Kevin Cotter is managing general partner at New Earth Market in Yuba City. His column "The Root" appears each Sunday in the Lifestyles section.
Freedom Politics: Goodbye, Congress
- The Root: Rooted in the community
- Most of us have heard the expression "to lay down roots." But what does this mean? To me, it is a symbolic expression or desire to make a commitment to enrich the community where we live. Moving to our community is like planting a seed here. From th... Full story
- Looking through a different window
- Recently, I exited one of our county buildings behind two other men when a woman who appeared to be homeless approached us. Her clothes were worn out, she looked weathered and was seeking some help. She held some papers in her shaking hands as she wa... Full story
- Choices and results: Hard versus easy
- In the last column, we looked at adding or making positive changes in our lives versus taking away or making negative changes as New Year's resolutions. To add to that theme this week, how many times do we make the "easy" choice today only to find th... Full story
- Add more life to each new day
- Happy new day! With a new year comes a slew of New Year's resolutions. I am pleased to be writing The Root again this year. Although I am not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, my resolution is to write a column every other week throughout the year... Full story
- MSG is in more foods than you think
- Have you ever eaten a meal, then find you have a headache a few hours later? This used to happen to me all the time until I linked the problem to the food I was eating. Or, specifically, what was in the food I was eating: MSG, or monosodium glutamate... Full story
- Maybe it's time for a bigger bowl
- I was asked the other day: Why do you take the time to write this column each week? The person challenged me by asking: How is it that you know all of these things? The short answer is that I don't, but I do research. I am simply interested in a lot... Full story
- Learning to live with less, part 2
- How has it happened that — according to U.S. Census Bureau data — the size of the average American home has gone from the roughly 900-square-foot, two bedroom, one bath home of the 1950s to a roughly 2,000-square-foot home with three bedr... Full story
- Importance of living simply, part 1
- We all go through cycles in life. Our country is presently in a cycle of too much — too much debt, too much stuff — resulting in too many distractions and living an unbalanced life. Admittedly, I fell prey to the desires of acquiring mor... Full story
- How clean is the food we eat?
- What does it mean to eat clean food? Does this mean the dirt and bugs have been washed off before it has been put out for sale? Is this food that has been given a "Saturday" bath? To me, clean food refers to the lack of things put in or on food throu... Full story
- Are you buying loco or local?
- Recently, we were having a conversation at the market about the value of buying local products and supporting locally owned businesses. But is buying local overrated, given that we live in a global economy? Do people care? Has our perspective been re... Full story
