Jibber

Small holding.

Currently making plans for a small holding. This would be a dream come true. It's complicated by a fear of recurrent illness - but the fact remains, I am far more fortunate than many who suffer from Depression or anxiety related illness. I have a supportive family and opportunity to work again - doing something that fires a passion in me. I have asked myself whether I'm rushing forward into something I am not fully recovered enough for - and frankly, the answer is, I am really in need of purpose beyond recovery, rushing or not, I want to take the opportunity while it presents itself (the farm next door has just vacated). It seems like this planned element of our future is one worth accelerating to reality.

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We are what we eat

It's about time we all thought about what we eat - and what we want to be eating in 20 years time.

I have all sorts of possibilities for a future, more balanced, less stressful career. One dream I have lies in agriculture. Small scale, local and specialist. It's kind of matured these days to a Bookmarks list full of Aquaponics and Hydroponics references, British Cheese makers, and organic Carp farming. We'll see. I'm on the right path at least - moving to a part of the country both laden with farms, and famous for it's cheese (Cheshire).

I have always been keen on gardening, particularly for the kitchen.
I lived on a farm for a while and it was one of the most inspiring periods in my life.
I guess the magic of helping to deliver a Foal at 4am probably contributed to that but, the most inspirational part was the family spirit (which appeared to be fed by hard work and feasts), their relationship with their land and livestock, and their farm shop.

All the food it sold was local. Without exception. A good chunk of it from their own herd, crops and processing (Cider, Cheese, Jams). If it couldn't be produced locally, it wasn't sold. (anecdotally, this was a philosophy my wife and I employed for our wedding 3 years ago - allowing a 50 mile radius for all produce except the champagne....which was understandable when your sister is a Pol Roger rep ;)

This was 20 years ago. The family worked exceptionally hard running their farm - each was ruddy faced and fit as a fiddle. It seemed to me that whatever madness was going on in the outside world, they lived in a self sufficient nirvana of hard work and reward. Most obvious was that every mealtime was a very special time - a celebration of life at it's best. Centred around gloriously loved produce. Pigs that we'd all rolled in the mud with, made the sausages and bacon for our breakfasts, Beef roasted and delicious was often commented on with sentences like 'You see gang, I told you 531 was going to be a beauty"... It was, however, apparent that they would all be alot richer if the large supermarkets weren't making such effort to undercut cost of produce with full on mechanised intensive food production. It didn't make sense to me that their main worry was money - when their produce was so popular and so amazing when set next to supermarket junk. It was apparent that the Supermarkets agenda was simple, force as many farmers as possible to produce food as cheaply as possible, then process the hell out of it, to ensure it remained valuable to them once delivered to their distribution centers.

Jamie Oliver at TED:

It seems unbelievable that it's taking so long for us to wake up to the fact that you get out of something what you put in - food being one of the best examples of this, and shocking it's taken 20 years after my small revelation about food, where it comes from, what it really costs and what it means to our lives (not just health but social and family), for a public 'movement' to start gathering real momentum.

I hope that this revolution builds and that tools like the social web can open up a whole new market place for agriculture. Not just because I'd like to be part of it in some way. No, I hope it grows because now I'm painfully aware of the harm we're doing to future generations health, not to mention our intensively farmed agricultural lands, and I'm also an uncle 4 times over. I want my nephews and neices to grow up respecting food, glorious food...and appreciating how much the stuff of life it is.

edit: this Blog has provoked an interesting discussion on Google Buzz http://www.google.com/buzz/twitamp/HgaPdv8DTB6/We-Are-What-We-Eat-Its-about-time-we-all-thought

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AudioBoo / Brainspill

A long free flowing ramble this morning at 6.30 in the park. I don't recommend listening. I have a head full of thoughts at the moment and needed to spill them out and archive them - something an AudioBoo is perfect for.

AudioBoo / Brainspill

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Small holding.

We are what we eat

AudioBoo / Brainspill