THE English have their allotments; in Sydney we use the streets. In a variation on guerilla gardening, Sydneysiders are moving veggie plots from the backyard to the street verge, and converting formerly fallow public land into mini-market gardens.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/street-and-two-veg-a-green-solution-just-outside-your-door/2008/10/06/1223145261857.html

Your shopping basket is spewing greenhouse gases. But don't worry, you can easily cut out the culprits

• eating less red meat and dairy can be a more effective way to lower an average U.S. household's food-related climate footprint than buying local food
• a steak is equivalent to driving 30 kilometers
• switching to vegetables one day per week cuts the equivalent of driving 1160 miles per year (these are data from the US)

http://www.newscientist.com/contents/issue/2673.html

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/apr/science/ee_foodmiles.html

The government's waste advisers are claiming success for a pilot project in which households had their food waste collected separately and composted.

They say 4,272 tonnes of food waste were diverted from landfill, preventing the release of 1,967 tonnes of CO2.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7620109.stm

“The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and
baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we
are entering a period of consequences…”
—Winston Churchill, November 1936

A hard commercial logic dictates that the only way to get good fruit today is to grow your own.

By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 2nd September 2008

I feel almost shy about writing this column. It contains no revelations, no call to arms. No one gets savaged: well, only mildly. The subject is almost inconsequential. Yet it has become an obsession which, at this time of year, forbids me to concentrate for long on anything else.

http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2008/09/02/strange-fruit/

Come join us at our Great Unleashing!

Official opening by the Mayor of Randwick, followed by a Permaculture presentation by Russ Grayson.

A Panel of Permaculture practitioners incl. Russ Grayson, Fiona Campbell, Damien Lynch, Terry Bail and Steve Batley will discuss implementation of the design principles, and answer questions from the audience.

http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/event/permaculture-sydney-east

Man is born free but is everywhere in chainstores, except in Chippendale

The Food for the Future sustainable food fair, which will take place on Saturday 11 October and coincide with Good Food Month, will become more localised in response to an unprecedented reaction by Chippendalians to the ethos of sustainability.

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The fair’s vision is to provide local food for both residents and businesses and cafes, in an innovative and simple way, by linking local producers and consumers without intermediaries, saving on fuel costs and enhancing the freshness of food.

Early advertising of the fair has prompted local businesses, restaurants and residents to begin buying food directly from farmers and sending back food waste to be used as compost.

To facilitate this, Chippendale will be divided into four ‘paddocks’ or areas – at Little Queen Street, Meagher Street, Myrtle Street and City Road. Residents will use drop-off and pick-up points in their nearest ‘paddock’ for farm deliveries and compost. These ‘paddocks’ are set to increase in number as participation grows.

Eventually, organisers expect 300 boxes of fresh food deliveries to take place in Chippendale each week, a move that will no doubt impact on local supermarket chains.

Other residents are embracing sustainability more intimately, successfully growing their own fruit and veg in backyards and on balconies.

As a result of this commitment to sustainability, Fair organisers have decided to approach the Food for the Future fair differently. Within the Chippendale precinct a number of satellite events will be taking place.

Farmers and producers from the Hawkesbury Basin will be selling their wares from the back of trucks – country-fair style and stalls will be displaying all kinds of local produce.

In the context of a working bee on the day of the fair, the residents will plant fruit trees and plants donated by Sydney City Council withdemonstrations on how to build a leaky drain to water the trees.

The fair also showcases artworks by the children from Pine Street Creative Art Centre on their vision of food and life for a more sustainable future. Using printmaking and drawing techniques, children created individual works and a collaborative banner.

NG Art Gallery and Mission will be hosting a Feast for the Future lunch with  a panel of guest speakers such as food writer John Newton, sustainability consultant Michael Mobbs, Powerhouse Museum curator Anni Turnbull, City of Sydney councillor Chris Harris and a number of leading cutting edge Australian artists including Juliet Holmes a Court and Janet Laurence. This will be in conjunction with the Food for Thought exhibition which will be held at this time in the NG Art Gallery featuring the works of 30 artists interpreting this theme.

Other local eateries are planning similar activities in affiliation with the fair.

“The Fair was always about convincing the people of Chippo and its surrounds that food sustainability is possible, even in the very centre of a large city. "Man is born free but is everywhere in chainstores, except in Chippendale”, said Fair organiser and sustainability expert Michael Mobbs. “Locals clearly agree with that philosophy, so the Fair will now focus on building on the growing enthusiasm, and encouraging more people to buy directly from Sydney basin farms.”

Food for the Future will take place on the 11 October from 10 am – 4 pm.

For interviews with Michael Mobbs contact him directly on: 0424 460 525

A community festival "Cultivating Creative Community"was held today at Webb Park Mayfield, Newcastle Guerrilla Gardening Group made Garden Beds and planted Herbs and Veggies. The Gardens where extended During the recent Climate Camp by Camp attendees.

http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/guerrilla-gardening-newcastle

Let's begin with the humble potato.

On Thursday and Friday I spoke to several potato farmers. They did not want their names used; they feared that would put their livelihoods at risk. Such fear is commonplace. As one grower's wife told me, "The merchants are ruthless, don't worry. We've had to put up with a lot of abuse."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/08/10/1218306657424.html