Recipe for Success

On January 20, 2013, in the nose, by pauline
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WEEKEND Australian article by Necia Wilden highlights chef, farmer, culinary activist Michael Stadtlander’s work in Canada. Stadtlander will be appearing at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and speaking at the Theatre of Ideas in Melbourne in March this year.
Stadtlander according to the Earth Day Canada is one of the world’s most accomplished chefs and one of Canada’s most ardent promotors of local, organic food and is actively involved in the Slow Food movement. His passion is to “connect chefs to the land in solidarity with farmers”
After establishing a couple of successful restaurants in Canada he decided to move with his family to a remote spot at the top of Ontarios’s Niagara Escarpment in 1993. Eigensinn Farm was established. The produce that surrounded him, wild mushrooms, apples, maple trees, wild leeks, wild ginger, trout, bees for honey helped shape the menu for his small twelve seater restaurant at the farm. This restaurant made the top ten of the World’s best restaurants and has become one of the world’s great food pilgrimages. Stadtlander does not have a website or own a computer.
Stadtlander was also one of the activist for the food and music event, “Foodstock” being established. This was a community based protest against a quarry being developed in the heart of Ontario’s farmland. This would have made it the second largest quarry in North America. Read about Foodstock
View Stadtlander’s film about his Islands Project which featured seven dinners on four British Colombian islands where he was joined by chefs, artists, farmers, oyster cultivators, environmentalists and loggers during the summer of 2006 and prepared delicious meals in the open, using the local food.
Read the archived article from the New York Times “The chef who got away”

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Sustainable fishing worldwide

On November 13, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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AUSTRALIA’S largest prawn fishery, Northern Prawn Fishery, gains Marine Stewardship Council Certification. as a sustainable and well-managed fishery on November 7th 2012.
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bout-us/vision-mission”>Marine Stewardship Council works globally and runs an exciting and ambitious program, working with partners to transform the world’s seafood markets and promote sustainable fishing practices.Their mission is to use their ecolable and fishery certification programme to contribute to the health of the worlds oceans by recognising and rewarding sustainable fishing practices influencing the choices people make when buying seafood.
Recently in the Guardian, George Monbiot wrote in his blog, “The Guardian’s great fish hypocrisy”, he says the paper along with the Observer, claims to encourage ethical choices on which fish to eat, but you wouldn’t know it from Slater, Ottolenghi and Hartnetts’ recipes, read further.
Watch the Marine Stewardship Council “Story” on Youtube

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Cashmore’s biodynamic property for lease

On July 18, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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Through hard work the biodynamic status of this property has been developed and maintained for the past 22 years. The owners now wish to lease it to someone who will continue their good work. With this method of farming they have improved the quality of the soil and at the same time produced a delicious meat product from their merino-dorper cross lamb.
Wheat, barley and oats can also be grown on the 4,800 acres property. 800 acres is natural trees left as eco systems through and around the property. The property has access to extremely good continuous water supply and is pumped by their solar system.
Of course they could lease their property to conventional farmers but because in John and Bernadette s words “they have always built to consolidate, never take or destroy” this is not their desire.
Nyonger Farm has always been in the Cashmore family, for further information follow this link<

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Small farm enterprise – Milkwood

On June 26, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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MILKWOOD is a small farm social enterprise near Mudgee NSW. They are committed to sharing skills for regenerative small farm and permaculture systems in both town and country. Their latest post is about choosing heritage apple varieties for their farm.
The varieties of Apples they suspect will grow well on their property are the Akane, Blenheim Orange, Belle de Boskeep, Fuji, Granny Smith, Cox’s Orange Pippi, Kidd’s Orange Red and Kingston Black, but as they say, a good apple, grown with nutrient dense compost and a thriving mycorrhizal action will be a good apple, regardless of its variety.
Read about this exciting enterprise as urbanites Kirsten and Nick moved to Nick’s parents farm in 2007.

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Quinoa

On June 17, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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TIME magazine reporters Jean Friedman-Rudovsky/Challapat report on the The Dark Side of an Andean Superfood. “Over the past decade, the “Andean superfood” has become a pinnacle product for First World foodies” It is the only vegetable that’s a complete protein. and is produced by small scale Andean farmers. The Andean farmers are reaping the benefits of the international popularity. But the windfall could become a double edged sword, there is violence over prime quinoa growing land and there is a collapse of the traditional relationship between the llama herding and soil fertilisation with potentially disatrous consequences of quinoa’s organic status. As Tanya Kerssen of ‘Food First’ comments in the article “when you transform a food into a commodity there is inevitable breakdown in social relations and high environmental cost”
Read full article here

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Sense of Purpose

On June 4, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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AT Taranaki Farm agriculture has been turned on its head by Ben Falloon who has used a regenerative ecologically sensitive method of farming. In 2000 Falloon took over the farming of the property. The land was in need of healing and they have now one of the most progressive and productive properties in Australia.
Taranaki Farm is a mixed farming enterprise, the cattle are managed in a way that is as close to nature as possible. The cows are moved each day to fresh pasture, after 3 or 4 days the chooks move in where they clean up, scratch around and fertilise. Pigs are employed all over the farm to assist in either making compost, tilling areas for gardening and forest regeneration.
Costas Giorgiadis of ABC Gardening Australia visited Taranaki Farm on 2nd June 2012, view program to hear Falloon’s story “Healing the Land”

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Biodiversity on Western Australian farm

On June 3, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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A recent broadcast of ABC Gardening Australia highlights Western Australian farmers Ron & Suzanne Watkins change from a broad acre farm to organic farming on their 550 hectare property in the Great Southern, by switching from a sheep farm to a property which includes crops and cattle, eggs and olives Watkins says that this diversity is the key to sustainable agriculture and making the environment more secure.
Ron has also changed the way he markets his produce, such as farmers markets, not only does the consumer pay less but it also connects the Watkins back to the community.
Read their story here
Watch the episode on ABC iView

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What is natural beekeeping

On May 26, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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EVERY colony of bees is entirely dependent on stored honey in the hive for its survival. The bees use it continually for their own nourishment and for feeding the young larvae.
The decline of bees has now become a serious problem. Reports started in 2006 in the United States about the collapse of honey bee colonies. Workers were dying or failing to return to the hive and without the worker the hive dies. Honeybees are arguably the insects that are most important to the human food chain. They are the principal pollinators of hundreds of fruits, vegetables, flowers and nuts.

This new phenomenon is being referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder and three new studies link bee decline to pesticides.

The Natural Beekeeping Trust was set up in response to the critical situation of the honeybee. Some beekeepers are questioning the methods of conventional beekeeping. Sustainable agriculture may be considered as one of the core issues as there are no insecticides or pesticides which are safe for bees. Natural Beekeeping attempts to mimic the natural nest structure of the wild bee colony and give every opportunity for the bees to thrive.

Read Tim Malfroy’s Australian web site on bees.

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Traditional foods from the Cocos Keeling Islands

On May 9, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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COCOS Keeling Islands, first discovered in 1609 were not inhabited until 1826 when Englishman Alexander Hare established a settlement on them. They are a typical coral atoll, the main two islands, Home Island and West Island are populated by around 600 people. The population consists of mainly Cocos Malay who were brought to the islands when the Clunies Ross established copra plantations. It is only since the Australian Government’s purchase of the remaining interests in the Islands in 1979 that the Cocos Malays have had extensive contact with the West Island. Home Island is mainly comprised of 470 Cocos Malay while West Island comprises of mainly 150 employees of various Australian Government Departments.
For over 160 years The Cocos Malays harvested a majority of their own foods, fish, sea salt, noni juice, coconut flower nectar and honey. Tony Lacy of Cocos Tropical Foods, a former wine maker has moved to the Islands with his family and is helping to re-establish some of their traditional food products. The aim is to encourage local producers to grow and process their artisan foods and to invigorate their local community which has an unemployment level of 65%.
For further information see Tony Lacy’s Yengari web site and the Cocos Tropical Foods

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Farmed salmon exposed

On February 9, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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THE documentary film “Farmed Salmon Exposed” produced by Canadian film maker Damien Gilles has been seen worldwide. It is an in depth broadside blaming the industry for wrecking the environments and destroying livelihoods in Scotland, Canada and Chile. The film was made for the Pure Salmon Campaign which was a global project with allies in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Chile, all working to improve the way salmon is produced.
Read review of the issues in the film. See full length film here

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