I've Started Farming

Farming? Well, worm farming.  Finally, after months of having the worm farm paraphernalia sitting around with no worms in it I am happy to announce that a very healthy bunch of Tiger, Red and Indian blue worms have taken up residence.

The process was really pretty easy.  I think the reason I hadn't gotten around to actually getting the worms was because I was really nervous about how I might just not be very good at it.

I was in the garden shop getting some winter veggie seedlings and when I got up to the counter I noticed that the people in front had purchased a worm farm.  I asked if they knew where to get the actual worms and, lo and behold, they were right there in the shop.  Hadn't seen them before, but then I don't think they come in very often.  Maybe the worms prefer the more up-market garden centers that have cafes and gift stores attached?

Off down the aisles I went in search of the worms…determination on my face and in my stride.  Found them, rushed back to the check out and into the car before I could change my mind.

The worms have their own website, so tap, tap, tap on the keys and up came a really great site with great information and brilliant videos that showed just how easy it was.  WormsRus

Got the worms settled in and this morning when I went to check….yup, they were all there wriggling and squirming and doing what worms love to do - starting the composting procedure.

This is going to be fun!  Oh, and the winter veggies got planted to.

Happy Eating
Fee
website:  www.thevegetariancenter.com

Big Business At It Again?

New Zealand has the dubious honor of having the largest dairy exporting company in the world. Yup, little N.Z. can lay claim that dairy products are exported to more that 100 countries around the globe.

The company's name is Fonterra and you can bet your bottom dollar that they will outstrip and outsmart any other company that makes dairy products.

The latest "innovative" move they have made is to introduce a "light-proof" plastic milk bottle.  Now I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they genuinely thought they were right when they came up with the idea that milk deteriorates when it comes in contact with light and they should do something about it, but I'm more inclined to think that this is one helluva marketing ploy that will get the punters believing that, not only is milk good for you but it should be kept in the dark.

I spoke to a sales lady who was promoting the new bottles in the super market the other day, the conversation went something like this:

Lady:   Do you like the new bottle?
Me:      No, I don't - I can't see how much is left
Lady:   If you can't see the milk then that's actually a good thing, as it means neither can the light!
Me:     (under my breath -duh) It still doesn't solve the problem….so you're saying that one just has to do the weight and shake test and judge when you're going to run out.
Lady:   Ignored my comment.
Me:      With three layers….that seems like an awful lot of plastic.
Lady:   These bottles are 100% recyclable.
Me:      Yes, I know that, but it just seem like more plastic.
Lady:   The plastic is thinner, so there's not that much more at all.
Lady:   Did you know that with these bottles it means that the milk will be as good on day 15 as it is on day 1.
Me:     Mmmmmm, I think you'll find that a bottle of milk will be used within about 3 or 4 days in the majority of families - or are you saying that I can leave the milk out on the bench longer?
Lady:  Oh no, the milk still has to be refrigerated.
Me:     So there's really no difference then.
Lady:  Yes, this milk tastes better.
Me:     I can't see why if the milk is still used up quickly….milk is milk.
Lady:  But with these bottles it's fresher.
Me:     I can't see why - other companies get the milk bottled and into the stores daily, just like Fonterra does.

And so the conversation continued.

I finally left…I'd had my humor for the day….so off I went to get my soy milk….don't drink milk anyway!

When I was putting this blog together I came across an article (see link below) that said that the recycling companies are not happy with this bottle as it takes more energy and resources to create it. Wish I'd known that when I was talking to the lady!

There was also a comment made by "Whiti (N.Z.)" who threw up another argument:
"My wife is a science teacher and just couldn't resist testing the new bottle. Happy to report that the bottle does indeed appear to be light proof.
Unfortunately the good old fashioned lid is not. Given that most light tends to shine down seems a bit of an oversight if it's really all that important. Maybe just a lot of hype over nothing? Nice try Fonterra better luck next time."  See the article: New Zealand Herald 

Good one, Whiti, couldn't have said it better myself.

Give me the old fashioned way anytime!

Happy Eating
Fee
website:  www.thevegetariancenter.c

Do You Buy Free Range Eggs?

Wake up everyone at take a look at what really happens. 

"This was his last moment on earth. He tried to fly away, but he was too young. 200 million male baby chicks are ground up alive every year because they are useless to the egg industry. He was one of them." (taken from "Mercy For Animals" website)

There are some videos that I really can't watch.  I'm a bit squeamish you see and I hate to see animal cruelty.  But if you're still not convinced go to the link above.

If you must eat eggs try to find some-one local who loves their chookies, (hens/chickens).
Yes, I still eat eggs from time to time - I do struggle a bit to be fully vegan, but my beautiful vegan friends don't pass judgement, bless them.
In saying that I eat eggs I am extremely lucky that I have a friend who just loves her chookies and I reap the benefit of being able to get eggs from her when they are fully laying.

These chookies roam free around her property, in fact they lay their eggs in the strangest places which is so cool.  They are not even fenced in other than the border fence around their property.  They do have a little house where they can roost for the night, but most of the time they roost in the trees.

Even so called "free range" eggs that you buy at your local supermarket can be a bit suss because, they too don't want to have the male chickens….what do they do about that?  Well a lot of the "free range" farmers buy their laying chickens from big factory-farm hatcheries….of course they only get the female ones so they believe that their hands are clean.

And what does my friend do?  Well, she does eat meat.  She doesn't raise that many chickens anyway because she takes the eggs…but if some do slip through and go on to hatch they are raised up…regardless of whether they're male or female.  And come the time - yes, she will kill one for the table - well, her husband does the killing.

If, like me, you can't do without eggs try to find some-one local who loves their chookies. A good place to start is at the Farmers markets and ask questions!!!

Read this for more on so called "Free-Range" poultry and eggs. but be warned, it will shock you.

Happy Eating
Fee
website:  www.thevegetariancenter.com

Oil Spill Affects Humans This Time

With so many oil spills over the years it really wasn't too much of a surprise when I read from a favorite site of mine Treehugger.com - "Two weeks ago today, Exxon Mobil's Pegasus pipeline carrying diluted bitumen from Canada ruptured catastrophically, creating a 22-foot long gash that unleashed hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil and toxic chemical diluents into the Central Arkansas town of Mayflower."

What is tragic about this is the number of residences who have suffered from toxic fumes, the contaminated water and the fact that these people will now have to battle with lawsuits.  Having something like this happen within a built up area highlights the danger that pipelines, that criss-cross countries around the world, can create.  Most of the time these spills affect both the environment and the animals and, although tragic, is not as impacting on our sense of horror and outrage as it is when there is a population of humans in the forefront.

It really is time that we put more pressure on these companies that disregard the environment and disregard human and animal suffering.

I leave you with a video put out by comedians Andy Cobb and Mike Damanskis who have satirized this disaster…..even though it's "comedy" I'm sure if you watch it you will get the underlying message.

Happy Eating
Fee
website:  www.thevegetariancenter.com

Do You Use Re-Usable Shopping Bags?

I came across an article the other day which worried me a bit: Are Reusable Shopping Bags Making Us Sick   The article went on to say that "studies seem to link reusable grocery bags to food borne illness" along with the increase in stolen food.

Well, it was the illness part that concerned me and I would hope that people would read the entire article before passing judgement as it goes on to add that although different microbes were found and "more than half the bags contained some sort of coliform bacteria" what the study didn't say were the specific strains of E. coli found in the bags.  According to Dr. Susan Fernyak, director of San Francisco’s Communicable Disease and Control Prevention division, “Your average healthy person is not going to get sick from the bacteria that were listed,”

I can remember as a child, my mother always used string bags or a cane basket to do her shopping.  It was in the days before supermarkets and we would go to the butcher, (who wrapped the meat in brown paper), then onto the vegetable market, the baker and the grocer for flour/sugar etc.  None of the items were put in plastic, in fact, other than the meat, I don't remember anything else being wrapped…..oh, wait a minute, I think the bread was put into a paper bag.

I think the string bags would go through the wash periodically, but the cane basket I don't know, she may have wiped it out.

Now I realize that the bacteria and other microbes bugs have mutated and become more vicious over the years, but maybe if those who use reusable bags are educated into making sure the bags are washed regularly we just might be able to win the war on plastic.

I did come across a string bag made from hemp:  www.allgreenthings.com   Having a "see through" bag would also stop the food being stolen as well.

Another thought - why doesn't someone invent a thin disposable bag, (like the plastic bag), made from hemp….good for the environment, the growing of hemp is easy, sustainable and good for the land and it's strong enough that bags won't split.  Supermarkets would use these instead of the plastic bags and we could use them as bin liners.  Oh, that's right, growing hemp is illegal unless under license.


Happy Eating
Fee
website:  www.thevegetariancenter.com

Kudos to the Creators

I came across this (below) on FaceBook the other day.  Mercy For Animals  has put out a hard-hitting T.V. advertisement exposing the hidden ingredient in meat products.  It's only on a few channels in very few cities in the USA and on one national station.

Naturally I took a look at the ad and I was simply wowed by the dramatic effect this ad has.  All I can say is that I sincerely hope it gets air-time, that the people who do see it, (even just a small percent), take the message it gives and re-consider eating anything "meat" from the fast food industry or any other processed animal foods.

As I've said before, I'm a realist and know that there will always be meat eaters.  Rather than try and convert them to vegetarianism, (much as I'd like to), I hope to get the message out there to them that they should GET TO KNOW how and where their meat comes from - and it's ads like this that, in my opinion, help to spread the word.  Wouldn't it be great if we could see a world-wide campaign.

More about this ad:  https://www.charity-pay.com/mfa/madsausage.asp

Milking Cows

Some time ago I posted a video on my FaceBook page that, when I saw it, had a huge impact on me.  I'm going to post it here as well at the end of this blog post.  Don't worry there's no violence in it, in fact, there's not a cow in sight.

Here in New Zealand, the general consensus is that our dairy farmers treat their cows exceptionally well when in actual fact that's not always the case.

Many a time I have driven past farms where the cows are on the path wandering slowly towards the milking shed, heads down, udders bursting.  It has made me wonder just how they feel.

And, recently a farmer was jailed for cruelty to the cows in his herd....won't go into details but if you do want to read more: Farmer Jailed

And presently we are in drought conditions.  The sight of animals, both sheep and cows trying to find food on dry and barren farms are a constant "news item".  What appalls me is the lack of shade on these farms.
Oh there's the odd one that has trees, but the majority of land is tree-less and these animals are subjected to the heat of the sun.  This happens in summer here regardless of whether it's a drought or not.

Now, I'm not saying that all farmers disrespect their animals,  on the contrary, yes New Zealand is probably one of the better countries for treatment of dairy cows , but it also has a long way to go.

I'm just talking about the day to day life of a cow or sheep who is lucky enough to stay alive……….I read in the news this morning that the price of meat is coming down due to the fact that the market has been flooded because "we're all killing these animals flat tack, that's created the price." (quoted from online TVNZ news). 

I wonder, if there was ever a great food shortage, whether people would be slaughtered?  No, I'm just being silly…..cows are just animals, a money source - they don't have feelings.