‘Fair Food, stories from a movement changing the world’.
I close the book up and sit there, long deep thinking, and a little frown to concentrate harder as needed. There are so many mixed thoughts and emotions to grab hold of, it’s a bit of a lucky dip, grab one and run with it. Conversation starters, that’s for sure.
Over all while reading the book, I feel completely hopeful, and really excited on how wonderfully driven people are and all that they do for our current food system. Then on another page, I’m feeling the complete opposite. Slipping hope and questions of how the hell did we let it get to this??
As I’m reading, I dog ear so many corners and underline so many lines and passages, it ends up looking like a high school text book. Why? Because it’s important this stuff, I want to remember.
Fair Food is a book told through the different experiences of people within the Fair Food movement of Australia. Personal stories from backyard food forests, urban farming, activism, regenerative agriculture and something that I hold firmly to, radical homemaking.
All topics that are relevant, food and the way that we grow it, support it, buy it, eat it…this is something that effects all of us, every single one of us.
If we are lucky enough to have regular food on our tables, well then we should be educating ourselves on the food system that we buy into, understanding even a tiny corner of it makes a difference, and has a wonderful follow on effect.
While I loved all the different stories from people contributing to this book, I think it was Cat Green, the Radical Homemaker that I identified with most.
“Radical homemaking grounds my day to day life…” I loved reading from her point of view because she clarified things for me (well in my head anyway) that were there, I just needed to join the dots.
“It is a framework for social change that seamlessly entwines personal change with broader collective change.” Damn straight it is.
“My ‘work that matters’ comes from being actively involved in life, not sitting on the bleachers paying for someone else to do it.” Yes. A beautiful resounding yes.
So, while I’ve momentarily closed the book to think on it’s content, I know I’ll be opening it again soon. To read aloud, to quote parts that resonate and most importantly to pass it on to others.
Food for thought
The 3 daily meals Australians eat have travelled over 10,000km before they reach our stomach.
We waste nearly 40% of all food we produce.
The world produces enough food already to feed everyone on the planet.
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Important Links
The Peoples Food Plan: food policy document
Australian Food Sovereignity Alliance
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Good morning Brydie. I think I have created a personal first, I clicked on the link and ordered the book before I had commented. Thank you for letting us know about this.
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Excellent stuff Rose. I’d love to know your thoughts on this one once you read it. (Online book club??)
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The book arrived from Readings arrived on Thursday so, when I finish Harper Lee’s “discovered” Go Set a Watchman, I’ll be reading this. I do like the idea of online book club discussion — my thinking cap is on.
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Wow, that’s a powerful post. I love it. Like Rose, I’ve opened the link to the book before I’ve commented. You’re so right that we should pay more attention to where our daily food comes from and what happens to the stuff we dont use. I’m reminded of the grace we used to say as kids – thank you for this food and for mother who prepared it…. while that was a simple thought, the journeys our food takes these days are much more complicated ones. Thank you for your honest review and encouragement to learn more..
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Tamara I’ve not come from a family that gives thanks or says grace before a meal but as an adult, like you’ve just said I can certainly see the merits of it. Imagine a meal where thanks is given to the farmers, soil, person who has created/provided your meal in front of you. Mindfulness perhaps?
Read the book….I hope you love it.
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Thank you for highlighting this book. It’s a long time coming to have a current book on our defragmented food systems. So much out there on America’s food chain. It’s disheartening when you know how bad it is but so inspiring when you hear about all the good people out there trying to change it. You don’t feel alone. Power is knowledge! The Radical Homemakers book makes me so proud to be a homemaker.
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Hooray to all of that I say Zena. I reckon you do the Radical Homemakers Book proud. xx
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Oh I know that feeling of finishing a sustainability oriented book all too well. Great post – will be checking the book out and look forward to further insights from your end 🙂
Katherine
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Thanks Katherine. Have a look out for the book.
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I too have ordered this book now – a topic of huge interest to me.
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Let me know what you think of it Deirdre.
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Complacency is a slow death. Allowing ourselves to hand all of our base needs over to “someone else” results in us being completely and utterly vulnerable. Learning how to do as much as we possibly can ourselves, is not only important, vital even, but it is eminently satisfying and enlivening. There is NOTHING like eating your own home grown vegetables or fruit. Nothing makes you feel as glorious as pulling a couple of high top homemade loaves of bread out of the oven and slicing and eating a just warm slice. Heading out with purpose to dig the earth, to create a garden sculpture, to sit indoors in socks you knitted yourself by a fire that you chopped the wood for and knowing that you live close to the earth is a fundamental need that civilisation has avoided for too long. We have everything that we could ever want but why are we all so unhappy? Life isn’t meant to be lived out of a credit card in a sterile supermarket. It’s meant to be dirty and sweaty and “LIVED!” We all need reminders that what we think is important, often isn’t. Thank you for sharing this Ms Cityhippyfarmgirl, especially that quote about the bleachers :).
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It IS meant to be dirty and sweaty and lived! The amount of people that value that seem to be in the minority though…
So what to do? Spread the quiet word, share the bounty and remember to thank those that enrich our lives, in whatever aspect that maybe. Bugger complacency.
(ps. when are you putting your wise woman quotes out as a calendar? 🙂
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I am still trying to get Mr Leunig on board with the wise word calendar 😉
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Thanks for this post. I can’t wait to read the book! And the line “actively involved in life” has made me feel very inspired about the simple day ahead of me. Yes, I AM actively involved and it feels good! A bit of lifestyle validation does wonders for my soul.
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Linda I really don’t know why we need it but….yes, sometimes lifestyle validation needs to be done. Quite often I have to write it here just to remind myself.
Go you good thing, get out there and get into your bloody busy simple living day 🙂
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Aaannd another book goes on the wishlist…scurrying off now to see if the library has it xx
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Maybe not quite yet Becs, but put an order in, they need it on their shelves.
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Definitely important to pass on to others. I do find these types of books inspiring but like you say, then you come crashing down wondering how and why we’ve let things slip so far xx
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Got to do better than what we are Charlie, can’t let it get worse….can’t.
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I think Narf77 has articulated my thoughts better than I could have myself. So many important issues here Brydie, thanks for reminded us and sharing this important information. Food waste is something I personally feel very strongly about. 40% is ridiculous isn’t it?
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She is a wise woman is Ms Narf…lucky to have her comment here.
I would love to talk to you about all things farming one day Jane….I really would.
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So jump in and order some produce from somebody like me at 80acrefarm.com.
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I do Dennis! Well not you as you are a little bit far to be my local but wherever possible I support local produce.
Victorians take note, Dennis has your beef needs covered.
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Fantastic! I saw the Fair Food Documentary, and its truly an inspiring film. I can’t wait to read the book now, I’ve just placed my order 🙂 I’ve doubled my veg patch from last year, and have started my spring plantings (its been a loooong Canberra frosty winter). I love that more and more restaurants are sourcing local produce, and that peoples attitudes to food sovereignty are slowly but surely changing.
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After a week immersed in the recreational lives of family and friends who build rigs – big rigs extracting oil from the South China Sea – which fuel gas guzzlers sold by another which travel the roads and hi tech engineered bridges designed to clear more of our precious Australian natural habitats, my copy beckoned.
My week commenced with the Byron Bay screening of “The Worm is Turning”. Off to a great start, I thought. Attempts across the remainder of the week’s indulgences to engage my intelligent capitilist companions in discussions on nutritious foods, chem-free products and peak oil were met with scant regard and responses [read: orders!] to get back into the corporate world now that my ecological “farming” degree is complete. The implication: get a real job!
Yezterday, as I sat in the airport lounge awaiting my return flight home from an undeniably fun week, I opened up my Fair Food copy with relief. With a sense of comfort and community, I was already home.
Highly recommended reading experience.
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Glad you liked the book and my story and it’s great to see through your blog and readers comments that there are heaps of people living out these values daily 🙂 In case you hadn’t come across it before, I owe such a debt to Shannon Hayes who wrote the Radical Homemaking book and blogs all about it. Now she’s an inspiring read!! Check her out: http://theradicalhomemaker.net/
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This is a great post, the most alarming sentence being ‘We waste nearly 40% of all food we produce.’ That is a truly worrying and frankly pretty disgusting stat. Will definitely check out the book. Have been feeling book cravings lately.
PS. You are the queen of excellent tags Brydie, my favourite being your signature ‘supermarketbreadpffft’. I just noticed ‘waffles and digressions’ 🙂
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I assume this is connected to the Fair Food doco Brydie? I was very pleased to be part of the Pozible campaign for that last year 🙂 Another one off to get a copy of the book…
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