HOLIDAY BAKINGADVENTURES IN PICKLINGMAKING SENSE OF MEAT LABELS

The ChronicleWINTER 2016-17

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The Chronicle Winter 2016-17�e members’ newsletter of Karma Co-op

The Chronicle is published by members of Karma Co-op

739 Palmerston Avenue, Toronto, ON M6G 2R3T: 416-534-1470 F: 416-534-3697www.karmacoop.org

The Chronicle is a link between members of this and other co-operative communities. The only viewpoints endorsed by Karma Co-op Inc. are those published as reports of the board of directors and its committees. This newsletter is printed on Enviro100 stock, which contains FSC-certified 100 per cent post-consumer fibre. The paper is certified EcoLogo, pro-cessed chlorine free, and manufactured using biogas energy. It is union-made in Canada by Cascades Fine Papers.

SUBMISSIONS We welcome submissions from any Karma member, sta�, or board member!

Submissions may be sent by email to chronicle@karmacoop.org. �e Chronicle will publish material related to Karma Co-op, subject to our editorial policy. Letters to the editor must contain the writer’s full name and telephone number, although names will be withheld at time of publica-tion upon request. Published articles are eligible for work credits (letters to the edi-tor, announcements, and pieces that have already been published elsewhere are not).

CHRONICLE STAFF FOR WINTER

CONTENT EDITOR: CALEY MOOREMANAGING EDITOR: MARA EKSTEINSCOMMUNICATIONS MANAGER: KAREN FLIESSDESIGNER: RUTH TAITCOPY EDITOR: BARBARA WALTERSPHOTOGRAPHER: ELA LICHTBLAU PROOFREADER: ELA LICHTBLAUWEB MANAGER/BOARD E-NEWS: MARA EKSTEINS

CHRONICLE COMMITTEE

MARA EKSTEINS KAREN FLIESS MANDY HINDLEELA LICHTBLAUCALEY MOORE

ELLEN PAUKER LEIGH SALSBERGAMY STEINRUTH TAITBARBARA WALTERS

Cover photos by Ela Lichtblau

Contents

Report from the GM ............................................. 3

Chronicle update – not dead yet! .......................... 4

Report from the Social Events Committee ............ 5

Making cabbage and pickles exciting .................... 6

Report from the board of directors ........................ 8

Introducing the 2016–17 board ............................ 9

Demystifying meat labels ................................... 12

Co-ops: Venues of social consciousness ............... 14

CRISPR: New gene-editing tool not considered a GMO technology ................................................. 16

Ginger butter cookies ......................................... 19

Family holiday treats ......................................... 20

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Report from the GM

by Talia McGuire

As the winter holidays quickly approach, we at Karma are busy preparing for the festivities. We are ordering new products and deciding which items our members will enjoy throughout the season. You will be able to find all that you need for your holiday entertaining and, of course, great gift ideas.

For starters, we have an amazing cheese selection, hand selected by our knowledgeable on-staff cheese aficionado, James Byrne. To pair with that cheese, we carry some delicious small-batch preserves and will once again be taking pre-orders for Southbrook Vineyards organic wines. And yes, not to worry, the Darn Tough socks will be making a reappearance this year. Time to stock up and share them with all you know — these socks make the best stocking stuffers!

We are also partnering with our good friends at the West End Food Co-op (WEFC) for the holidays. To promote shopping at co-ops throughout the season, we’re sharing our member benefits with one another. The WEFC is opening up pre-orders for their delicious tourtières to Karma members. Handmade in the WEFC kitchen, these traditional Québécois meat pies are made with grass-fed

organic ground beef and pork from Hoffnung Farms and Beretta Farms. The deadline for orders is December 20, with pies being delivered to Karma after 4 pm on December 22. You can pre-order your pies at the store or by emailing me at manager@karmacoop.org. Pies are $15.50 each.

We hope this initiative encourages you to do as much of your

holiday shopping at Karma, the WEFC, and all the

other fine co-ops you know. Support your co-op and the co-op economy, and shop

co-op this holiday season! Don’t forget to

use the hashtag #shopcoop in your social media posts about your

holiday co-op purchases. We will be sure to follow and share your posts.

Enjoy the holidays, Karma members!

Photos by Joanna Wojewoda (above) & West End Food Co-op (below)

“ The West End Food Co-op is

opening up pre-orders for their delicious tourtières to

Karma members. ”

•• 4 ••

Fourteen Karma members – including six people from the Chronicle Committee, one board member, and the general manager – gathered on a rainy night in November to brainstorm the future of The Chronicle. The committee no longer has enough members willing to take on the most demanding and skilled roles for each quarterly issue, so the central question was how to adapt the publication process to ease the workload while continuing to serve Karma members. �ere was a wide-ranging discussion of options for digital publishing, as well as suggestions for reducing committee workload while continuing to publish a newsletter in print.

Based on this meeting, the following changes are in the works for 2017:

1. Board and committee reports will be published digitally instead of in print. �is change allows for faster turnaround, making the reports more timely and relevant, while reducing the page count of the printed newsletter and easing editing and design workload under printing deadlines. �e general manager’s report and recipes may also be switched

to digital; the committee will make a �nal decision later.

2. �e committee will publish three issues of �e Chronicle in 2017, focusing on the original feature articles and interviews that are its most valued content. �e publishing schedule is yet to be de-termined; the �rst issue will be in either March (as usual) or April.

3. A working group was struck to develop a process and format for sending out emails with hyperlinks to event listings, reports and articles that will be posted in blog format on Karma’s website, as a tool to keep members better informed. �is email dis-tribution will be merged with the existing monthly board e-news (design and other details yet to be determined), so that email communication is well co-ordinated. �e Chronicle Committee will be re-sponsible for editing and design of digital content.

If you are interested in online publishing and digital communications, please consider joining the Chronicle Committee to help us through this transition.

Chronicle update – not dead yet!

by Amy Stein

Photo by Sean Carruthers

The committee will publish three issues of The Chronicle in 2017, focusing on the original feature articles and interviews that are its most valued content

•• 5 ••

Report from the Social Events Committee

by Tom Smarda

I really appreciate that Karma avoids the holiday-season hype that permeates the world around us with incessant ads this time of year. The quiet, unassuming stability of quality local food, shared here in community, warms my heart. There is a little bit of something for everybody, and who knows how far the ripples of our touch can reach? I once heard it said that people can count the number of seeds in an apple but not the number of apples that can grow from those seeds. So I keep coming back.

On Saturday, December 17, we will be warming up some spiced special-blend apple cider for shoppers coming through the door at Karma. Treat yourself to a steaming-hot cup of zesty invigoration to counteract the briskness of the weather outside.

Then, as we move deeper into hibernation season, all becomes quiet and still, frozen into the sculpted

silence of ice or softly dusted with freshly fallen snow. Do I hear the rumblings of a slow cooker full of hearty vegetable bean soup, made from only the finest of Karma ingredients? Or is that just somebody’s tummy gurgling with anticipation? Come and find out on Saturday, January 21, as we host our annual slow cooker event: a welcome, warming addition, we hope, to anyone’s shopping experience at Karma.

And speaking of warming, even though winter’s grasp still hangs on tight, the days are slowly getting longer. I’ve got a great idea. How about having a fair trade chocolate fondue event at Karma? How about on Saturday, February 11? We could cut up apples, bananas, and marshmallows, and dip them into vegan melted chocolate, just in time to help celebrate the sweetness of Valentine’s Day. Why not? Sounds good to me. Done.

Musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments to each event. Let the conversations flow! All events are free and are held between 11 am and 3 pm, except in the summer — but we won’t go there yet.

Photos by Lisanne Lieberthal (above) and Tom Smarda (below)

Sevi Lieberthal plays her ukulele at the October plant exchange

•• 6 ••

Making cabbage and pickles exciting

by Amy Stein

Owner-alchemist Rebekka Hutton tells me she has been looking at the food system her whole life, and believes lacto-fermentation is the best process for preserving food while supporting local farmers. She says, “I think pickles are exciting” just as seriously as, “we processed 400 pounds of green cabbage yesterday.”

Rebekka is careful not to claim health benefits from lacto-fermentation (preserving fresh produce in salted water). Questioned directly, she gives an eloquent explanation, the gist of which is that she is not a health professional, and so is not qualified to comment on nutritional benefits. She wants you to “eat these foods because they’re delicious!”

The other way of making pickles is with vinegar and sugar, which is not fermentation. Rebekka finds those flavours so much less interesting than lacto-fermented veggies. The most she will say about health is that another business idea she and her partner considered was a pie shop, in which case “our health would be very different today.” Later, she lets it slip that “fermentation makes nutrients more bioavailable.” You get a hint of the health angle.

In 2011, Rebekka went to Berkeley, California, for a four-month training program at Three Stone Hearth, a worker-owned, community-supported co-op for food preparation and processing. (One member is Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast.) Students

worked mornings in the kitchen and attended afternoon lectures.

Three Stone Hearth follows the nutritional philosophy and dietary guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF; for

more information, visit www.westonaprice.org). Rebekka describes the co-op as “a full Weston Price kitchen.” Students got recipes (“everything WAPF: beet kvass, bone broth . . . ”), training to replicate their food-processing model, and an ongoing support network.

Her market research found no producer of lacto-fermented foods in Toronto, so Rebekka launched her business in 2012, using her own savings, with the support of Ontario’s self-employment business program. Until she found her own kitchen space, she worked out of Len Senator’s commercial community kitchen in The Depanneur.

“Lemons, ginger, turmeric, spices, tea, and sugar,” Rebekka recites from memory, are the only imported ingredients; everything else is from Ontario. Rebekka built on her relationships with new farmers, formed through previous work in urban agriculture at Evergreen, an environmental charity. “I wanted to connect with people I already knew and, because it’s really important to support the local food economy, tie them into my business model. I am putting my personal food values into the business.”

Establishing suppliers takes up considerable time.

Alchemy Pickle Company makes “super exciting food & drinks” — the o�cial tag line at alchemypicklecompany.ca.

Pickle photos by Ela Lichtblau

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Rebekka currently works with 10 farms to ensure a reliable supply of product. “April is the end of storage season, so we are in close communication with all our suppliers through the winter to make sure they won’t run out. In March and April, we make all our products to last through June. There’s summer cabbage in early July, so the gap is not that long.”

Rebekka’s suppliers include the Sosnickis, who also sell fresh vegetables to Karma. She praises the quality of the family farm’s produce, noting, “They have some of the best cabbages we’ve ever worked with.”

All Alchemy Pickle products at Karma and other stores are certified organic. The few products not certified are small batches sold exclusively at farmers’ markets, where she can explain to customers that she got “50 pounds of napa cabbage” from a small non-certified farmer whose principles, operations, and product quality she can vouch for personally.

Organic certification is rigorous. Ecocert certifies each ingredient, so adding a new recipe to the product line is a lengthy process. “We submit the recipe to Ecocert, and they walk through how we make it, where the

ingredients come from. Any jar on the shelf, you can trace back through our production in the kitchen to the day we got that cabbage, from which farm . . . It’s not like you pay $1,000 and they give you a stamp.”

This year Alchemy Pickle sold products at 15 stores and four farmers’ markets. Rebekka’s longtime partner, Michael Scahill, gave up a regular paycheque and benefits to help build the company; he is “the beverage department” (kvass, kombucha, sodas) and in charge of deliveries. Ontario’s distribution sector is not scaled for mid-sized producers, so the logistics of deliveries must be sorted out supplier by supplier — often they meet at farmers’ markets — and store by store. They are adding another 10 stores this winter but don’t yet have the capacity to supply all the stores contacting them.

Karma sells Alchemy Pickle Company’s sauerkrauts, dill pickles, brined garlic, and more.

Amy Stein is writing a series of profiles of Karma’s farm-based suppliers. She hated sauerkraut as a child, but it was not lacto-fermented — completely different from the sauerkraut her children enjoy today.

Rebekka Hutton photo courtesy of Alchemy Pickle Company

Rebekka Hutton at the market with her pickles

•• 8 ••

The meeting kicked off with an invigorating conversation starter prompted by our upcoming 45th anniversary. Board member Erin Lawson asked people to share their favourite Karma memory and a wish for the future. Memories were personal and underlined the strong sense of community that members feel at Karma. Looking ahead, attendees were optimistic, though there was some concern about the co-op’s future in light of our current financial situation and the outlook for small organic retailers in the changing grocery marketplace. With sales down and membership recruitment and retention lagging, Karma has some work to do. We have to ask and start answering difficult questions about the future of our store now, before the situation deteriorates. These questions concern our model of fees and member labour, our relationships with other local co-ops, and our location.

This is not to say that the board is moving toward making a big change in the short term. We are committed to the success of our co-op now and in the future. Excellent efforts are being made to reach more potential shoppers and members through a marketing strategy, an anniversary promotion plan, and ongoing community outreach. It is the board’s duty to ensure that we are ready to deal with any future possibility

and that new and existing members benefit from our co-op for years to come. We will be sharing more about these efforts in the coming months.

We are lucky to have many board members returning this year. At the AGM, Brayden Lowery was acclaimed for a third one-year term, while Kate Rusnak and Paul Danyluk were acclaimed for a second and third two-year term, respectively. Alice Barton, Daniel Dundas, and Erin Lawson move into their second year on the board. Shortly after the AGM, Susan Wright stepped down from the board to focus on community projects. We thank her for her work and look forward to our ongoing work with her in a new capacity. We are joined by Alli Floroff, who was not able to attend the AGM but was appointed to a one-year term at the November board meeting. Alli’s experience in the food and co-op sectors only helps bolster an already well-functioning board.

Remember: this is your co-op, and it is only as great as each of us makes it. So keep shopping, keep recruiting new members, and keep cajoling your neighbours to pop in for a peek and a purchase. And, keep sharing your ideas for a stronger future.

Report from the board of directors

by Paul Danyluk

This year’s annual general meeting, held at Friends House on October 17, was a success. While numbers were lower than the board had hoped, the members in attendance were engaged and kept up conversations well after the o�cial business had ended.

Photo by Joanna Wojewoda

•• 9 ••

Introducing the 2016–17 board

Alice has been a Karma member for over 10 years. A small busi-ness owner in the practice of criminal defence law, Alice completed a combined law degree and master of environmental studies at York Univer-sity. Alice’s commitment to environmental and community responsibility keeps her busy: she was an active member of the Toronto Public Space Committee and a board member of the Commu-nity Bicycle Network, and is a founding member of Bixi (now Bike Share Toronto). She plays ultimate frisbee and is a mediocre but enthusiastic cook.

Daniel has been a Karma m e m b e r since the fall of 2015. He hopes to create a broader c o n n e c t i o n between Karma and its surrounding community. Serving on the board has increased Daniel’s desire to purchase and promote ethically sourced, high-quality foods from local retailers. Outside of Karma, Daniel works in the restaurant equipment and wholesale industry, and is looking to pursue his certificate in food security at Ryerson University.

Alice Barton

Erin Lawson

Erin has been a Karma member for the past two years and considers it an important part of Toronto’s food community. She recently completed a master of public health in health promotion, which established her passion for building sustainable food systems and

addressing environmental health issues. She is also a member of Transition Towns Toronto. Erin works as an occupational thera-pist in the pain management program at SickKids. Outside

of work, you can usually find her cooking, cycling to a dance class, or

trying to knit.

Midway through a two-year term:

Daniel Dundas

Photos by Joanna Wojewoda, unless otherwise stated

•• 10 ••

Continued from previous page

Photo of Alli Popo� by New Paramount Studios

Brayden has been a Karma member for two-and-a-half years and a board member for two years. One of his pas-sions is fostering connections between Karma, its members, and the broader commu-nity. Outside of Karma, Brayden works as a production coordina-tor, helping to put on music concerts and festivals around the Greater Toronto Area.

Brayden Lowery

Alli Popoff

Alli is excited to join the board for a one-year term. She first joined Karma in 2013 after learning about the store at the Local Organic Food Co-ops Network’s annual assembly. Alli’s longtime pas-sion for food led her to pursue a master of environmental studies at York University, studying sustainable food procurement and co-operatives. She is the secretary of the Green Campus Co-op at York and serves on the steering committee of the Local Organic Food Co-ops Network. Alli currently works as a customer service representative at Stasis Preserves in the west end.

Appointed to a one-year term after the AGM:

Re-elected to a one-year term:

•• 11 ••

Kate has been a Karma member since 2009. In her professional life, Kate provides

communications and marketing exper-tise to community and environmental organizations. She is looking forward to helping improve Karma’s sales by attracting new members and creating

and facilitating a marketing and com-munications strategy.

Kate Rusnak

Continued from previous page

Paul became a Karma member on his birthday in 2012 and joined the board nine months later. Paul works in the professional develop-ment division of the Canadian Credit Union Association, where he helps financial co-ops meet their staff and board training needs.

Paul Danyluk

Re-elected to a two-year term:

11

WANTEDEnergetic, enthusiastic, and passionate individuals who want to make a

difference!Join the Food Issues Committee to discuss food issues within Karma Co-op. Get

involved with special projects, research, and/or monthly meetings.Hours can be used as work credits.

Please contact foodissues@karmacoop.org

•• 12 ••

Demystifying meat labels

by Sybille Parry

Tony Neale and his pigs

Tony Neale photo by Amy Stein

“I love pigs, but I also love bacon!” This pronouncement was made by a 10-year-old I know. And it is precisely this dilemma that spawned the questions I set out to answer. “Pasture-raised,” “grass-fed,” “grass-finished,” “organic”: what precisely do these terms mean, how do they differ, and what approaches do Karma’s suppliers use in raising their animals? Ultimately, how do these concepts affect how we feel about the animals that feed us?

I started my investigation by talking with Tony Neale of Wheelbarrow Farm, one of Karma’s local producers. He raises heritage-breed pigs with evocative names like Red Tamworth, Berkshire, and Large English Black. He told me he chose these breeds because they grow more slowly, are generally healthy — they are genetically “old stock” from Britain, and not bred for specific qualities as other types of pigs might be — and are suited for the outdoors. The term he uses, “pasture-raised,” refers to their grazing area along the tree line on his farm. The pigs’ feed,

a mixture of non-GMO corn, soy, and barley, is not organic but it is local, with no growth hormones or antibiotics added. I have eaten his sausages, and I can attest to their deliciousness!

I next talked to Ken Norton of Norton Farms near Brantford, whose beef is touted as “100 per cent

•• 12 ••Tony Neale photo by Amy Stein

•• 13 •• Photos by Ela Lichtblau

grass-fed.” He put it simply: cattle eat grass. That’s what they need. He noted the difference between “grass-fed,” which is an official term for certification in Canada, and “grass-finished,” which is a subjective description used for marketing purposes. Ken reflected on the organic certification process and told me that, for him, a relatively small farmer, the masses of paperwork required are not worth his time; however, that doesn’t mean you’re getting an inferior product. “What you eat matters,” he emphasized. “Know your farmer. That’s how you know what you’re putting in your body.”

There’s an important nugget of wisdom in those words, but I wanted to hear from the organic world, too, and had the opportunity to connect with Cynthia Beretta of Beretta Farms. “In Canada, to be certified organic you have to be regularly audited and approved by third-party certifying bodies. At Beretta, we are certified by Ecocert,” she told me. These audits encompass all aspects of animal husbandry, including animal feed, humane treatment, and a drug-free process. She added, “Although not required by Ecocert, we also take great pride in all of our organic animals being raised from birth to finishing on Canadian family farms.” Cynthia noted that Beretta has “grown drastically” in the past 25 years from a single farm in King City, Ont., to a collection of Canadian family farms, each of which is certified organic.

Cynthia explained that their cattle are 80 per cent grass-fed but do consume grain. “Grain is used in the

winter months when the cattle don’t have fresh grass for grazing and also as a treat. Our cattle generally live out at pasture and are moved every three to four days so they have fresh grass.” When winter arrives,

the cattle have access to barns with hay and bedding. However, Cynthia noted,

it is important to not keep the cattle too warm. “They are

periodically exposed to the cold as a way to ensure they develop their winter coat. If cattle do not develop a winter

coat, when they are outside in the cold

weather it becomes very stressful for them.

Stress is something we always try to avoid!”

Cynthia assured me that despite Beretta’s growth, it is still very much a family-run organization. “When you buy Beretta, you are not only supporting the organic market; you are also supporting Canadian family farms,” she said. “We strongly believe that organic is not a trend. It is here to stay, and it is the best and easiest way to feel good about what you’re putting into your bodies.”

“ We strongly believe that organic is not

a trend. It is here to stay, and it is the best and easiest way to feel

good about what you’re putting into your bodies.”

•• 14 ••Poster by Willy Street Co-op

A discussion at Karma’s annual general meeting in October centred on the difficulties of attracting new members to our co-op. One reason is that large grocery chains have made strong moves into the organic food and natural products market, formerly one of the specialties offered by food co-ops. When competing against the convenience and bulk discounts of big-box shopping, how does a co-op stand out as a viable choice?

When I talk to people about Karma, I have noticed a lack of understanding of what a co-op fully entails beyond offering organic food. Many people I know praise the ethics that Karma is built upon and support businesses that work with co-op initiatives in grower countries. However, they may not think about how these principles can also apply in our own community. To succeed against

mainstream retailers, co-ops need to focus on promoting these ethics and the increased sense of value that a co-op can provide.

That warm and fuzzy feelingIf we look for successful models to learn from, farmers’ markets may be the most relevant example of community rising above convenience. The spread of farmers’ markets across major cities has paralleled the increased demand for local, in-season produce. Unfortunately, the prices at a market can be considerably higher than at your average grocery

store. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of people willing to pay for the social enjoyment of chatting with producers and taking home something of good quality and in line with their values. Many co-ops also offer these features, but it can be hard to ascribe the warm

Co-ops: Venues of social consciousness

by Mandy Hindle

As larger retailers make strides to appeal to the environmentally conscious consumer, how do modern food co-ops continue to compete in the marketplace they once spearheaded?

The

$

$ ECONOMICPARTICIPATION COMMUNITY

for the

•• 15 ••Photo by Karma Co-op

and fuzzy feeling of wandering a weekly market to a bricks-and-mortar shop. Since Karma particularly stands out as a warm and community-oriented place, the challenge lies in outreach – how do we let our market-loving neighbours know that they can experience the same feeling with us over the rest of the week? As the market season winds down, now might be an ideal time for a recruitment drive.

Engaging the youth marketYoung people today are demanding that both their jobs and their lifestyles align with their values. At the same time, many face precarious work situations, where they find themselves self-employed or bouncing between contracts. Co-ops can be a huge benefit to struggling youth looking to spend wisely and live according to their values, while also fostering connections. Moreover, a well-functioning co-op needs young people, who often bring enthusiasm and new ideas that can complement the experience of older members. By reaching out to the huge network of young people in Toronto who are involved in community-oriented groups and supportive of Karma’s core values, we can help secure our future with new long-term members upon whom we will ultimately depend.

Agents of changeVoting with your dollar these days can sometimes seem an impossible task. Figuring out which

products are healthy and ethical takes a lot of effort. Distracting marketing, disillusionment with big corporations, and the intense atmosphere of large grocery stores can wear people down. What many people don’t realize is that by joining a co-op, getting the change they want couldn’t be more convenient:

• Food co-ops o�en work on a smaller scale, mak-ing environmental stewardship initiatives easier, such as low or no packaging on products, the opportunity to reuse containers, and compost-ing food waste.

• Co-ops can act swi�ly on ethical concerns such as GMO labelling or product boycotts because there are no large corporate wheels and con-tracts to disrupt.

• Knowing that you’re shopping at a place that provides a living wage to its employees and may even support unions (as Karma does) fosters values beyond what you’re eating.

Ultimately, a co-op can be anything its members want it to be, as long as it bases its decisions on the needs and principles of the community. To compete in the modern marketplace, we need to know who we are and engage people who share those values. Everywhere I look, I see people wanting to live more consciously – they just have to know that the opportunities are closer than they think.

•• 16 •••• 16 ••

CRISPR: New gene-editing tool not considered a GMO technology

by the Food Issues Committee

How does it work?According to Wellcome, a medical research

charity in the United Kingdom, the CRISPR system

consists of two molecules: an enzyme called Cas9,

which acts as a pair of “molecular scissors” that cut

the two strands of DNA at a specific location in

the genome so that bits of DNA can be added or

removed; and a piece of RNA called “guide

RNA” (gRNA), which binds to

DNA and guides Cas9 to the

right part of the genome.

Cas9 makes a cut across

both strands of the

DNA. When the cell

recognizes that the

DNA is damaged,

it tries to repair it.

However, the DNA repair

machinery in a cell is not

perfect. This means that some

of the genome is lost around the site of

the cut when it is repaired. A permanent change, or

mutation, in the genome results, affecting the activity

of the gene in which it is located. This may mean

that the gene does not function properly, or at all.

Scientists can use CRISPR-Cas9 to target and mutate

more than one gene in the genome of any cell.

How was it developed?Some bacteria have a built-in gene-editing system

that is similar to the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. The

bacteria respond to invading pathogens by snipping

out parts of the foreign DNA. Scientists adapted

this system so that it could be used in other cells,

including animals such as mice and humans.

How is it being used?Scientists in China have

used CRISPR to modify

the DNA in a human

embryo. It has also

been used to alter

livestock embryos.

Future applications

could include using

CRISPR-Cas9 to treat

medical conditions that have a

genetic component, or to wipe out

bacteria and viruses that cause disease.

In the past few years, researchers have used

CRISPR-Cas9 in the laboratory to engineer pigs that

are resistant to African swine fever and to change

the DNA of soybeans, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes,

sorghum, and rice. They have also engineered

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR, pronounced crisper) is a genome-editing tool that sci-entists use to cut out, replace, or edit parts of a DNA sequence. It is an easy, inexpensive, and fast way to move genes around — any genes, in any living thing, from bacteria to insects to people.

“Scientists in China have used CRISPR

to modify the DNA in a human embryo. It has also been

used to alter livestock embryos.”

•• 17 ••

dehorned cattle, disease-resistant goats, beef cattle with larger muscles, chickens that produce only female offspring, beef cattle that produce only male offspring, and vitamin-enriched sweet oranges. DuPont hopes to have drought-resistant corn on the market by 2020.

CRISPR-Cas9 could also be used to edit the DNA of wild organisms. Laboratory-engineered organisms would be put into the wild, where they would sweep an edited gene through a population. Researchers say this technique could be used to wipe out disease-carrying mosquitoes or ticks, eliminate invasive plants, or eradicate herbicide resistance in plants deemed weeds.

Does CRISPR-Cas9 produce GMOs?Right now, CRISPR-Cas9 is not considered a technique for producing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. GMO technology inserts a gene into the genome at random positions, along with sequences from bacteria, viruses, or other foreign species, in an attempt to alter the expression of the gene. Because CRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to cut and paste gene sequences without adding genes from other species, the modifications do not fall under the GMO banner.

Last spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that it will not regulate the cultivation and sale of CRISPR-modified white button mushrooms that do not turn brown as quickly when exposed to oxygen. Scientists removed the DNA responsible for browning. Because CRISPR-Cas9 is not a transgenic tool, some people argue that it is a less biologically disruptive means of altering plants and animals.

Are there any concerns?

• Because the gRNA material complements the target DNA, the gRNA should, in theory, only

bind to the target sequence and no other regions of the genome. �ere are, however, no guarantees as to the accuracy of the CRISPR-Cas9 edit. �is could lead to unintended, or undetected, muta-tions that could have an unpredictable e�ect on the organism.

• If CRISPR-Cas9 is used to edit reproductive cells, these changes will be passed on from generation to generation, which has ethical implications.

• Because CRISPR-Cas9 does not require expensive equipment, it is currently being widely used in labs, without oversight. �is laxity runs the risk of an accidental release of experimental CRISPR-Cas9 e�ects into the environment.

• No one really knows to which crops or embryos CRISPR-Cas9 has been applied. Scientist Jennifer Doudna at the University of California, Berkeley, is keeping a list, but there is currently no require-ment to get the approval of an outside regulatory authority to do work with CRISPR-Cas9. �is makes it di�cult for regulators, farmers, and con-sumers to identify a CRISPR-modi�ed organism once it has been released, and to track CRISPR-engineered products.

• Altering wild organisms because they carry dis-eases or a�ect crops could have serious unintend-ed consequences, such as destabilizing food webs and facilitating invasions by other species.

• Some of the micro-organisms linked to diseases are also important partners in maintaining health, as we have seen with the human gut microbiome. If CRISPR-Cas9 is used to wipe out micro-organ-isms that cause disease, there could be unintended e�ects on human and planetary health.

•• 19 ••

Ginger butter cookies

My sister is a baker extraordinaire. I’m not — but these simple, adorable, crunchy little cookies never fail to give the impression that I am! Part of the trick is to cut the candied ginger into tiny squares — a bit fussy, but worth it. Another key part of the process is rolling and freezing the dough. During the holiday season, I make a batch or two ahead of time to keep in the freezer until I need it.

Note: I use an electric mixer for the sole pur-pose of beating the sugar and butter, as this is the only crucial mixing step. �e rest can easily be done by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon — which is what I do, mostly because I have a heavy, antique hand-held mixer and my arm gets tired.

1/2 cup candied ginger1/2 cup butter, room temperature1 cup brown sugar1 egg yolk1 tsp. vanilla1/4 tsp. ground ginger1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour3/4 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.Put candied ginger in freezer.Cream butter and sugar really well with an electric mixer. Add yolk and vanilla and mix well.

Photo by Carol Pauker

In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.Take candied ginger out of freezer and cut into very small squares, no bigger than 1/8 inch.Mix together wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and candied ginger pieces until well integrated.Place a small amount of dough onto waxed paper, fold paper over so your hands don’t touch the dough, and roll back and forth until it forms an even, thin cylinder, about an inch in diameter. Use the same waxed paper to wrap the dough cylinder. Continue this process until all the dough is used, and place wrapped cylinders on a cookie sheet in the freezer. This recipe should make approximately five cylinders, each 10 inches long. Once firm, transfer the rolls into an airtight container or bag to store until ready to use. If baking the same day, freeze for at least an hour.Remove rolls from freezer and slice thinly with a sharp knife, no more than 1/4-inch thick.Place cookies on parchment paper — they can be placed relatively close together as they won’t spread — and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.Store in your favourite old cookie tin.

by Ellen Pauker

•• 20 ••

Family holiday treats

by Barbara Walters

Photos by Wikimedia and Pixabay

My daughters look forward to preparing these recipes each December. �ey have become our family tradition. A wonderful indulgence, Nanaimo bars layer crunchy walnuts and coconut, a whipped vanilla-�avoured middle, and a chocolate �nish. Dream bars, meanwhile, feature a rich cookie base topped by jam and a gooey syrup with coconut and nuts. �e shortbread recipe will give you the silkiest, most melt-in-your-mouth cookies if you add the ingredients to the butter with as little mixing as possible.

Nanaimo barsBase:3 oz. (85 g) semi-sweet baking chocolate½ cup butter2 tbsp. sugar1 tsp. vanilla1 egg2 cups graham cracker crumbs½ cup chopped walnuts1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Filling:2 tbsp. cornstarch1 tsp. vanilla¼ cup unsalted butter, softened2 cups icing sugar

Topping:5 oz. (145 g) semi-sweet chocolate1 tbsp. butter

Base: In a saucepan over medium heat, com-bine chocolate, butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg. Remove from heat. Add crumbs, nuts, and coconut. Press into a 9-inch square pan. Chill in freezer while making next layer.Filling: Beat together all ingredients with an electric mixer. Spread over base. Chill again.Topping: Melt butter and chocolate together over a double boiler or in a microwave. Spread over filling. Chill then cut into squares.

•• 21 ••

Dream barsBase:1 cup all-purpose flour1 tsp. baking powder½ cup butter1 egg1 tbsp. milk½ cup raspberry jam

Filling:2 eggs1 cup lightly packed brown sugar2 tbsp. all-purpose flour¼ tsp. baking powder¼ tsp. salt1 tsp. vanilla1 cup chopped walnuts½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Shortbread½ cup icing sugar½ cup cornstarch1 cup all-purpose flour¾ cup butter, room temperature

Base: Combine flour and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Beat egg and milk together. Add to flour mixture. Mix well. Press firmly into a greased 9-inch square pan. Spread jam evenly over crust.Filling: Beat eggs and brown sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and stiff, about four minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread over jam. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set and golden.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift all dry ingredients. Blend in butter with a wooden spoon. Form 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press them flat with a lightly floured fork. Bake for about 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

•• 22 ••

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• Create a community of actively participating members;

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