A Taste of…

Watching TV is so last century but as with many of my contemporaries, I like to watch the (big) box, free-to-air, no-frills. Yes, very last century. And as was the case last century the pickings have just gotten very lean as we slide into Xmas and the dreaded non-ratings season.

I’m a bit happy that the ABC is repeating selected food-themed Landline episodes on Fridays at 8, repeated on Sunday and readily available on I-View. http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/taste-of-landline/RA1502Q001S00

Last Friday’s stories included one of pastured eggs. These need not, of course, be organic but they are as free as free–range can be. I first became aware of this way of producing eggs from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k

Pastured eggs aren’t necessarily going to be organic, but the chickens live like chickens. Their mobile cages men that the chooks get a varied diet while fertilising various fields.

Pastured eggs straight from the farm are becoming more readily available. Freo folks can buy their pastured eggs from the good folks at Nibali Stockfeed.

http://www.nibalistockfeed.com.au/

Another story Landline ran was about experiments to include omega 3 into feed for lambs in an attempt to improve the health outcomes of meat eaters. I’m thinking eat more fish, but then we know there just isn’t enough fish for all of us. Which will bring us back to the question of where will that Omega 3 come from. Feeding ourselves, who said it was easy?

Next week’s taste of landline will feature stories on cattlewomen, that’s right women and the mighty Murray cod. I’m keen to earn more about this prized fish I may never eat.

Watching TV is so last century but as with many of my contemporaries, I like to watch the (big) box, free-to-air, no-frills. Yes, very last century. And as was the case last century the pickings have just gotten very lean as we slide into Xmas and the dreaded non-ratings season.

I’m a bit happy that the ABC is repeating selected food-themed Landline episodes on Fridays at 8, repeated on Sunday and readily available on I-View.

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/taste-of-landline/RA1502Q001S00

Last Friday’s stories included one of pastured eggs. These need not, of course, be organic but they are as free as free–range can be. I first became aware of this way of producing eggs from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm. If you’ve never watched Food Inc, please do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k

Pastured eggs aren’t necessarily going to be organic, but the chickens live like chickens. Their mobile cages men that the chooks get a varied, fresh and wholesome diet while fertilising various fields.

Pastured eggs straight from the farm are becoming more readily available. Freo folks can buy pastured eggs from the good folks at Nibali Stockfeed.

Another story Landline ran was about experiments to include omega 3 into feed for lambs in an attempt to improve the health outcomes of meat eaters. I’m thinking eat more fish, but then we know there just isn’t enough fish for the world. Which will bring us back to the question of where will that Omega 3 come from. Feeding ourselves, who said it was easy?

Next week’s taste of landline will feature stories on cattlewomen, that’s right women and the mighty Murray cod. I’m keen to earn more about this prized fish I may never eat.

A Very Australian Story

If you missed last week’s Australian Story,

http://www.abc.net.au/austory/ then catch up on i-view before The Seeds of Wrath, concludes with part 2 tomorrow night. Catch part 1 on I-view regardless of your view of the issue.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Steve Marsh losing his organic certification because of his neighbour’s GM canola crop blowing onto his land. This poignant and dramatic event has seen the end of old friendships and split the town of Kojonup.

Marsh is appealing the loss of his court case:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-19/gm-canola-farmer-may-have-to-pay-court-costs-after-loss/5757218

Part 1 heard Marsh state something conservatives refuse to hear: ‘there’s money in them thar organics’. Marsh received a higher price for his organic grains yet we still hear organic farming referred to as though it is some hippy indulgence.

Northern Europe is clamouring for organic produce and products, we have a pristine environment, yet my local organic shop is full of imported products. We have high unemployment and relatively little locally produced value added organic foods available. No prizes for guessing my view on GM trials in WA – watch Australian story and decide for yourself.