Do you make your own bread?

I was interested to read this article about the environmental benefits of making your own bread, with a breadmaker. These include the use of bulk materials and less travel and packaging. Further, it is alleged that a bread machine can do doughs, artisan breads, gluten-free loafs, and even jams and chutneys.

In our house we're not big bread eaters. We struggle to finish a loaf in a week. So for us it would most likely not be cost effective. Further I'm not meant to eat wheat so we invariably buy some kind of organic, whole loaf anyway. But for a big family it may be the way to go, what do you think?

Are there other things you make from scratch rather than buy? A dear friend makes the most amazing jams and chutneys and I've featured the benefits of making your own shortbread and I also like to make scones. We'll also soon be subject to an influx of zucchinis which will nessitate some busy baking. I'd also like to try making tomato sauces for presents.

Resource Efficient Gardening

A few weeks ago I attended an excellent talk and discussion panel hosted by The Food Gardeners Alliance, we posted a little more on them in a previous post.

Buying produce from a supermarket is perhaps one of the most un-environmentally friendly things you can do, not just the direct resource usage of farming, but the effects of product transport, wastage, refrigeration, personal transport and much more. We only have a small patch in our (mainly concrete) back yard but it's enough to supply us with just under half of our weekly food, the statistics on this are :

A 4 by 5 metres patch can produce enough for 2 people, approximately 200kg a year with only 2 or 3 hours a week of work.

Even if you have no yard or garden there are many tricks to be performed with containers, an issue we have also frequently covered here.

Lets take a look at a few more tips offered by some of the speakers at the discussion.


David Holmgren is an infamous figure in the recent resurgence in gardening, one of the co-founders of Permaculture he proposes a more holistic approach to gardening, considering micro cultures and climates to encourage growth and nature. It's a fairly involved process and there are many who offer courses, literature and insight into it. Rest assured it's not just applicable to those with lots of space, permaculture can also be practised easily in restricted spaces with processes such as Rooftop gardening, planting in containers, vertical gardening and aquaponic systems.
www.holmgren.com.au


Diggers is an organisation perhaps better reserved for those with slightly larger gardens, but for a source or certified organic seeds it is ideal. Specialising in vintage, cottage and heirloom varieties of plants Diggers maintains an impressive list of breeds that you've probably never heard of.
www.diggers.com.au


Jane Edmanson is a famous figure in the gardening world, host of TV shows for many years and generally a figure of respect and trust in the wider community. Her tips were generally a lot more practical and common-sensical, moving themes back into the home and the benefits that growing and eating our own produce can bring, such as gardening being a great source of exercise and that fresh produce could help reduce obesity. She also bestowed the virtues of seasonal planting, something that can frequently be overlooked when your attracted to the myriad of pretty plants available to you.
www.janesgarden.com.au


There was also an interesting representative from Sustainable gardening Australia, but I admit that I had to leave early, so missed what they had to say, expect something on the SGA in the near future.
www.sgaonline.org.au

green washing again!

ACCC to probe green beer claims
Julian Lee
August 25, 2008

A LEADING brewer's attempts to cash in on demand for green products has landed it in hot water after marketing claims that its beer is better for the environment were challenged.
The competition watchdog has been asked to investigate ads calling Cooper's Australia's greenest beer and encouraging drinkers to walk to the pub to save greenhouse gas emissions.
The company's failure to back the claims with hard evidence has prompted consumer organisation Choice to complain to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that the ads — which use the line "big beer, tiny footprint" — are false and misleading.


The move comes as advertisers and environmentalists release guidelines to stem a flow of greenwash, the term used to describe marketing that overstates a product's benefits to the environment.

In the past year, Woolworths, Saab, LG, Goodyear tyres and Origin Energy have all been accused of greenwashing.

Last week the environmental organisation Total Environment Centre issued a 10-point checklist for marketers.

Among other things, it asks companies to back claims with proof and to resist overstating environmental claims in order to gain a commercial advantage. This week the advertisers' association will release a draft of its self-regulatory code for public consultation. It is not expected to go as far as the centre's checklist in stripping hyperbole from ads for green products.

Both these join the ACCC's own guidelines as well as those issued by Choice.
Environmentalists acknowledge that the rise in greenwash allegations could stymie demand for green or ethical products.

Coopers did not return calls.
From The Age

You can find out more about efforts to thwart greenwashing by the Total Environment Centre here

Shopping with a conscience.....

Consciencous shopping can see like a massive undertaking. Loads of reading of labels and deliberating whether to buy the dearer ethical product or something cheap and cheerful. Australian made vs Fair trade? Is it made in Australia with Australian produce, made in Australia with overseas produce, made overseas with Australian produce? Does it contain genetically modified ingredients? How is it packaged? What's the carbon footprint? Is it tested on animals? Does it contain MSG? And as much as we'd like, we don't all have time to shop at farmer's markets and food co-ops all the time.

But the best things about being a consumer is that you have CHOICE. You can choose what to buy and where.

Ethical Consumption

The Ethical Consumer Guide by Ethical.org ranks brands according to their company rating. This is based on assessment information gathered from over 25 sources including the work of organisations such as Greenpeace, Choose Cruelty Free, Corporate Monitor, Reputex, Responsible Shopper and Sustainability Victoria. Its an excellent consolidation of loads of different products rated by different organisations.

Presently the guide focuses on supermarket products. You can download the guide here

If it all seems too difficult, Ethical also runs Ethical Shopping Tours, a brilliant way to learn how to put the guide into action: