Green Message: “Ark of Taste”

 Community Gardens, Food, Shopping  Comments Off on Green Message: “Ark of Taste”
Sep 252016
 

Hi everyone,

The Ark of Taste is an international project run by the Slow Food Movement that helps protect food products from becoming extinct. There are over 3000 products on the list so far that are at risk due to industrial agriculture, standardisation and large scale distribution of global food markets as well as environment issues. In Australia, the Slow Movement Ark of Taste focus on our diverse climate, culture and unique flora and fauna. In particular, the food from the diets of indigenous Australians and culture e.g. Finger Limes from Australia’s East Coast.

Currently, the Australian Ark has 23 products with more at the nomination stage. Anyone can nominate a food for the Ark of Taste.

The categories include:

Endangered – produced in limited quantities and may not be around in next one or two generations

Good – prized for their special taste or process

Clean – not engineered and can be grown, raised or produced without harm to the environment

Fair – food that anyone can champion, produce, sell or share – no commercial or trademark items

To nominate a food for the Ark of Taste, go to:

http://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/what-we-do/the-ark-of-taste/nominations-from-around-the-world/nominate-a-product/

For more information, go to:

http://slowfoodaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/ark-of-taste/

Source: Ark of Taste – Protecting Biodiversity, Slow Food in Australia, http://slowfoodaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/ark-of-taste/

 

Hop on board the Ark of Taste to protect our food biodiversity.

Many thanks

Lila

Resource Management Specialist,

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 Posted by at 1:39 pm

An app to check your “free range” eggs from CSIRO

 Food  Comments Off on An app to check your “free range” eggs from CSIRO
Jun 222016
 

Hi everyone,

Free range eggs are pretty much available everywhere these days, which is a good thing. What you may not realise is that there is a vast difference between the CSIRO definition of free range and the one fixed by the government. The draft CSIRO code, which is endorsed by the RSPCA, states free-range hens should be stocked at no more than 1500 a hectare unless regularly rotated. This standard gives hens plenty of space to roam. According to CHOICE only eggs that meet this standard should be considered truly free-range. However the government standard is 10,000 hens per hectare. Most of the free range eggs on offer at supermarkets fall outside of the CSIRO draft code. The good news is that new national laws to be introduced shortly will force producers to label their outdoor stocking density.

To take the guesswork out of buying “real” free range eggs, CHOICE has developed the CluckAR app. With the app, you simply point your phone at the top of the egg carton and it will tell you whether or not it’s free-range. It will also let you know how good its free range claims are.

To download the app, search for CluckAR at your Apple or Google Play store.

To find out more go to:

https://www.choice.com.au/consumer-advocacy/campaigns/free-range-egg-labelling

Source: Free range? It’s all a bit scrambled, The Sunday Age, 5th June 2016, pg. 12

Download the CluckAR app and make sure what you’re buying are real free range eggs.

Many thanks

Lila

Resource Management Specialist,

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 Posted by at 8:17 am

Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

 Compost, Food  Comments Off on Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
May 142016
 

Hi everyone,

In the recently released 2016 “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™”, conventional strawberries top the list as the produce most contaminated by chemical pesticides. Apples, nectarines and peaches were also high on the list.  Avocado, sweet corn and pineapple had the least pesticide residues. While these findings are based on US produce, it’s the best guide currently available. Knowing what produce has the highest and lowest pesticide residues can help you avoid contaminants.  You can do this by selecting organic for the ones that are high on the list or choosing not to have them at all.  By doing this you could reduce your pesticide intake from fruit and vegetables and help our environment as organic produce means there is less harmful pesticides being used.

Top 10 most contaminated in ranking order:

  • ·         Strawberries
  • ·         Apple
  • ·         Nectarine
  • ·         Peaches
  • ·         Celery
  • ·         Grapes
  • ·         Cherries
  • ·         Spinach
  • ·         Tomatoes
  • ·         Capsicums

Least contaminated in ranking order:

  • ·         Avocado
  • ·         Sweetcorn
  • ·         Pineapple
  • ·         Cabbage
  • ·         Sweet peas (frozen)
  • ·         Onions
  • ·         Asparagus
  • ·         Mangoes
  • ·         Pawpaw
  • ·         Kiwi

 To find out more about the study and to download the handy guide, go to: http://www.foodnews.org/

Source: Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, http://www.foodnews.org/

Reduce your pesticide intake to keep our environment healthy.

Many thanks, Lila

 PS: Further to the previouse Composting green message, a team member (thanks Andrew) let me know about a great scheme subsidised by local councils designed to increase household composting. For more information, go to: http://compostrevolution.com.au/

 Resource Management Specialist,

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 Posted by at 10:05 am

Plant some garlic this autumn and start a yearly tradition.

 Community Gardens, Food  Comments Off on Plant some garlic this autumn and start a yearly tradition.
Apr 222016
 

From Lila;
Hi everyone,

Are you a garlic lover like me? This little package of flavour can transform a meal and has so many goodies in it to keep you healthy. We have a stockpile at home and are always on the lookout for the prime looking bulbs at the Farmers Markets when they’re in season.

We’ve tried growing it at home without much success but this year it’s going to be different. We went to a talk on growing garlic a few weeks ago and now we have all the tips to have a bumper crop. One of the first things that surprised me was that I always thought you should plant garlic on the Winter Solstice (20th June) and harvest on the Summer Solstice (21st December). The recommendation at the talk was to plant in autumn around Anzac Day while the soil is still warm. So guess what we’re doing this weekend. We’ve got the garlic all ready to go and just need to get it into the perfect spot in the garden.

Here’s some tips for a successful garlic crop:

  • Get your planting garlic from a quality source – most garlic at the supermarket is treated and will not reproduce
  • Pop it into the crisper for a week or so before planting just like you do with spring flowering bulbs to create an artificial winter
  • Pick a spot in the garden that gets full sun and has well drained good soil
  • Add some good quality compost or worm food into the patch before planting the garlic
  • Water regularly during the growing season which is about 8 months
  • For more details go to:

https://www.diggers.com.au/…/articles-a…/fact-sheets/garlic/

Source: Planting garlic, Diggers Club, https://www.diggers.com.au/…/articles-a…/fact-sheets/garlic/

Plant some garlic this autumn and start a yearly tradition.

Many thanks
Lila
Resource Management Specialist

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 Posted by at 1:30 pm

This weeks News for Transition Bondi!

 Events, Food, News, Transition Bondi  Comments Off on This weeks News for Transition Bondi!
Jun 112012
 

This Week’s News | Films | Markets | Events | Be a Star

Welcome to another edition of the news for Transition Bondi! Our new website is currently taking shape and we need YOU to come and be a star! We’re looking for people who wants to write blogs so if you have a recipe, some enviro tips, want to start a debate, it’s all welcome!

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 Posted by at 7:23 pm

Bondi Transition – This weeks News

 Events, Food, News, Transition Bondi  Comments Off on Bondi Transition – This weeks News
May 262012
 
This Week’s News

Welcome to our spunky new look newsletter! Same awesome content, just something a little easier for us to manage. Do let us know if you have any suggestions for it. Let’s get started shall we? *Sunday 27th May E-waste collection day at Lyne Park car park, Rose Bay, entry via Vickery Ave 9am-3pm.

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 Posted by at 1:34 pm

“The Agro Rebel – Permakultur in the Salzburger Alps” documentary and local organic dinner

 Events, Food, Transition Bondi  Comments Off on “The Agro Rebel – Permakultur in the Salzburger Alps” documentary and local organic dinner
May 142012
 

“The Agro Rebel – Permakultur in the Salzburger Alps” documentary and local organic dinner

Time:

16 May 2012 – 6:30pm9:00pm

Location:

“Chapel by the Sea”

95 Roscoe Street

Bondi Beach NSW 2026

The Agro Rebel - Permakultur in the Salzburger Alps

 

The Agro Rebel – Permaculture in the Salzburger Alps

A film by Bertram Verhaag

“In the southernmost tip of Salzburg Land – in Lungau, the “Siberia“ of Austria – Sepp Holzer, farmer and forester, does farming of a different kind on his mountain property.

Contrary to all conventional rules  –  and despite annual average temperatures of 4.5 °C and an altitude of between 900m – 1400m  –  he has created an edible, paradisiacal landscape and caused quite a stir in so doing.  In forty years of observing nature, of unrelenting joyful experimentation and fighting government agencies, he has succeeded in convincing his opponents of his way of farming, which means adhering to the laws of nature.  Holzer states:  “Variety instead of uniformity, for all plants and animals have a meaningful function“.  He completely refrains from using pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers.  Sepp Holzer’s golden rule for achieving success in farming and the basic principles of permaculture:  “Cooperate with nature instead of fighting it.  Observe nature to determine which plants support one another.“

Since 1962 when he took over his father’s farm at the age of 19, Sepp Holzer and his wife have operated a perfectly functioning permaculture system without ever having heard the term “permaculture“ before.

Laid out in terraces, similar to rice fields in Asia, his 46-hectare farm greatly differs from the surrounding pine monocultures.  Many things grow here not thought possible at an altitude of 1400m, ranging from cherries, apples, mushrooms and kiwis to lemons, pumpkins, potatoes and zucchinis.  Nature is sprouting and thriving everywhere, along the paths, on the terraces, in the woods, on extremely steep inclines and even on rocky ground.  Within the mixed cultivation there are ca. 45 water gardens, humid biotopes, ponds and three mountain lakes.  It is here that the organic farmer breeds rare fish, toads, crustaceans and aquatic plants.  His pigs plough the earth, harrow and fertilise it, and plants supply each other with moisture, nitrogen and fertiliser.  In this way, Sepp Holzer has less work and more time to elucidate his mixed cultivation to interested visitors from all over the world.”

 

Watch the trailer here: http://www.denkmal-film.com/

Suggested donation to cover our costs for dinner: $12 for general public, $7 for Transition Sydney members or what you can afford.

If you would like to help us cook, come at 6 pm.

We start dinner and the movie at 7 pm.

To pre-order a box of local organic produce to take home, visit www.foodconnect.com.au and order online.

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 Posted by at 8:43 pm

Global Food Security May 16

 Events, Food  Comments Off on Global Food Security May 16
May 142012
 

Global food security is a topic of interest to economists and agriculturists alike. Professor Chris Barrett discusses the challenges of planning to provide food security for an ever-growing population.

Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm May 16 Cost: Free

Venue: Law School Foyer, The University of Sydney, Eastern Ave, University of Sydney, Camperdown

Enquiries: The University of Sydney sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/ (02) 9351 1935

via Sydney Talks – Talks This Month.

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 Posted by at 8:03 pm