But not Lynne Hinton, Principal of Barunda State School, QLD. I purposely added 15 minutes extra to my trip so I could listen to the end of the show I was that fascinated. It's definitely worth a listen!
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/06/26/2609566.htm?site=brisbane
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Growing Your Own
Last weekend was the first time Nic and I made it to the Farmers' Markets in Wagga. It was also a first that we arrived with a dedicated sum of money for buying our fresh veges and other goodies. On previous occasions we've always gone to 'just have a look'.
The setting was Wollundry Lagoon in Wagga, behind the Civic Centre (I think!) and it was a great spot overlooking the lagoon, plenty of room for kids to run around etc. The morning was cool and crisp, the sweet smell of bacon, sausages and eggs carried through the air from the stalwart of markets: the sausage sizzle.
We've always been keen to grow as much of our own produce as possible; unfortunately moving from rental to rental doesn't really alow it. But the next best thing is to buy locally grown produce. This was our aim.
First stop was the obligatory breaky of bacon and egg rolls, followed by a quick lap of all the stalls to sus out what was there. An impressive vege stall caught our eye. To say it was value for money was an understatement. We walked away with two lettuces, about a kilo of baby carrots (fresh from the ground the day before) about a kilo and a half of beetroot, a BIG cauli, a bunch of spring onions and a kilo of brown onions for under $20!
Next stop was a local butcher (who, as it turned out, owns a farm just outside of town and knows my boss and his wife very well) for some organic lamb. Having been exposed to 'organic...' in the Blue Mountains, Penrith and Sydney, we were expecting to pay with a kidney - but again, value for money! A good feed of forequarter chops for $10/kg! And as I later found out, this bloke will do entire lambs and pigs for you - sensationl!
Upon returning home with our market successes, a conversation about the benefits of living on sizeable land and in a regional setting ensued. It had only been earlier that week that I had caught the end of a conversation on the radio with a well respected demographer (who's name escapes me!). His opinion was that as the cost of energy (fuel, electricity, gas etc) became more expensive, we would see something akin to a rural renaissance as people moved closer to food sources. But would we? I agree with his theory, but have the masses in the cities and suburbs simply become to far removed from the realities of life to successfully move back to a more self-reliant lifestyle? I think they have.
The art of 'growing your own', while recently seeing a revival, has faided away into the shadows of iPods, Blackberries, computers and home entertainment. For me there would be nothing more satisfying than sitting down to a meal consisting of food only grown in my own garden or a friend's - and I believe that satisfaction, that attitude is neccessary if you want to successfully 'grow your own'. You must do it for the love, not because it's a trendy following of Jamie Oliver (don't get me wrong, I believe he does it for the love). Growing your own food is more than throwing a few herbs in a garden bed or having a fruti tree in the back yard. How many grow-your-own'ers would be prepared to raise livestock for the table? How many would go down to the chook shed to find a suitable specimen for the Sunday roast, or take a fat lamb to the local butcher? I bet there wouldn't be many.
Though soon there may not be a choice in the matter. Irrespective of what the climate does over the next few decades, it would appear that humanity is destined for possibly its greatest catastrophy ever. The BBC reported just this week that the number of people suffering from hunger has hit 1 billion. That's right, roughly a sixth of the world's population is suffering from hunger. This has recently been excacerbated by the downturn in financial markets; it seems that is responsible for 100 million over the last year being added to the list of hungry. And in reinforcement of the above statements and comments, persistently high food prices have also contributed to the hunger 'crisis'.
I can't help but wonder if we, as a society, have our priorities drastically out of order. The record price paid for what was literally a sliver of land in Bondi a few years ago had me asking this question. In 2006 a block of land 120m.sq in size sold for $3m; $29,000 per metre! But what is it good for? Will it supply you with food and water? Will it allow you to dispose of your refuse and wastewater, or perhaps recycle said wastewater in a productive manner? No. All it will do, at the most basic level, is give you somewhere to sleep. As a comparison, prime agriculatural land in NSW will fetch $2-2.5k per acre...
I don't know what it will take, how many more to go hungry before we sit back and reassess our priorities and realise that the city has very few benefits. Sure it has great 'culture', clubs, and a lively night-life, but what value will all of that be when you can't put food on the table?
Better to have the land and grow your own if you ask me.
The setting was Wollundry Lagoon in Wagga, behind the Civic Centre (I think!) and it was a great spot overlooking the lagoon, plenty of room for kids to run around etc. The morning was cool and crisp, the sweet smell of bacon, sausages and eggs carried through the air from the stalwart of markets: the sausage sizzle.
We've always been keen to grow as much of our own produce as possible; unfortunately moving from rental to rental doesn't really alow it. But the next best thing is to buy locally grown produce. This was our aim.
First stop was the obligatory breaky of bacon and egg rolls, followed by a quick lap of all the stalls to sus out what was there. An impressive vege stall caught our eye. To say it was value for money was an understatement. We walked away with two lettuces, about a kilo of baby carrots (fresh from the ground the day before) about a kilo and a half of beetroot, a BIG cauli, a bunch of spring onions and a kilo of brown onions for under $20!
Next stop was a local butcher (who, as it turned out, owns a farm just outside of town and knows my boss and his wife very well) for some organic lamb. Having been exposed to 'organic...' in the Blue Mountains, Penrith and Sydney, we were expecting to pay with a kidney - but again, value for money! A good feed of forequarter chops for $10/kg! And as I later found out, this bloke will do entire lambs and pigs for you - sensationl!
Upon returning home with our market successes, a conversation about the benefits of living on sizeable land and in a regional setting ensued. It had only been earlier that week that I had caught the end of a conversation on the radio with a well respected demographer (who's name escapes me!). His opinion was that as the cost of energy (fuel, electricity, gas etc) became more expensive, we would see something akin to a rural renaissance as people moved closer to food sources. But would we? I agree with his theory, but have the masses in the cities and suburbs simply become to far removed from the realities of life to successfully move back to a more self-reliant lifestyle? I think they have.
The art of 'growing your own', while recently seeing a revival, has faided away into the shadows of iPods, Blackberries, computers and home entertainment. For me there would be nothing more satisfying than sitting down to a meal consisting of food only grown in my own garden or a friend's - and I believe that satisfaction, that attitude is neccessary if you want to successfully 'grow your own'. You must do it for the love, not because it's a trendy following of Jamie Oliver (don't get me wrong, I believe he does it for the love). Growing your own food is more than throwing a few herbs in a garden bed or having a fruti tree in the back yard. How many grow-your-own'ers would be prepared to raise livestock for the table? How many would go down to the chook shed to find a suitable specimen for the Sunday roast, or take a fat lamb to the local butcher? I bet there wouldn't be many.
Though soon there may not be a choice in the matter. Irrespective of what the climate does over the next few decades, it would appear that humanity is destined for possibly its greatest catastrophy ever. The BBC reported just this week that the number of people suffering from hunger has hit 1 billion. That's right, roughly a sixth of the world's population is suffering from hunger. This has recently been excacerbated by the downturn in financial markets; it seems that is responsible for 100 million over the last year being added to the list of hungry. And in reinforcement of the above statements and comments, persistently high food prices have also contributed to the hunger 'crisis'.
I can't help but wonder if we, as a society, have our priorities drastically out of order. The record price paid for what was literally a sliver of land in Bondi a few years ago had me asking this question. In 2006 a block of land 120m.sq in size sold for $3m; $29,000 per metre! But what is it good for? Will it supply you with food and water? Will it allow you to dispose of your refuse and wastewater, or perhaps recycle said wastewater in a productive manner? No. All it will do, at the most basic level, is give you somewhere to sleep. As a comparison, prime agriculatural land in NSW will fetch $2-2.5k per acre...
I don't know what it will take, how many more to go hungry before we sit back and reassess our priorities and realise that the city has very few benefits. Sure it has great 'culture', clubs, and a lively night-life, but what value will all of that be when you can't put food on the table?
Better to have the land and grow your own if you ask me.
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