A priest, an editor, a farmer and politicians: food sovereignty forum

On August 20, 2010, in event archive, the nose, by jamie
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‘FOOD sovereignty’ – the right of local people to decide what they grow and eat – is a term well understood in communities with a long tradition of small-scale farming. In Australia, where big farming tends to dominate, and our place in a global market means that once-seasonal fruits and vegetables are available year-round, ‘food sovereignty’ might be seen as irrelevant. But a burgeoning interest in knowing where your food comes from – who grows it, is it local, and how was it grown? – together with a heightened awareness of the cost of ‘food miles’ and the effect of genetic modification in staple crops, is encouraging support for local farmers’ markets and prompting questions at the local butcher and grocer.

Join Christ Church Grammar School’s Centre for Ethics and Slow Food Perth for a forum on food sovereignty – ‘What’s on your plate?’ – in Claremont on Tuesday 24 August 2010. The panel includes the school’s Centre for Ethics convenor and senior Anglican priest Canon Frank Sheehan, farmer Annie Kavanagh, Murdoch University food academic and writer Felicity Newman, magazine editor Anthony Georgeff, Australian Landcare Council chairman and former agriculture and food minister Kim Chance, and parliamentarian Max Trenorden. This should be lively, challenging and informative.

Event details
Date: Tuesday 24 Aug 2010
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Christ Church Grammar School chapel, Queenslea Drive, Claremont WA 6010
Entry: gold-coin donation to Anglicare

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Slow Food award and Broken Bay Oysters

On July 27, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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ROB Moxham of Broken Bay Oysters has won this year’s Slow Food award for Biodiversity and Heritage at the recent Australian Producers’ Awards 2010, hosted by the ABC’s Delicious magazine. Instead of being discouraged by the devastation that followed the outbreak of QX disease in 2004 in the Sydney rock oyster population, Rob has worked for the revival of successful farming at Broken Bay near Sydney. Of the 28 oyster growers in what was the state’s third largest oyster producing area, the number of producers dropped to two. Local council and NSW government funding of $3 million went into a clean-up programme. New farming technology was used and QX-resistant Sydney rock oyster spat was brought in to grow in fine meshed ‘socks’. See full list of the recent Producers’ Awards and an article in Ocean Watch about oysters in the Hawkesbury River.

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Raw milk victory for Canadian farmer

On July 22, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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CANADIAN Terra Madre dairy farmer Michael Schmidt has won a 16 year legal battle for the right to distribute unpasteurised milk products. Advocates cite studies that show that if proper hygiene standards are observed and the animals raised in a healthy way without antibiotics or hormones, not only can raw milk be consumed without any risk, but it can also provide more nutrients and taste better. Read full report.

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Programme for Salone del Gusto 2010

On July 6, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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ANYONE journeying to Slow Food’s international Salone del Gusto and the parralel event of Terra Madre can find the programme of events at this link Further information about other activities click here

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The argan tree and its delicious oil

On July 1, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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THE argan tree Argania spinosa only prospers in the Arganeraie, a region covering about 800,000 hectares in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Arganeraie is under threat from modern agricultural practices as well as being deforested to make way for building sites. In December 1998 this area was recognised as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It is also a fine example of what the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity achieves. The berries from this tree provide an oil similar to olive oil but with a delicate almond flavour. The argan has always been a basic part of the cuisine of the Berbers, a nomadic people present in North Africa before Arab settlement. The full story of this achievement is recorded in a book, including 33 recipes using argan oil. A link to this book is included here. Tasting this Presidium product is not to be missed when visiting Slow Food’s biennial Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre.

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The best country pub steak sandwich

On June 22, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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USING Blackwood Valley Beef, chef Luke Butler of the Bridgetown Hotel was the winning entry for ‘Best steak sandwich in Western Australia’. ‘The steak sandwich is an Australian icon that can define, not only an hotel, but an entire region when locally grown produce is used to create a culinary masterpiece,’ said Bradley Woods, chief executive of the Australian Hotels’ Association (WA).

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Via Campesina goes down under

On June 9, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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LA Via Campesina is an international body that represent over 500 million farming families. They are a movement of peasants, small and medium producers and farmers, landless, rural women, indigenous people, rural youth and agricultural works. They are independent of any political, economic or other type of affiliation. There are 148 members in 69 countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Their principal objective is to develop solidarity and unity among small farmer organisations in order to promote social justice in fair economic relations; the preservation of land, water, seeds and other natural resources; food sovereignty and sustainable agricultural production based on small and medium sized producers.
They are being brought to Australia by Food Connect, which is an award winning social business that works in collaboration with local farmers around Brisbane to deliver the best food in the world efficiently, affordably and equitably. There also branches of Food Connect in Sydney and Adelaide. If you want to know more read the Food Soveriegnty flyer

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Ringwould Dairy awarded gold medals

On June 2, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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CONGRATULATIONS to Western Australia’s Ringwould Dairy. At the presentation of Dairy Industry Association of Australia awards on 29 May 2010, Ringwould’s goat cheese cendre and its goat milk were awarded gold medals. The cendre was also named champion cheese in the non-bovine section of the awards. Ringwould, owned and managed by Augusta, Jim, John and Toni-Louise Saunders on the family farm at Redmond, near Albany, has also become a finalist in the ABC’s Delicious magazine produce awards ‘From the dairy’ section. The Saunders bought Gabrielle Kervella’s goat herd from her property at Gidgegannup in 2008 when Gabrielle moved to New Zealand. Augusta and Jim are Slow Food Perth members and supporters.

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Story of a chef

On April 28, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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HIS philosophy of including local traditions, collecting local food stories, his commitment to using local foods and sustainability has led chef Rene Rezepi chef/owner of Denmark’s well known restaurant “Noma” to being the recipient of this years 2010 international award of top restaurant in the world. Read article from Reuters

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Balingup’s small farm field day

On April 25, 2010, in event archive, the nose, by pauline
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BALINGUP’s annual small farm field day was held on Saturday 24 April 2010. A balmy autumn day brought out the locals and people from surrounding communities in droves.

‘Food for thought’ was the theme this year. A three-hour drive from the city on the south west highway past the historic towns of Donnybrook, Kirup, Mullalyup and the destination town of Balingup is a very easy way to spend the day and be excited by meeting the local community and the farmers and producers of the south west.

Katrina Lane, local cafe owner and Slow Food member, organised a Slow Food marquee where information was available about Slow Food’s philosophy, while she used local produce to make delicious food available for the public. Among some of the foods used was organic meat from Blackwood Valley Estate, biodynamic free range eggs from Cackleberries, goats cheese from Ringwould, cream from Bannister Downs and pork from Merri Bee Organics.

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Daryn Rowland and Rebecca Hackett, chefs who have bought 45 hectares at Mullalyup with the intention of producing mozzarella cheese in the future. They already have a small herd of buffalo on their property and their story can be read in the article in Buffalo News ‘Travelling chefs’ love affair with Nepalese buffalo‘.

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