind is pretty big. But it's all about how you define the market. If you think natural foods stores primarily compete against each other than the FTC's argument is very valid. And, in fact, when you hear people in Austin talk about grocery shopping they either talk about HEB/Randalls/Albertsons OR they talk about Whole Foods/Central Market/Sun Harvest. Not many people consider them to be very comparable to the mainstream grocery stores.

But if you dig down further and look at what they're selling....I think it tips the other way in favor of Mackey's argument. Did you know that only 45% of organic foods last year were bought in natural food stores (Sundale Research, 2007)? Did you also know that this # is expected to decline steadily as organic foods become more available? From this perspective, Whole Foods AND Wild Oats should be much more worried about competition from mainstream markets than from each other. A merger would help them stay competitive and WF would gain presence in many markets it doesn't currently serve, making it a real, nationally recognized brand that hopefully people would trust their organic and natural shopping with.

It currently looks like the merger will go through.

New research studies out

The list keeps piling up. Just a few studies can be refuted as being interpreted wrong or biased, but as more and more research piles up showing pesticides as being dangerous, organics as having more nutrition, etc. it will get harder and harder to ignore or dismiss. Check out the latest wave of studies here:
Breaking News!
New Studies Broaden Scientific Support for Five Dimensions of the Organic Benefit

I. Linkage Established Between Pesticides and Autism

For years epidemiologists have seen hints of a link between pesticide exposure and autism. As of July 30, 2007, these days are over. Scientists working for the California Department of Health Services have found that pregnant women living near fields sprayed with the common insecticides dicofol and endosulfan were six-times more likely to give birth to children with "Autism Spectrum Disorders" (ASD) than women living many miles from treated fields.

Six-times higher risk - it is very rare for such a large and statistically significant difference to be found in a study of this kind. Plus, the authors report that the closer a mother lived to treated fields, and/or the more pounds of pesticides applied, the greater the risk.

These two insecticides are the last widely used organochlorines - the family of insecticides including DDT, chlordane, aldrin, and toxaphene, among others. Both are known endocrine disruptors, they are persistent in the environment, and bioaccumulate up food chains. Residues of these insecticides, in particular endosulfan, are common in conventional fruits and vegetables, especially imports. This study should compel the EPA to finally take decisive action to end exposures to these two insecticides.

The full study appeared in the online version of Environmental Health Perspectives and is available free of charge.

II. Organic Milk and Meat Dramatically Enhances the Nutritional Quality of Mom's Breast Milk

Mothers consuming mostly organic milk and meat products were found to have about 50 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk. This Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is responsible for most of the health benefits of CLAs in milk and meat. The authors of this European study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in June 2007 report that the greater reliance of organic beef and dairy farmers on pasture and forage grasses increases the levels of CLAs in milk and beef, and in turn in the breast milk of women eating organic animal products.

Details on the study are on the Center's website.

III. Organic Farming Practices Improve Water Quality in Minnesota

A team of University of Minnesota scientists studied the impact of organic and sustainable agricultural practices over three years on subsurface drainage and water quality in southwestern Minnesota. Their focus was on corn-soybean farms.

They found that organic and sustainable systems reduced the volume of subsurface drainage water discharges by 41 percent – a major benefit for the farmer, especially in dry years when lack of soil moisture cuts back yields. Organic and sustainable systems also reduced the loss of nitrate nitrogen by about 60 percent, allowing farmers to reduce fertilization rates by nearly half without sacrificing yields in most years. The improved soil quality on the organic/sustainable plots, coupled with more diverse land use patterns, were credited by the team with improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake and water infiltration and use, especially in average to wet years.

The full text of the University of Minnesota study is available free of charge.

IV. Organically Grown Melons Deliver More Vitamin C and Polyphenols

During the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, a team from Colorado State University reported encouraging results from a two-year comparison of organic and conventional melon production systems. The team highlighted the impact of crop genetics on total antioxidant activity, which varied over ten-fold across varieties. Crop genotype accounted for 65 percent of this variation, with production system accounting for most of the rest. Organic management was found to increase both vitamin C and polyphenol.

The team's work is ongoing, and has expanded to include some key Colorado vegetable crops.

V. Pesticide Exposures Increase Risk of Gestational Diabetes

The Agricultural Health Study, underway for over a decade, has produced valuable data on the impacts of pesticides on human health. In an important March 2007 paper in "Diabetes Care," a team of government scientists found that pregnant women exposed to pesticides occupationally (i.e., spraying, mixing pesticides) had more than double the risk of developing gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). Four herbicides, including two in the phenoxy herbicide class that also includes 2,4-D (see the item on pesticide use and biotech crops below), plus three insecticides were found to be associated with elevated risk of gestational diabetes.

Additional information on this study is on the Center's website.

San Antonio Expansion

Got to meet some great guys in SA today, Dean McCall and Miguel Olivo. They strongly suggested I pick blogging back up. Thanks, guys, I think I will (I'm guessing they both have google alerts on their names and will find this). So, we're planning on opening up parts of San Antonio to receive our yummy organic goodies starting some time in October. Fairly certain that part of this launch will be a give-away of a week-long vacation for 2 at an amazing eco-resort on the beach of Mexico. Stay Tuned!

The skinny on food miles

This was a very interesting article that asks we look at not just how many miles an item has traveled to get to us, but the full carbon footprint of that item:

http://tinyurl.com/2d3v2j

It cites some interesting studies that have found food miles are not the whole story. So, just like I say in my speeches about organics, local food is not the end-all answer, and neither is organic. They are both important components of Sustainability, but unfortunately very few things are all that simple about Sustainability. An important part is to do business with companies that share your vision and values. They will do research about how they can affect Sustainability and conservation. If you do business with companies that share your values in all parts of your life then each one will do their part and you come out looking like a sustainability guru!

Whew, it's been a while

Greenling is doing great. We've received a lot of great press and have grown so fast. Stay tuned for more Greenling updates. I want to share some creative writing I've done over the last couple of years:

burning fire inside

ahhh, yes, it's not the destination, but the journey
the wise men say
the journey to nowhere
from day one neurons firing
everything converted into patterns
and logged. everything. repeating patterns
emerge and are strengthened until they are learned

the great battle of resources. with abundant
resources not only the strong survive
but all resources are finite and
thus the battle begins. it
makes sense, but it
seems so dull

meanwhile, the fire burns brighter
the faint breeze of time constantly fanning.
occasionally smothered perhaps, but just one extinguisher
hidden in the depths of the ego.
nature overrides nuture
most of the time

flame and ego collide
both undiscerning of
motives for the other
both looking for fuel.
consuming resources
enjoying the journey.

-------------------------

chaste ramble

As I slide past the closing door a loosely hanging skirt caresses my thigh, furtively flooding my thoughts with images of hoarded sunsets, mini umbrellas shading fruity concoctions that do their best to drown the sexual tension between us. Or maybe provoking it while slyly chipping at the walls of inhibition.

I enter the sterile office, light-years away from those moments lit by firery cravings and olive-toned longings. The drywall and concrete drain energy and leave nothing but will to drag the thick, heavy clothes back out the door.....into steel and neutral seatbelts. Catch a glimpse of that sangria red chasing the sun over the hills and I'm taken back to the loosely hanging skirt. The freshly woven cotton accentuates her sand-dune curves. Something as simple as a light breath across her hip might awaken a million folicles and warm the ground beneath the forest. Bring the Wild out of hibernation. Or so I imagine.

---------------------

Whirlwind
Current mood: tired

Avocadoes, Mangos...or is it Mangoes.
Must sell Green Bell Peppers before they wilt
Milk.....milk.....milk
How little time my brain has to be creative
Cilantro is looking pretty tired
Who will take those?
Broccoli people infect my dreams
Yes, Mr. Zucchini, I will find a home for you soon
I know you're ripe and ready to be eaten
No, no, would never let you go to waste
Not you, Mr. Zucchini, you're way too special for that
More milk. Looking at me with puppy-dog....lids
knowing that if no one wants them they're destined for the sink
Please sell me....I want to build strong bones in Timmy or Valerie
I'm sorry, pulp-added OJ, your non-pulp brothers are just selling faster than you. I know you have more fiber, you know it, but the people want what the people want.
During the whirlwind of the day, they all know the next pass might be a hand reaching for them. Will they be picked, or passed up for the prettier tomato next to them. They lean over the edge of the shelves in anticipation and put on their best skin. The whirlwind slows to a buzz, the odds growing larger against them. Finally the light goes out. They let out a melancholy sigh. Settle into their cool, moist boxes, snuggle up to each other for the night and wait for another chance. Hopefully they wil still be pretty enough tomorrow they tell themselves, knowing that every moment is working against them.

some of them awaken still full of life and nutrients. Others are weary from their long journey. In the soil is where they're happiest, nurtured. But they are aware of their fate. They fulfill their life's work when the fork pierces their thick skin. Providing us energy ensures their genetic survival, too. They become a part of us, re-assembled, assimilated into our biology. No, we are not that different than Mr. Zucchini......then again, maybe I'm delirious.

------------------------

Gone are the days

For the last time, no, I said.
We can't go whiskey and pillage and sharpen the night
We work and count and fill up the tank
Do I want fajitas or flautas
So many delightful choices
As my belly presses against the belt
and I placate the urges with sugar and confection
We're civilized and must act accordingly
lest we risk old age with dust and 60-watt soft-glows
instead of polished and halogens
this battle of hormone and logic
instinct and institution
the red light frays against the wall
the sonance ratatat tats inside my head
open, shut, open, shut
open and late
small victories part the waves, but cannot weather the storm
sometimes sun, sometimes not.
No matter.
Self-awareness drives
So I sink in my plush, leather seat
And find a false pretense to fan the squelching ardor
Until another day.
Careless utterances, idle moments
penetrate fresh wounds
healed with nothing more than a blind eye
Today we shall pillage
Because we can.

-------------------------

A little of both...

So we decided on a compromise for the 'stick with the path or blaze a trail' issue and it has seemed to work fairly well. The consequences are that we've spent a little more money than we thought and everything is moving just a little bit slower than we planned (cause we have added goals and projects).

I feel we are well on our way. We have gotten some great publicity so far. Articles in multiple newspapers were achieved with help from Mike Romanies, a great PR guy. Our biggest PR spot, a news story on us, I'll go ahead and take full credit for. It was the result of a total coincedence, a little help from a friend, and some quick thinking on my part. News 8 news crew just having coffee in a coffee shop (Summermoon, on S 1st) that I buy buld coffee for deliveries from. Turns out the on-air personality (Amy Hadley) is married to someone who works in the coffee shop and I know the owners of the coffee shop (went to high school with them).

I was already late to work, but figured it could be worth it to stick around and have some coffee, which I never drink. Owners introduced me and introduced my service to the crew. I continued the pitch. NIce and easy, just chatted for a while and as they were leaving I gave a hard pitch about them doing a story on us. They said they would pitch it to the station. Thought I might hear from them in several weeks or months.

The next Monday about noon they called and said they wanted to do a live story on us the next day.....the day before a huge conference and in the middle of a huge week for us (received our first dairy shipment that we then had 10 days to sell all of - 1200 lbs of it). I asked if we could do it the following week and they said they didn't know when they could ever do it again. So, Tuesday morning the alarm went off at 4:45AM and I couldn't believe I would ever get up at a time like that. We had to be there at 5:30AM cause the first shot would be at 6AM. It was cold and the sun was not up, but it didn't take long for me to be lively...I was about to be on TV for pete's sake. For the second time (I'll gloat a little here) actually, as I was on Central Texas Gardener back when I had my Landscaping company. News 8 did 5 live shots total, one recorded and they repeated on News 8 throughout the day and they also put a spot on their website: http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?SecID=278&ArID=154306

We saw about a 20% increase in business for the following week. We're chugging along hitting our numbers, but each month we set larger and larger goals. We've been delivering on them each month, but each new month brings a new set of worries about meeting them. February I've asked for a 40% increase in revenue. We've been developing some commercial accounts that should start paying off this month and we're attempting some larger marketing efforts that should bring in some good business. We'll see. Like I've said before - every day is uncharted territory for me.

Oh yeah, Austin Ventures just signed up as a customer......I don't think we've got a chance at the 50%-70% ROI expectations they have, but hey, you never know what will happen.

Stick to the plans or blaze a trail

Happiness & Immortality

Barry Thornton spoke at the latest bootstrap austin get together and he was absolutely profound. In an entertaining fashion covered topics on business, money, relationships, and life. Many of his topics I have thought about before on different levels. One topic in particular is a constant battle for myself and I imagine many others.

I can't fully quote him, but it went something like - separate yourself from the need for money and you are truly free. For most of my life I didn't understand the addiction to money that afflicts so many. I think it was a luxury afforded to me by being raised with no money. Without being able to enjoy nice "things" we learned to enjoy ourselves anyhow. I could build a fort in 3 afternoons that would rival the Hyatt. Then I landed my first high-paying job and I began to understand the addiction, though I refused to succumb. It's so easy to expand your standard of living to meet, or exceed as most retailers would have you, your earnings. Being very susceptible to suggestion and marketing, I have become all too aware of the pressures on us as consumers. But if you're not happy, the money loses all its value. We live in a land of incredible freedom.....so why do we act as though we are ruled by money?

__________
.................

Greenling Organics received its first round of investment, in the form of convertible debt, and should last us to profitability........should. First major investment I've received for anything. I'm trying to relish these days because I'm told that once I become "successful" I will look back at these days as the best. Once I have 20 employees and handbooks and manuals and "policies" it won't quite be the same. We'll see.

One thing for sure is that receiving the investment changed my mindset in ways I didn't fully comprehend beforehand. There was certainly some celebration and a couple of deep breaths, but I also felt an incredible drive take root. I never realized that this act of raising money that everyone talks about like cooking breakfast or buying a car instills a keen responsibility to deliver on your promise to your investors. You're not just risking your own skin anymore. You have convinced someone that you're so bright and your company has such a great concept that they have given you their hard-earned money. Whether they're a mechanic or a billionaire, you can only assume they have earned that money through hard work and are now entrusting it to you for growth. That, I say, is more compelling than any self-serving motivation.

This is old news to many.....but they never mentioned it to me before.

So I'm driven. Currently burning almost $10k/month. Driven. And loving it. Biggest challenge of my life and it's the most fun I've ever had.

Tribute to Whole Foods (and criticism)

They have done so much for the organic industry, it's so hard to criticize them. As far as propelling the organic movement (what I call the longer-named Life Of Health And Sustainability) into the limelight and mainstream market, Whole Foods has accomplished more than any other organization on the planet. And yet it does seem that the experience you get there, while an altogether revolutionary shopping experience, has diminished in organic value. I appreciate and applaude a mix of conventional and organic products (there's really no reason to buy EVERYTHING organic), just hope they don't get any more deceptive in their marketing cause it's starting to push the limits.

They have numerous prepared food bars and yet finding a single organic ingredient can be very difficult. They have big organic signs in the produce section, but I would estimate 30% or less actual organic products. And their signs are all mixed up. The only way to be sure you're getting organic is to look at the sticker PLU on the item. If it starts with a 9, it's organic. But I recently browsed through their pile of "Organic"oranges and found at least 50% of them were conventional. YOu know they charge you for organic at the register, so you're basically being charged organic prices for conventional produce. Good luck getting an employee to tell you if something is organic or not when the product doesn't have a sticker (very common)....they just guess.

Anyways, I love em. People complain about their monopolistic ways, but it's how they've fueled the growth they've achieved. Supply in the organic industry is very difficult. Not only are there the regular problems of weather, disease, and pests, but demand is so high right now that there is not enough organic product to go around. Whole Foods purchased the largest, and pretty much only, central texas distributor of organic produce and groceries. THey proceeded to make the distributor a "Whole Foods Only" distributor. This left a rather large hole in the supply chain. That's an area Greenling.com is trying to fill.

A brief history of my time

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
---Steve Jobs

So far in my business adventures I've managed to heed this advice. My hunger is not for the money...I've learned that.....in fact, I don't know what will satiate my hunger or even where to look for it. Part of me hopes I never learn.

I was an entrepreneur long before I knew what that meant. Stereotypical lemonade stands and middle school candy empire always seemed like just ways to make money. Money that I'd stash away and never spend. I didn't really want the money, I just wanted to make money. I can't count how many different ways I've made money. The one certainty is that once I started making money, I got bored. My sense of achievement was based on the ability to make money in that particular fashion, nothing more.

I've created a few interesting stories in my short 27 years around here. At least they're interesting to me. As I post new experiences I'll probably relate some to past stories.......starting, growing, and selling businesses; selling everything and moving to Spain to start a business; failed partnerships; failed businesses; and never losing that hunger. Always supremely confident that my homerun has been in the cards all along.

One thing for sure is that I keep hopping on bigger and bigger rollercoasters. I hope to record my lessons in business and the life of business in this blog so that I may remember them for future encounters. And maybe you will learn a thing or two to avoid in your adventures.