Stealing Cheese

It is know among Australian cheese lovers that the choice we are offered, both in supermarkets and delicatessens, are quite limited in comparison to what is produced (and available for import) overseas.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand is the governing body which determines which cheeses can be imported, and how cheese must be produced within Australia, and importantly, the current guidelines are under review with new standards being released next year.

Why would cheese pose such a threat to our health that we need to strictly limit its supply??
The answer: because many cheeses produced in Europe are made from raw milk - meaning they aren't pasteurised. The pasteurisation process of cheese making involves heating the milk to 70C for 20 seconds to allow for the inactivation of many disease causing bacteria present in raw milk - including listeria!
The production of raw milk cheese is currently illegal in Australia.

A downside to this process is that the individual taste of the milk - determined by what the cow ate, where it was farmed, etc - is removed. And it is another example of the industrialisation of the food we eat.

Slow Food Australia are currently heading a campaign to allow cheese makers the right to use raw milk in their production processes, and if you agree that the standards should be changed they would urge you to sign their petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/m0i9l10k/

It would also allow the importation of a greater (and more delicious) variety of cheeses into Australia!!

Sustainable Food Fair

Something to put in your diary!

Blacktown City Council will be putting on a Sustainable Food Fair on Sunday week (18th April). The event will be held at Grantham Heritage Park, Seven Hills Road South, Seven Hills and will include famers stalls where you can purchase locally produced produce such as the usual fruit and vegetables as well as baked goods. Other vendors will be giving advice on sustainable food systems in your home.

Get in early to receive a free organic sausage sizzle!

For more info: http://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/events-calendar/sustainable-food-fair.cfm

Public Forum Food Fight!

In March I went to the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance's public forum regarding food campaigning with guest speaker Jeanette Longfield of Sustain UK fame.

It was only a small affair, albeit it a passionate one!

Jeanette spoke about the major campaigns she had headed at Sustain including Healthy Food for Kids where a main aim of the campaign was to eliminate all food advertising during children programming hours. The campaign lasted 17 years and progressed in waves with lows such as the increase other forms of advertising such as the internet, and highs like growing public awareness and action.
She spoke about what made her campaigning successful and what she had learnt along the way. A good example is the reality of evidence based policy, which can be more closely likened to policy based evidence, or policy not based on evidence, or policy based contrary to what the evidence states.
She is a very passionate advocate of good food practices and inspires me and many alike to demand an environment that is conducive to sustainability within the food system.

The second speaker kathy Chapman From the Cancer Council spoke about the Parent Jury, an organisation focused on bringing awareness to the food choices of our children both in terms of what advertising they're exposed to as well as what is available to them at school. They are a voice for parents!
She detailed how they cleverly manipulated the use of their website to produce media releases which in turn generated a buzz about their organisation which resulted in an increase in memberships.
Most interesting was the demographics of their members and how they will use that information to target those groups who aren't represented.

Finally Jemila Hallinan from the Environmental Defender's Office (EDO) spoke about current court cases involving land disputes. She detailed cases where large organisations such as mining companies won the rights to mine land on which communities did not want this to occur.
The main reason for not wanting the land to be dug up is because the land is highly fertile and currently used for farming. Downstream environmental impacts of mining include chemical run off and land malformations due to the excavations below.
It was disheartening to know that cases like this are lost, however it is grounds to make changes to legislation which should assist in preventing this in the future.

Both kathy And Jemila's slides are available on the SFFA website:
http://sydneyfoodfairness.org.au/

Inside Food Connect

Here is an inside look at the Monday packing and distribution processes behind Food Connect.

This weeks box contained special goodies like okra, bok choy and the most fragrant basil you have ever inhaled. Go to their website for more information http://sydney.foodconnect.com.au/