Saving Australian farming

On January 31, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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THIS year 2012 is The Australian Year of the Farmer and a dedicated web site has been set up so one can learn more about this not for profit, non political organisation. The Australian Year of the Farmer aims to reach out to every Australian to involve and bring together rural and urban communities, schools, farming organisation, suppliers and the producers. There will be year-long program of events across the nation.
Australia’s farmers should be recognised and celebrated: for feeding the nation and for leading the world in farming techniques and innovation. Read more.
Save Australian Farming organisation’s web site suggests we break the habit of doing our weekly shop at one of the two big supermarkets. Grow our own vegetables and schedule a weekend visit to one of the many Farmers Markets that are springing up around Perth.

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Small changes make a difference

On January 19, 2012, in the nose, by pauline
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CAROLYN Steel, architect and author of Hungry City used to think about the city through its built environments, now she thinks about it through food. She wants us to to see cities that have food at their centre. For Steel this is one of the most urgent tasks facing the potential 5 billion or 61 percent of people that will be living in cities by 2030.
‘Because we don’t see food’s influence, we leave it up to Coles and Woolworths and Tesco,’ says Steel. ‘We no longer value food.’. “Steel believes that this invisibility leads to unrealistic expectations of cheap food – and allows us to ignore the land and water degradation that result.
“80 percent of global trade in food now is controlled by just five multinational corporations. And if we look to the future, it’s an unsustainable diet.
Further information from Carolyn Steel’s “Hungry City” web site
Journalist Alan Saunders from ABC’s “By Design” poses the question “How can we change things? “Small changes make a difference, ‘sharing food, knowing where your food comes from and cooking it seasonally and locally. Listen to interview

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Supermarkets

On November 6, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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ABC’s Hungry Beast presents an informative perspective on the power of the big two supermarkets. Watch video
Further information can be read on the Ethical Consumers guide

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Small store succeeds

On October 27, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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A fine example of a small store influencing how people think about food is found in Sam Mogannam,s Bi Rite store in San Francisco. Slow Food’s San Francisco Convivium interviews Mogannam on film about the rise of the small store and peoples increasing interest in where their food comes from.
San Francisco Magazine notes, that ever since Mogannam took the reins from his father and uncle, sales have grown by $1 million every year. No wonder other retailers want to visit and see what all the fuss is about, especially in an economic time when it is not rare to hear about small businesses that are losing that kind of money each year. Bi-Rite’s sales have increased exponentially from $1.25 million in 1998 to $13.8 million in 2010.
Bi-Rite seems to be ahead of the curve on exceeding not only consumer demand for more locally produced, sustainable, fresh food, but consumers’ desires to learn about where that food comes from and how it is produced. Read more

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Fair deal for farmers

On September 11, 2011, in reluctant gardener, by pauline
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REPORTED in the “Weekly Times” that Australian farmers were the lowest paid in the world. Senators Bob Katter and Nick Xenophon, have teamed up to force the major supermarket chains to show how much they pay farmers for fresh produce by introducing a legislation in both Houses of Parliament.
The Farm Gate Pricing Bill will be introduced in September. Read further

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The Stop

On April 6, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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THE Stop, the Canadian Foodbank international success story, has set its sights on revamping Canada’s relationship with food. Increasingly over the past years it has help to reduce peoples reliance on the industrial food system and teach them how to reconnect with real food, especially those who can least afford it. The Stop’s Toronto facilities, includes a greenhouse, farmers’ market and kitchen where elementary students learn to cook. Read the full article in the Globe and Mail and and more at The Stop’s web site.

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Warning from the future

On March 31, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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GUARDIAN reporter Tony Naylor writes a delightful bite of culinary journalism with a depressing view into the future. Sainsbury has chosen to trial its “Fresh Kitchen”, a takeway offering hot and cold food which is predicted to be nationwide soon. Naylor visiting the kitchen reports that it is cheaply utilitarian in design, feels like a cross between Gregg’s, McDonalds and an emergency field kitchen. It is loud, brightly lit, packed with people, the counter staff and cashiers have been trained to process each sale in seconds. “They shout for the next customer, shout out the orders. Shout them out again. Basically there is a lot of shouting”.
“But what of the quality? Swerving a £3.99 hot meat baguette (the pork and beef on the counter looked dry and shrivelled) I opted, instead, for lasagne, one of several, “hot meals, freshly cooked here today” It arrived at the authentic solar temperature, pallid and glutinous lasagne sheets, minced beef like curiously spongy grit.It came with an undressed side ‘salad’ of lettuce leaves and, apart from the thin layer of cheese on top, it tasted of almost nothing. It made me, as much as food ever can do, angry” Read Naylor’s full story written while doing research into London’s budget eating places

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The Food Sage

On March 29, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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RACHEL Lebihan, journalist, editor of The Financial Review and recent graduate of the Masters of Gastronomy from Adelaide University has a very new, interesting and informative blog, ‘The Food Sage’. She writes about food from all aspects. Some recent postings are about hormone free beef, the milk crisis, sustainable fish in Australia and more

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Conservation, industry and government working together

On March 24, 2011, in the nose, by pauline
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THE Spencer Gulf prawn fishery in South Australia was recognised in 2010 as being one of the best-managed fisheries in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. In a recent comment by the South Australian Minister for Fisheries Michael O’Brien on the new sustainable seafood policies of Coles and Woolworths, he suggested that,
“While this approach should be commended, both supermarket chains should look beyond seafood certified by environmental groups to also look to South Australia as a world leader in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management,” Minister O’Brien says. “Just because a fishery does not have an independent certification such as those offered by the Marine Stewardship Council or WWF, that does not mean it is not sustainable. Read further

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A myriad of stories

On November 20, 2010, in the nose, by pauline
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PASCALE Brevet writing in The Atlantic Nov 5th 2010 highlights the myriad of stories from the development of Terra Madre to Adi Kharisma who travels the breadth of Bali developing sustainable agriculture. The one-stalk supermarket is one of the projects Adi has launched in Bali, a name which refers to the amazing richness of the wing bean. The bean leaves, pods and flowers to the roots and dried seed of the wing bean have always been used in traditional cooking.

He teaches school children to grow and harvest the beans and extract their milk The newly created Ubud Slow Food Convivium hopes to encourage this in more schools in their region.

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