The end of food (as we know it)
'Everyone has to be asking themselves, what am I going to do, not if the system breaks down, but when.'— Paul Roberts
You've got to hand it to journalist Paul Roberts. He started writing about the end of cheap oil when most Americans were still out shopping for a new SUV and now has just released his new book "The End of Food", a book he started when the current food crisis was but a gray cloud on a distant horizon.
He and his book are featured in this article by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/26/f-qanda-paulroberts.html
You've got to hand it to journalist Paul Roberts. He started writing about the end of cheap oil when most Americans were still out shopping for a new SUV and now has just released his new book "The End of Food", a book he started when the current food crisis was but a gray cloud on a distant horizon.
He and his book are featured in this article by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/26/f-qanda-paulroberts.html
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate on -
Some hours later.....I have just returned from our local city market and thought I would try and have a look at this article again because it wasn't working before, when I wrote that other stuff. It puts it well and simply and it is all so obviously the road most people are currently on.
As for meat - I always and only buy feral meat - ie wild pig, goat, deer, rabbit amd soon camel - these are shot by contractors out in the dry reaches of our state and their removal helps the wildlife and the fragile bushland and their existence requires no clearing of land or extra feeding. There are millions, literally, of each of these animals in our state alone. If we keep the numbers to a status quo, it is a win:win situation for our wildlife and our population of humans.
Considering that our state is one and a half times the size of France, with a population of only 1.5 million people, we can support ourselves very happily this way, forever. I realise this is not possible everywhere in the world!! But this is my example of what we - the people of South Australia - can do for ourselves.
This weekend I and my seedsavers group are going to visit a place that grows food plants indigenous to our area and I intend, along with most of the others, to start growing more of these local leaves and fruits and nuts for myself as they are drought hardy and wonderful. Growing European food is all very well if you have a European climate and we must begin to take water use into account and grow more things that require less water...a topic for another day, perhaps.
After the outing I am putting on a BBQ made entirely of my food, their food and feral food. I will put some details and photos on our blog afterwards, no doubt! Unfortunately the limoncello I make uses imported vodka, but at least the lemons are from a friend's tree!
Life is good. Make limoncello fast and drink itfasterslow!
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Permalink Reply by Kate on
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mmmm I didn't mean to say 'dry reaches' quite like that either! It was meant to be amazingly thought-provoking and inspirational but all it did was make me sick and you thirsty. Oh dear!
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Permalink Reply by Penelope on -
Your controbution was definitely thought provoking and inspirational as well as thirst provoking.
I just watched MAN FROM EARTH -- lots more to think about. I have tomorrow off so I'm going to do a lot of thinking and perusing and munching lettuce thinnings.
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Permalink Reply by John Walker on -
you can buy feral camel but not 'roo?
what's Oz come too,
but to give them marsupials there due,
they can run faster that me and you.
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Permalink Reply by Kate on
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Of course we can buy kangarooo but kangaroo is not feral. Sure its wild but its not feral. It is the optimum choice but we must try to control the feral animals. There are also emu and crocodile but these are not feral either, just wild too. Oh boy, John, you need a trip to Australia ! One day maybe you will all come to one of my feral feasts!!....you sound like you have had too much of something !
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Permalink Reply by John Walker on
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feral is domesticated gone wild I believe.
I just missed the original adjective in Kate's blog.
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Permalink Reply by Brook on -
In general, a feral beast is one that was domesticated, but has now gone wild. Housecats, for instance, often go that route.
In Australia things are expanded from that definition, though, because many varieties were imported in the early days. They (and the list includes red deer, European hares, camels, and a bunch of others) found conditions to their liking, and population levels exploded.
At one point there was an official government policy of extinction, but I don't know if that's still in place. Lot's of guides and outfitters objected to the policy, because it cut into their business.
At any rate, in Australia, any non-native animal not under someone's control is a feral beast, and can be killed at will. This is very different from, say, the United States where non-native species which have established themselves in the wild are considered to be wild. Pheasants come to mind, for instance. But also things like Ibex in the southwest, Sika deer in Maryland, Fallow deer in Kentucky, and wild boar in the Smoky Mtns. Such wild animals are either considered non-game animals, and cannot be hunted; or are game animals, with seasons and bag limits strictly controlled.
In England and much of Europe, it's different again. There all game belongs to the land owner, and is considered to be his property, to be disposed of as he sees fit.
One aspect of this is that in Great Britain, Europe, and Australia, one can market wild (eg feral) game. But in the U.S. it's been illegal to do so for about a hundred years. All game legally sold in the U.S. is farm raised.
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Permalink Reply by John Walker on
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Probably to prevent poaching. Pity, the poachers I knew in Britain were very useful to know.
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Permalink Reply by Brook on
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Well, John, there's poaching and there's poaching.
It's one thing to sneak onto a man's land and take one of his salmon, or a red deer. It's quite another to decimate whole populations in the name of trade.
The U.S. laws resulted from the exesses of the market gunners of the second half of the 19th century. Even after the laws were written, outlaws continued to illegally harvest vast numbers of game; particularly waterfowl. This led to even more restrictive laws---which, unfortunatly, impact sport hunters.
For some interesting insights, find a copy of "Outlaw Gunner," Harry Walsh's classic book on the subject.
Down in Louisianna they are still outlawing en masse, using mehtods that would sicken an outlaw on the Chesapeake---like stringing gil nets in the trees, then spooking flocks of ducks into them.
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