Seasons awry. Cherries in winter and forsaken oranges.
Seeing cherries from the US for sale in July reminded me of the folly of eating foods just because we can, not because they are locally ripe and tasty. It is a modern phenomenon that neglects the real cost of produce flown in from another country, where the social, health and environmental impacts are not counted. I guarantee they don’t compare with the cherries famous in our family’s collective memory, the ‘popping’ cherries, bought in Young on one long gone summer holiday.
This year our seasonal harvest in Northern Victoria has once more gone wrong. TV news recently showed the tragedy besetting farmers in the Riverina with footage of tonnes of oranges being dumped from a processing plant, uneconomical for the juicing market and further reports of 30 tonne a day being discarded elsewhere. By rough estimate those 30 tonne of oranges alone have enough Vitamin C to provide the recommended daily intake and seasonal immune enhancement for over 20,000 people.
Cherries and oranges, both examples of the failures of a free market responsible for their being sought after or forsaken and indicative of Why we need to change the food system. Dumping so much fresh produce is wrong on many levels and what is also clear is the disrespect for farmers. Where drought and financial difficulty reigned over the last decade, those resilient enough to continue their citrus farming are now paying the price.
It is a shameful addition to the estimated household food waste of over $5 billion/ year in Australia https://www.tai.org.au/index.php?q=node%2F19&pubid=696&act=display That doesn’t include the waste from produce that never reaches the distribution networks, such as the orange fiasco, the misshapen bananas and crooked carrots that consumers will supposedly reject and additionally what the supermarkets throw out.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s recent report Global Food Losses and Food Waste http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/mb060e/mb060e00.pdf explains the difference between pre and post farm gate waste.
The difference between loss and waste is that food loss takes place at production, post-harvest and processing stages of the food supply chain. Waste refers to the end of the food chain, the retailers and buyers’ behaviour. The report reveals that one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally.
Globally the wealthier countries have a higher level of waste and the poorer countries have greater food losses. However, climate change and food security issues will eventually force solutions to this situation to emerge.
Waste of the resources used to grow food, particularly water, is difficult to justify, http://www.environment.gov.au/wastepolicy/publications/pubs/food-waste.pdf In addition, waste of resources used in food production brings with it the problem of emissions caused by production of food lost or wasted.
So how can we better make use of what is currently lost? If food losses could be reduced there is potential to affect the entire food system. Laying the framework for the sustainable food system of the future the production, distribution and marketing of food will, by necessity and with community input, require change.
Local community innovation is often the answer, with enterprising people like Eric Wright and the Nangiloc PS’s idea to sell oranges as fundraisers as an alternative to the chocolate drive http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2012/07/07/506045_farm-news.html Now at nearby Sunny Cliffs PS the students are starting a business selling oranges.
This could be a case study of the benefits of seasonal food. The story of oranges brings the opportunity to illustrate how seasonal and locally grown food taste better, costs less when in plentiful supply and has higher nutrient levels than produce harvested prior to ripening naturally. Then there is the story of reducing emissions from food going to landfill and the wasted water and other resources used to produce the food.
There is a resurgence of interest in the preserving of seasonal produce as those of a new generation appreciate its value and those of an older generation reprise lost arts. How many ways can one preserve an orange’s goodness? Could this case study be seen by social entrepreneurs as a ‘juicy opportunity’ to perhaps create a market for the forsaken oranges and bring a bit of Riverina sunshine into the homes of communities who don’t have access to the wonders of citrus? What needs to change to prevent this waste happening in future?
Maison Bleue’s Winter Produce Harvest
The bounty of winter produce harvested at Maison Bleue is providing plenty of recipe options for pumpkin and all sorts of permutations and combinations of leafy greens, uses found for the flavoursomeness of fennel and of course a tasty range of herbs. At the Backyard Pharmacy we had our first pumpkin crop, with Japanese, Butternut and Queensland Blues – self-sown and emerging in unlikely places, the largest assisted to climb over the old metal frame purchased at the recycle centre that proved just right for the task. Seeds have been swapped and stored and next year promises an expanded array of heritage pumpkins and new opportunities for kitchen experimentation.
It is perfect soup weather and time to put the produce to the test with my immune boosting
Winter Sunshine Soup
1.5 Kg pumpkin peeled, seeded and chopped
½ a large leek cut lengthwise and finely sliced
1 litre of vegetable stock
1 stick lemongrass, chopped finely
1 piece of ginger about length and width of 2 thumbs, sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, sliced
1 heaped teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 small fresh chilli, sliced
salt and pepper
1/2 litre of stock made from the leftover peels of lemongrass, ginger and garlic, the tops and ends of the leek plus the juiced half lime (discard the seeds of chilli if you don’t like it too spicy)
1 large navel orange, juiced
chopped coriander herb and petals of a marigold (sunrays) for decoration
olive oil
Blend up lemongrass, ginger, chilli, turmeric, pinch of salt and juice of half a lime until smooth. Put some olive oil in the soup pot and add wet paste and cook lightly to bring out the flavours. Add the finely sliced leek and cook until transparent and then add the pumpkin. Add all strained vegie stock and cook until pumpkin softens. Turn heat off, then when slightly cooled add orange juice and blend. Season to taste and sprinkle chopped coriander and marigold petals on top to serve. This makes enough for half a dozen bowls plus some to freeze.