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Hippo | July 1 - 7, 2010 | Page 20
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PYO Seasonal Fruit
Strawberries ~ Blueberries ~ Raspberries
Annuals – Perennials – Vegetable Plants
Herbs – Lull Farm’s own Vegatables! – Potting Soil
Locally Raised & All-Natural Meat
Including Fresh Chicken
Local Goodness!
Raw & Pure Honey, Cheese & Gormet Goodies
Morse’s Sauerkraut & Pickles
Our Own Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice
Lull Farm-Hollis
65 Broad Street
603.465.7079
LullFarmLLC.com
Lull Farm-Milford
615 RT13 South
603.673.3119
www.seasonalstores.com
www.seasonalstores.com
W07G 063065
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Unfortunately, that’s politically going to
be very challenging, but it’s exactly what’s
going to have to happen.
Now here’s the little secret. It’s not all
going to happen through policy. It’s going to
happen through consumers demanding these
kinds of foods, and then the market conditions
will actually favor, you know, farmers
are going to move in these directions with or
without the subsidies...
What’s most on your mind right now
when it comes to food?
I would say the national obesity, diabetes
and cancer epidemics. I’ve lost three friends
in the last nine months to pancreatic cancer.
And I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have
someone in their lives suffer from cancer. …
You spoke at the UNH commencement
this year, I believe. And it’s a tough economy,
and new grads frequently are looking
for advice. So what do you think they need
to do to see … personal success, and help
build a stronger economy and healthier
environment?
The short version, is ... everything starts
somewhere, every car they drive, every drink
that they drink, every piece of clothing they
wear, was created by somebody asking my
two favorite words, which are “Why not?”
This is the time ... that the sort of conventional
economy is broken, and yet we see
signs everywhere of incredible opportunity
if we’re willing to think a little out of box.
... I went on to tell them about some of the
incredible odds that we’ve had to overcome
over the years to build Stonyfield. And I’m
actually optimistic in these times because I
see the companies that are surviving ... and
beginning to prosper because they are reinventing
themselves. They’re getting rid of
inefficiency and they’re thinking about new
ways of doing things.
And I’ll just give you one example. Stonyfield
was investing in conservation, energy
reduction, obviously 20 years ago. Those
savings — we did a calculation this morning
of ... — this is ballpark — just the current
financial savings that we are receiving
for current environmental investments that
we’re making, and they total about four and
a half million a year.
To summarize ... the idea that the environment
and economy is in conflict is a dinosaur.
It’s dead. It’s over. And young people who
recognize that this is how money’s going to
be made in future, this is how we’re going to
January 2, 2003
do commerce, by reducing our carbon footprint
and using resources of the Earth more
wisely — they’re the ones who are going to
win.
Ted Gatsas,
Manchester’s mayor
Ted Gatsas is trying things. Even before
he took the oath of office this January, he
had some ideas for new ways to organize
Manchester schools. In the few months
he’s been in office, he’s done more reorganization.
A life-long Manchester resident,
Gatsas, a Republican, was an alderman
for Manchester’s Ward 2 from 1999 until
he became mayor, and was a state senator
from 2000 until 2009. Before getting
into politics, he owned a staffing business
with his brother. Gatsas, whose heritage is
a mix of Greek and Lebanese, may be the
city’s first mayor of Greek ancestry. Jeff
Mucciarone talked to him for the Dec. 3,
2009, issue.
Why was Manchester a good spot for you
to base your business?
It was a business that offered services to
small businesses. It’s the place I grew up,
along with my brother. It was an opportunity
to go in and take some of the pressure, things
like doing the payroll, off small businesses.
Were there things about the city that were
helpful to you as a business owner?
I think just being a native of the community,
people hold out their hands to natives to
try to help them out. ... It’s always been that
way and it always will be that way.
Are there things the city could do differently
to help new business owners with the
process of opening up in the city?
Well, streamlining the way they get permits
— that’s got to be taken a look at. We
must make it as easy as possible to get into
it.
[What about the role of business in Manchester
in the region?]
There’s no question, rather than just looking
at Manchester as a segment, we must
start looking globally. How can we interact
with the communities around us so that
we’re going to enhance the region and the
state? Obviously, we have the airport, which
is a huge economic engine to the city and the
state. We must do everything in our power to
keep it going.