BIO-MARKET
- Where:
- www.bio-market.ru
- Hours:
- M-Sun 9-9
- Web:
- www.bio-market.ru
- Contact:
- t: +7 495 981–07–38 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Home to the mighty Kremlin, legendary Red Square and iconic St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow is not only the capital of Russia, but also the political and cultural heart of the country. Red Square is home to some of the city’s most recognisable landmarks and is a fascinating place to see all that is old about the city, colliding with the new. Within Red Square travellers will find the fantastical St Basil’s Cathedral, the iconic Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum and the glitzy Neo-Russian facade of the GUM shopping mall. As well as boasting some of the country’s most recognizable landmarks, Moscow is also home to internationally acclaimed museums and art galleries, respectable retail havens in the form of malls, markets and boutique-style shops, and hundreds of restaurants and cafes serving a wide variety of cuisine.
An enchanting city with a rich and fascinating history, St Petersburg is the Jewel in Russia’s Imperial Crown. It was from here that the aristocrat tsars ruled over Russia for two centuries until the Russian Revolution in 1917. Today remnants of the city’s grandiose past can be seen in its beautiful historic centre. Made up of a series of canals this UNESCO World Heritage site is dotted with elegant baroque bridges, impressive rococo architecture and spectacular palaces. Visit the fabulous Winter Palace - once home of the tsars, where you will find the world famous Hermitage collection. Explore Peter and Paul Fortress - the oldest building in the city, with its impressive baroque interior. Take a look around St Isaac’s Cathedral – one of the world’s largest cathedrals and the beautiful Church on Spilled Blood, which was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered in 1881. You can also pay a visit to the spectacular Summer Gardens at palatial Peterhof, which overlooks the Gulf of Finland and Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo.
Located in the north west of Russia, just 30km from Estonia, the ancient and historical city of Pskov, with its fortified riverside Kremlin and Trinity Cathedral, is a firm favorite amongst tourists. Pskov dates back as far as 903, making it as old as the country itself. Pskov has retained much of its medieval outer-town walls and is crammed full of tiny, picturesque churches with fabulous examples of Byzantine architecture. Within the Kremlin's crumbling walls is the gorgeous Trinity Cathedral, which is definitely a highlight of any visit to Pskov. A short drive from from the city brings you to the beautiful little settlement of Pechory, famed for its monastery where you can explore the peaceful grounds of this still-working cloister which is home to over 70 monks. The monastery was founded in 1473 when the first hermits settled in local caves. If monastic law permits, enter the spooky burial caves where over 10,000 monks bodies lie in coffins, piled on top of each other in the tunnel walls.
The ancient and provincial town of Novgorod is en route from St Petersburg to Moscow and a popular pit-stop. Being one of the oldest towns in the country, this pretty town is of historic interest and was once the leading political and cultural centre of Russia, when Moscow was just a small provincial outpost. Explore the once powerful Kremlin in Novgorod which is now a relic of the town’s past political significance. In the centre of town you will find the Cathedral of St Sophia, which is possibly the oldest building in Russia, and the Church of Our Saviour-at-Ilino with its breathtaking frescoes. Just out of town visit the picturesque 12th century Yurev Monastery and enjoy a scenic boat trip down the Volkhov River.
Yekaterinburg is the first major stop in Asian Russia on the Trans-Siberian and the gateway to the Ural Mountains. Just 32km out of town you can stand with one foot in each continent at the Europe-Asia border marker! Yekaterinburg is known as City of the Romanovs as it is synonymous with the murder of the Romanov family in July 1918. During a visit to this city you can visit the Byzantine-style Church on Blood which reveres the Romanovs and is close to the partially demolished house where they were executed. Out of the city, you’ll find the beautiful Monastery of Martyrs – Gamina Yama, where a cross marks the spot the Romanovs bodies were discarded. Yekaterinburg is also a great place to get away for an active break with the Ural Mountains right on its doorstep - in winter there is dog sledding or ice fishing and in summer hiking through the lush taiga forests is an absolute must.
Suzdal is a small, picturesque town in the Vladimir region, which is officially protected against modern developments and loaded to the hilt with old buildings such as the Kremlin and Cathedral. Dating back to 1024, ancient Suzdal forms part of the Golden Ring, with stunning medieval architecture and an astounding number of churches and monasteries, making it a major religious centre in Russia. Suzdal, with its pretty meadows and livestock that graze freely along the grassy lanes, retains the feel of a small pastoral village despite the host of impressive buildings and a population of over 12,000 people. It is not hard to see why the town is so popular with tourists; in the beauty stakes Suzdal is unrivalled!
Vladimir, founded in 1108, was Russia’s capital for nearly two centuries before giving way to Moscow. It forms part of the Golden Ring of ancient towns, dating back from the 12th to 17th centuries that have great historic, architectural, and religious significance in Russia. It is entirely possible to see the major sites of interest within a day; namely three beautiful landmarks, the Golden Gates, the Assumption Cathedral and St Dmitry Cathedral. The most prominent symbol of the city is the striking Golden Gates; built in 1163 to form part of the cities defenses. In Cathedral Square is the magnificent Assumption Cathedral, which despite being destroyed by fire in 1185, was immaculately restored and is a breathtaking sight. The Cathedral of St Dmitry is equally impressive; a white stone carved masterpiece, built by Prince Vsevolod III.
Karelia stretches from the White Sea coast to the Gulf of Finland. Carved out by a glacier thousands of years ago, it contains the two largest lakes in Europe, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Karelia is a beautiful region of hills, lakes, rivers, forest and steppes. The rich, lush landscape makes it possible to enjoy a whole host of outdoor leisure pursuits - hike, bike ride, sail, white water raft, swim, horse ride or pamper yourself in one of the many health spas and retreats. Virgin woods, superbly clean lakes and pristine rivers makes Karelia perhaps one of Russia's best kept hideaways.
Organic farming and locally grown produce. Instead of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, organic farmers rely on biological diversity in the field to naturally reduce habitat for pest organisms. Organic farmers also purposefully maintain and replenish the fertility of the soil.
Conventional vs. organic farming
The word "organic" refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution.
Farmers who grow organic produce don't use conventional methods to fertilize and control weeds. Examples of organic farming practices include using natural fertilizers to feed soil and plants, and using crop rotation or mulch to manage weeds.
The whole picture
Organic food contributes to better health through reduced pesticide exposure for all and increased nutritional quality. In order to understand the importance of eating organic food from the perspective of toxic pesticide contamination, we need to look at the whole picture—from the farmworkers who do the valuable work of growing food, to the waterways from which we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Organic food can feed us and keep us healthy without producing the toxic effects of chemical agriculture.
Who benefits?
Farmworkers- reduced pesticide exposure in organic agriculture
Consumers- increased nutrition and reduced pesticide contamination in organic agriculture
Children- why organic food is important for all kids
Farmworker health
The population groups most affected by pesticide use are farmworkers and their families. These people live in communities near the application of toxic pesticides, where pesticide drift and water contamination are common. Farmworkers, both pesticide applicators and fieldworkers who tend to and harvest the crops, come into frequent contact with pesticides. Their families and children are then exposed to these pesticides through contact with them and their clothing. Pregnant women working in the fields unwittingly expose their unborn babies to toxic pesticides. Organic agriculture does not utilize these toxic chemicals and thus eliminates this enormous health hazard to workers, their families, and their communities.
There is no national reporting system for farmworker pesticide poisonings. In California, one of the few states to require reporting pesticide poisonings, there was a yearly average of 475 reported farmworker poisonings from pesticides in the years 1997-2000 according to the report Fields of Poison 2002: California Farmworkers and Pesticides. As discussed in the paper, this probably drastically underestimates the true number of poisonings, since many cases are never reported for myriad reasons including rising health care costs that have heightened reluctance to seek medical attention, misdiagnosis from medical professionals, and the failure of insurance companies to forward reports to proper authorities.
Acute pesticide poisonings for farmworkers are only one aspect of the health consequences of pesticide exposure. Many farmworkers spend years in the field exposed to toxic chemicals, and some studies have reported increased risks of certain types of cancers among farmworkers. The emerging science on endocrine disrupting pesticides reveals another chronic health effect of pesticide exposure (for more on endocrine disrupting pesticides, read the spring 2008 article in Pesticides and You).
Children living in areas with high pesticide use are at great risk of health effects because of their high susceptibility to pesticides. In 1998, a groundbreaking study by Elizabeth Guillette published in Environmental Health Perspectives showed the severe developmental effects of pesticides on children in an agricultural area of Mexico. The full text of this study including the innovative methodology used is available here.
Pesticide exposure for pregnant women working in the fields can have devastating effects on their babies. One study compares three case studies of birth defects caused by probable pesticide poisoning. In one case that was brought to court and decided in favor of the plaintiffs, a mother exposed illegally to pesticides gave birth to a child without arms or legs. For the full story in Beyond Pesticides' Daily News Blog, read here.
Looking only at pesticide residues in food as a measure of pesticide exposure ignores the fact that many foods that do not end up with high pesticide residues nonetheless involve toxic chemicals in production that put workers' health at risk. Pesticide use in production and farmworker exposure is a necessary consideration in looking at the whole pesticide problem. A shift to organic agriculture is the only way to eliminate toxic pesticide exposure for everyone.
For more on the health risks that farmers face, read Baldemar Velasquez's article in Pesticides and You titled
Oppression and Farmworker Health in a Global Economy as well as our page on buying organic and labor
While locally grown organic produce is difficult to find in Moscow there are several gourmet supermarkets that stock a range of quality mostly-imported organic or “bio” goods. Globus Gourmet at 22 Bol. Yakimanka near metro “Polyanka” is open 24 hours, 7 days a week you can find imported organic goods and a deli including an extensive cheese counter.
Bio-Market (Био-Маркет in Russian) is a specialized store chain where you will find a large range of organic food and beverages from Europe and including their own new-launched Russian organic dairy fully certified according to European organic standards. There are two stores inside the MKAD (Moscow Circular Road System) being Lesnaya Street, 5, Sector C of Belaya Ploschad (Белая Площадь) Business Center. (metro station Belorusskaya) and Rublevskoe Shosse, 30, building 1(metro station Molodezhnaya).
The newest offering in this category is the Farmer’s Bazaar in the newly opened Tsvetnoy Centre at 15, bld.1, Tsvetnoy blvd which proclaims to offer an ‘unprecedented range of ecological products.’ As an added bonus take your purchases upstairs to the Antresol restaurant where the chefs will cook up your food to eat in or take-away for 30% of the purchase price.
Eco-Magazin Naturalnykh Tovarov at Prospekt Mira, 119, building 228 stocks organic food and cosmetics and was started by a concerned Mom. The closest Metro station is VDNKH (ВДНХ). If you want to learn how to shop like a local then take a Saturday morning market tour of Moscow with the Taste of Russia. Your guide will explain the history of local markets, where to get the best seasonal produce and some Russian cooking traditions. They also run Russian cooking classes – for English speakers - where you can learn some Russian specialties – think beef stroganoff, borscht and pirozhki - to show off to your family and friends!
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