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volume 130, number 113
thursday, november 10, 2011
When life hands you olives, make olive oil UC Davis Olive Center funds research through sales
By STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN Aggie News Writer
UC Davis is world renowned for its wine-making program. But what about its olive oil? Each November and December, the 1,250 olive trees that line the campus are harvested by the UC Davis Olive Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science to create extra virgin olive oil and table olives available for purchase at the UC Davis Bookstore. What started as a way to help cover the cost of maintaining the olive trees has now developed into a universitybased interdisciplinary research and education program. In 2004, the university began producing and selling olive oil after losing $60,000 a year in legal fees regarding olive-related incidents. The Olive Center, the first research institute of its kind in North America, was launched in 2008. The Olive Center prides itself on producing high-quality extra virgin olive oil and Sicilian-style table olives. These are sold exclusively at the
UC Davis Bookstore for $12 a bottle and $7 a jar since the center does not want to compete with local olive oil producers. The bookstore currently carries two blends: Gunrock and the Silo. “They have different sensory profiles. The Gunrock is more intense,” said Dan Flynn, executive director of the Olive Center. “Our clientele is mostly older adults and staff members,” said Jean Aguirre, the general merchandise manager at the UC Davis bookstore. “A lot of people who work on campus buy olive products for gifts. Students buy it for their parents and we also ship a lot of it across the country.” The bookstore also carries UC Davis olive oil body products, such as lip balm and body butter. The center collects about $100,000 per year in revenue from olive sales and the money goes toward funding the center’s research. “We have produced as much as 600 gallons, and as little as 40,” Flynn said. “It depends upon the crop size and the effectiveness of our harvest equipment.”
For the past couple of years, Students for Sustainable Agriculture has organized a community olive harvest in November that allows students and community members to harvest the trees along Russell Blvd. The olives are collected, taken to Mike Madison’s Yolo Bulb Farm to press, and participants are able to pick up their own olive oil based on the amount of olives they picked the very same day. “Unfortunately, there will not be a harvest due to the low yields this year compared to the record yields of last year,” said sophomore Gena Chen, a student organizer. “There just aren’t enough olives. We are hoping for next year, though.” Chen believes the event helps bring students and families together to learn about the food system and to create a product they can be proud of. “It’s a great way for people to become involved in the local food system and learn from beginning to end the beautiful process of olive oil making, but in a fun way,” Chen said. Education is also something the
Campus Recreation’s annual food drive begins
News iN Brief
November marks third year for food drive By ALICIA KINDRED Aggie News Writer
As the holiday season approaches, students and faculty can embrace the season of giving and building community by helping those in need through the Recreation Center’s holiday food drive. November begins the Recreation Center’s third annual food drive, which takes place from Nov. 21 to Dec. 16. “I initiated it in 2009. We have a large population of users [at the Recreation Center],” said Erica Brown, coordinator for Recreation Center member services and primary orga-
nizer of the holiday food drive. “It makes it easier to drop off donations on campus because we get a large amount of people who come by daily. I gather items at the end of the food drive and deliver it to the bank.” Initially started in 2009 with bins at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC), the food drive will have bins decorated in red holiday bows set up in front of hosts on campus such as the ARC, the Craft Center, the Equestrian Center, and the Outdoors Adventure Center. According to a press release, donations for the food
Evan Davis / Aggie
The Gunrock blend of olive oil, above, is sold exclusively at the UC See OLIVE, page 2 Davis Bookstore among other UC Davis olive oil body products.
drive include all canned nonperishable goods, such as soup, stew and chili, canned fruit, tuna and other canned meat, canned vegetables, peanut butter and 100 percent fruit juice. Any perishable, frozen foods or foods packaged in glass will not be accepted. All foods will be given to the Yolo County Food Bank, Brown said. “There are people out there who do not have a lot. [The food drive] helps to provide food during times when people really need it, which is really important,” said Coulson Thomas, assistant director for
Campus Recreation. “With the current economy as it is, many people are losing their jobs, and it is important for those who have the ability to give to help those who are in need, especially during the holiday season.” Last year, the food drive collected 546 pounds of food, which went toward individuals and families through the Yolo County Food Bank, Brown said. “In the future, we want the food drive to get bigger. We want bins to be located in larger areas and in more
Whole Foods will fill former Borders location
See FOOD, page 4
ASUCD Chief Justice submits letter of resignation On Wednesday, ASUCD Chief Justice Rudy Ornelas submitted his letter of resignation to ASUCD President Thongsavat. Ornelas cited issues with the current ASUCD Senate table as one of his reasons for resigning. Furthermore, he wrote that the current structure of the association did not lend well to helping students. “Slate politics is not a way to do business in the best interest of students. It enables the majority to drown out the voices of the minority,” wrote Ornelas. “This fundamental problem must be fixed in order for our association to better serve our students.” Ornelas said that he would stay in office until Nov. 23, or until his replacement is chosen. — Hannah Strumwasser
Earth — population: 7,000,000,000 Population-related issues abound
Store expected to be open by end of 2012
Ramon Solis / Aggie
By RAMON SOLIS Aggie News Writer
Evan Davis / Aggie
Estimated to open by the end of 2012, Whole Foods will take over the Davis Commons location that housed Borders Books & Music from 1997 until September.
By CLAIRE TAN Aggie Staff Writer
Whole Foods has officially leased the space Borders Books & Music previously occupied in the Davis Commons shopping center in Downtown Davis. “Whole Foods Market took over the 20,000 square foot Borders location,”
Today’s weather Mostly sunny High 67 Low 45
said Jennifer Marples, Whole Foods Northern California media contact in an e-mail. “The current plans are to be open by the end of 2012.” Mark Friedman, president of Fulcrum Property, who built and owns Davis Commons, said a lot of retailers were watching Borders’
See WHOLE, page 2
On Oct. 31 the human world population reached 7 billion, according to measurements by the United Nations. Of course, reaching this number is merely symbolic, but it calls attention to many issues facing the world. “Hitting the 7 billion mark is simply an opportunity to consider the challenges and opportunities of this global experiment,” said David
Forecast I think these weather forecasts would be much more valuable if they came with a “suggested clothing” category. For example, Friday, I would suggest bringing an umbrella for your head, a plastic bag for your bike seat, and a change of socks because wet feet in class is one of the grossest feelings ever. Alex Neigher, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
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Chance of rain
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High 61 Low 45
High 61 Low 46
Kyle, sociology professor and director of the UC Davis Gifford Center for Population Studies. The Gifford Center is responsible for understanding the involvement of environmental change with human mobility and its impact on the environment, human security and global health, according to its website. “‘Population’ can be a difficult topic because it seems so personal and abstract at the same time,” Kyle said. “It asks us to not only think
of ourselves, but rather all of the other people consuming like me and how we may build more sustainable societies.” According to professors, the population issue is a complex one, encompassing social, environmental and economic concerns. “We’ve had this demographic storm as nations like China and India have wanted the level of affluence that Americans enjoy,”
See POPULATION, page 4 For all of the poor freshmen out there (me!) and all other students who will be continuing to study at a UC these next few years, it looks like we’re in for a rough financial rollarcoaster. An estimated 81% tuition increase in the next four years? No thanks. Amanda Nguyen