Fresh Local Provisions

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/05/all-night-streetlights-make-leaves-inedible-to-insects-study-finds

All-night streetlights make leaves inedible to insects, study finds Scientists believe artificial light may be affecting natural ecology of plant life by creating extended photosynthesis

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-07-25/arnhem-land-farm-delivering-fresh-produce-to-remote-communities/104109364

Why fruit and veg sales are soaring in this remote community It's been a long time since people in this remote corner of Australia have been able to buy locally grown fruit and veggies. A new farm has changed that.

https://www.facebook.com/share/9jr8erSwuGFQMPKv/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Sick of supermarket prices? A new concept from Finland connects shoppers directly to farmers via social media Farmers' market organisers say an increasing number of shoppers are cutting out the middleman and buying direct from producers, with many embracing a unique online marketplace gaining traction in Australia.

It's not just the supermarkets.

'We were slaves to Bunnings': Plant suppliers to Australia's biggest hardware chain break their silence Suppliers of garden plants to Australia's biggest hardware chain are reporting treatment from the company allegedly so severe that the resulting stress on nursery owners has broken up marriages and left some feeling like "slaves" and "serfs".

This has been a long-standing bugaboo for Queensland poultry farmers - especially independent and ethical operations.

Australia's chicken farmers say they're going backwards due to unfair treatment by processors Chicken is the most affordable meat in Australia but growers say they receive as little as $1 for every kilo of meat they provide.

Good luck Karen!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/x7zTGJPaZzd6DEeg/?mibextid=oFDknk

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-13/does-a-supermarket-duopoly-mean-more-food-waste/103559734

Fruit, veg growers say biggest customer 'is the rubbish bin', as millions of tonnes of food is wasted Fresh produce growers scramble to meet "forecast" supply deals with supermarkets, but every year millions of dollars of surplus food goes to waste. So what's going on?

A fascinating history of the European food tradition since mediaeval times. Worth a scroll!

https://historycollection.com/these-medieval-food-habits-changed-the-way-food-is-eaten-today/

These Medieval Food Habits Changed the Way Food is Eaten Today – History Collection Throughout history, in medieval times what and how people ate and how their food was prepared was obtained, even what kind of food it was, dependent on their po

https://www.facebook.com/share/JU6hSfF7BM3ygoef/?mibextid=xfxF2i

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-microplastics-soils.html

Microplastics in soils: First consistent risk assessment Microplastics in soil are extremely diverse and complex. This makes it difficult to determine the risks of plastic pollution to soil life, which is an increasing concern among policymakers and scientists. Researchers from the Spanish Institute IMDEA Water and Wageningen University & Research now off...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-06/the-wollemi-pine-dinosaur-tree-was-long-thought-extinct/103292808

The top secret mission to preserve the 'botanical find of the century' The Wollemi Pine was thought to have gone extinct two million years ago, until an off-duty ranger stumbled across a grove. Now, experts are doing everything they can to give the tree a second chance.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/why-aussie-produce-is-more-expensive-than-canned/103401334

Why is an Australian tomato more expensive than a can flown around the world? Shoppers have seen the price of local fruit and veg skyrocket, but canned produce remains relatively cheap. One expert says there's several worrying reasons for this.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/11/pattern-found-in-worlds-rainforests-where-2-of-species-make-up-50-of-trees

Celebrating Single Origin chocolate and my friend Mary-Lou's novel, The Chocolate Factory, set post WW1 during building of the Cadbury factory in Hobart, release date, Jan 31!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10232729975774970&id=1329168110&mibextid=Nif5oz

The Chocolate Factory Love, friendship and dangerous secrets in the early years of Cadbury's Tasmanian factory.It's 1921, and after years of working for Cadbury's at Bournville, D...

Please only buy Australian garlic. 🙏

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-09/locally-grown-garlic-can-now-be-bought-all-year-round/103159594?

An ambitious quest to supply Australians with locally grown garlic year-round is paying off Garlic lovers can now buy Australian-grown all year round, thanks to decades of work by persistent farmers who refused to give up on the difficult crop.

The ancients made compost (whether they knew it or not).
https://www.science.org/content/article/ancient-amazonians-created-mysterious-dark-earth-purpose

Ancient Amazonians created mysterious ‘dark earth’ on purpose Soil study suggests today’s Indigenous Amazonians are making new terra preta

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-12-04/dairy-industry-shrinks-in-australia/103171644

The 'soul-destroying' situation behind Australia's shrinking dairy industry Do you know where your milk comes from? If you're in Queensland there's half a chance it's travelled through NSW and Victoria, possibly from a dairy up to 2,000 kilometres away.

https://www.businessinsider.com/longevity-diet-food-list-cheap-easy-2023-11

The longevity diet: Easy, science-backed ways to eat (and drink) for a long, healthy life Longevity and diet are closely related. Here's a list of foods that are cheap, nutritious, and easy to cook, plus two other tips to live longer.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-01/kenmore-park-community-aims-to-re-establish-apy-lands-orchard/103068734

Surely there are environment and education grants to facilitate this process? How wonderful for them to have this resource.

Remote community strives to improve health by growing their own fruit and veg in APY Lands A Central Australian Aboriginal community hopes to improve the health of residents and increase food security by re-establishing a once plentiful orchard that has fallen into disrepair.

Let it grow, let it grow....

https://m.facebook.com/story.php

Uncut grass keeps the soil at 19.5°C
A grass cut at a level of 10 cm maintains the soil temperature at 24.5°C
Bare soil in the middle of summer rises to more than 40°C

That is why it is important to make this knowledge visible.

https://theconversation.com/farmers-or-foragers-pre-colonial-aboriginal-food-production-was-hardly-that-simple-216988

Farmers or foragers? Pre-colonial Aboriginal food production was hardly that simple For a decade, debate has raged over Dark Emu’s account of Aboriginal agriculture. But ancient food production in Australia is more complex than labels like farming or hunter-gathering suggest.

Sign me up!

Sums it up for me. 😥