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According to an article appearing in today’s Otago Daily Times, Stu Burt and Lyn Williamson, owners of Destination Organic – an organic superstore in Queenstown New Zealand – are so confident that organic food is cheaper than conventional food that they’re stumping up their own cash to prove it. Essentially, they’re asking the people of Queenstown to try organic food for themselves so that they can realise first hand the associated taste and health benefits. They want to find two families to be an organic test case. They will track their shopping for four weeks, keeping note of their expenditure, and will then subsidise their shopping at Destination Organic by $150 a week for four weeks, to make a comparison between the costs...

Developing then pursuing a well considered plan is the best approach for achieving a satisfactory outcome. Expectation needs matching against ability and opportunity, even for low key activities such as organic vegetable gardening. The first stage of planning considers each expectation commencing with the broadest brush. What can be achieved? The most restrictive expectations are based on measurement. A certain volume, or weight each week, then a combined target for the end of the season. Commercial organic growers must operate within such narrow economies but can be challenged by uncooperative weather cycles and unpredictable events. Recreational gardeners can set a more flexible course, one that aims to include both functional and pleasurable...

Last December I looked at some of the reasons motivating me to continue preparing fresh organic fruit and vegetable juices for my family. For those of you who are interested in making your own juice, I thought I’d take a look at the various technological options available to you. There are many implements and appliances available for making your own juice. These range from the relatively inexpensive to the almost unbelievably overpriced. While the equipment you choose needs to suit your intended purpose, it’s also important for it to fit within the parameters of your household budget. There’s no point forking out money for equipment you’re not going to use after a few weeks. Unfortunately, people often spend good money...

We live in a world where many of us have become alienated from the production, manufacturing, and distribution of our basic food supplies. Surveys conducted with primary grade children have frequently revealed startling deficits of knowledge about the natural basis of common foods. We can remind our children that eggs are laid by living and breathing chickens however their everyday experience is often mediated by the powerful sterility of supermarket chains and fast food outlets. Concerns of this nature have been a driving force for a wide range of government and private initiatives to reform childrens education and access to clear information about the interrelationships between healthy environments, food, and lifestyle. A new breed of media...

If you’re anything like me, chances are you’re constantly in a rush. Let me guess, despite your desire to observe the tenets espoused by the slow food movement, your boss is yet to come to grips with the fact that you’re entitled to a lunch break. Am I right? I thought so. Well, it’s time to slow down. And there’s no better dish to slow you down than a well made chowder combining the freshest seafood and organic produce you can lay your hands on. This one’s not difficult, but it does take a little bit of preparation time. So, pour yourself a nice glass of chardonnay and let’s take time out to make one of my favourite dishes – a delightful seafood chowder incorporating fresh organic produce. I don’t pretend to know the history...