“The child who has become master of his acts through long and repeated exercises, and who has been encouraged by the pleasant and interesting activities in which he is engaged, is a child filled with health and joy and remarkable for his calmness and discipline.”— Maria Montessori In all my thinking about food and its […]
GROUNDS FOR A DELICIOUSE REVOLUTION
“To be interested in food but not in food production is clearly absurd.” Wendell Berry Wendell Berry’s quote is a frank challenge to modern society’s relationship with food—one that forces us to examine how disconnected many of us have become from its origins. It raises critical questions about the flow-on effects of this disconnection in […]
Where the Garden Used to Be
I’m the youngest of four boys, raised by loving, grounded parents in country New South Wales. From early on, I absorbed a blend of traditional Australian values and a more holistic, outward-looking perspective. Education was important. So was getting your hands dirty. I was taught to respect knowledge, seek adventure, appreciate nature, work hard, and […]
The Taste of Cultural Amnesia
I recently took time to reflect. I’ve always been fascinated by travel—specifically, the unique relationships between food, land, and local people. These moments of cultural exchange are vibrant, layered, and deeply human. In a foreign country, even something as simple as finding a meal becomes a full-sensory experience: sights, smells, sounds, and flavours that challenge […]
LESSON ONE: THE TASTE OF PLACE
“We eat every day, and if we do it in a way that doesn’t recognise value, it’s contributing to the destruction of our culture and of agriculture. But if it’s done with a focus and care, it can be a wonderful thing. It changes the quality of your life. Alice Waters Alice Waters’ words challenge […]
CULTURE, FOOD & OTHER SACRED THINGS
“A whole set of values comes with fast food: Everything should be fast, cheap and easy; there’s always more where that came from; there are no seasons; you shouldn’t be paid very much for preparing food. It’s uniformity and a lack of connection.” Alice Waters Over many generations, our connection to food, to land, and […]
FOOD IS PRECIOUSE AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH
If we understand that food is necessary, then its origins and production are undeniably interlinked and influential on our social fabric.— inspired by Wendell Berry To be interested in food but not in food production is clearly absurd Preparing and sharing meals—once a sacred daily ritual—has shaped culture and community for generations. It’s nothing new. […]
A Veggie Garden Is a Political Act
Agricultural sustainability doesn’t depend on agritechnology. To believe it does is to put the emphasis on the wrong bit of ‘agriculture.’ What sustainability depends on isn’t agri- so much as culture. Raj Patel More than half the world now lives in cities. The trend is clear: we are moving away from rural life and into […]
SACRED THINGS 