I just read another article on organic food with unquestioning reporting of “findings” that organic farming cant feed the world. This is a myth. It has been professionally propagated by the corporate “agricultural right” as a way of undermining organic farming. Consider this fact: Since 1961 global output has tripled, while the population has doubled. The food is not getting to the people who need it, because of globalisation. Cargill, the world’s biggest grain trader, recorded an 86% profit increase from grain trading in the first quarter of this year, while ADN, the second biggest, posted a 67% profit increase in 2007. Meanwhile, in 2007 farmers globally produced 2.3 billion tonnes of grain, up 4% on 2006. Global supermarket chains are enjoying record profit growth, investment funds have moved from stocks to commodities, further driving up prices, and the biofuels market is diverting yet more food from the needy.

I am organic farmer, and I admit our yield is lower that our neighbours. However, as my neighbours are high-input, largely corporate operations, this is comparing apples with oranges. An organic farm is a low input operation which is inherently more sustainable because it is less reliant on manufactured, energy intensive inputs. It is a self sustaining organism, it is more resilient to climate change, drought and peak oil (for example, Cuba’s organic farming now feeds the whle country). Organic farms are productive on more levels. For example, at “Rosnay” we run sheep in our vineyard to produce free, non-leaching fertility, as well as meat and wool. As for pesticides and herbicides - they are an addiction. Most weeds actually build fertility, and many “pests” are actually needed to feed the beneficials. And nobody can deny the costs of pesticides and fertiliser leachate on health and the environment.

The article rightly pointed out the problem of economies of scale, which is our biggest challenge in running a commercial organic wine and olive business. But the article needed to mention that in the places where food is scarcest, the third world, its the small scale organic farms that are actually feeding people. Their yield per hectare is higher than the colonial style export oriented plantations, but they are more labour intensive, and hence are less “profitable”. The World Bank and the IMF want mechanised, monocultural, export-oriented plantations to generate export commodities, not food for the hungry. They and the “agricultural right” have created the low-productivity myth to support their globalisation agenda, in particular the acceptance of GM foods.

See www.grain.org/articles/?id=39/ for more info.

GOOD news for eco-conscious wine connoisseurs: a little of what you fancy need not cost the Earth, but only if it’s organic.

Valentina Niccolucci and colleagues from the University of Siena, Italy, measured the resources used to grow, package and distribute wine made from Sangiovese grapes at two farms in Tuscany 30 kilometres apart. The organic farm used only natural fertilisers and pesticides, and most operations were done by hand, while the other used conventional methods of production. The team worked out the resources needed to support the making of each wine - its “eco-footprint”.

A bottle from the organic farm had an eco-footprint of 7.17 square metres, half that of the non-organic wine with a footprint of 13.98 square metres. This is because the mechanised production used more land and non-recycled glass (Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2008.05.015).

Though it’s not clear that organic food is always eco-friendly, the team say wine producers could shift to organic systems to reduce their overall ecological impact.

From issue 2671 of New Scientist magazine, 01 September 2008, page 15

Good news! Cowra winemakers are celebrating its best ever result at the 26th annual Cowra Wine Show - one of Australia’s biggest open wine shows which saw 2590 entries from 461 wineries.

With a history of producing great Chardonnay, it was fitting that a gold medal (top of class) and ‘The Ian Armstrong Trophy for Best Chardonnay of the Show’ was awarded to a Cowra wine, the 2006 Spring Ridge Cowra Chardonnay. Peter and Ann Jeffery are a very committed part of the loca industry, giving up countless hours to our vineyard association. They have been producing small batches of Chardonnay since 1997, so to get this recognition, especially within the forum of an open show such as Cowra, is just what they deserve.

Two other gold medals were awarded to Cowra wines, including the 2007 Mulyan Cowra Shiraz (top of class) and the 2007 Swinging Bridge Cowra Shiraz. The 2008 Cowra Wine Show was overseen by a respected panel of Judges including Chairman Andrew Spinaze from Tyrrell’s Wines, Lester Jesberg from Winewise Magazine, Tim Knappstein from TK Wines, Steve Goodwin from Witchmount Wines, Michael Kerrigan from Hayshed Hill and John Glaetzer from John’s Blends in South Australia. Rosnay won bronze medals for the 2006 Shiraz and the 2006 Chardonnay Semillon in the same show.

The week before at the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show in Sydney (Max Allen Head Judge) Rosnay got bronzes for the 2005 Semillon, 2005 Shiraz, 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2005 Triple Blend. These results show the consistency of the Rosnay wines, which have for the last four years always been among the most consistent in that show. Unlike the big corporate vineyards and some of the boutique vineyards that only make small parcels, we are not able to hand select the best sections of our vineyard for medal wining wines - we harvest all of our fruit and make it all into Rosnay wine, without any quality hierachies with heavily oaked hand selected “Reserve” or cheap “Cleanskin” batches.

So on average, we are happy with our wine quality, and we are very happy to be part of the wonderful wine region that is Cowra. Check Cowra out at www.winesofcowra.com.au . We look forward to hearing your comments on Cowra wines!

Simplicity, balance, fullness and earthiness are some words that come to mind, when enjoying and digesting a bowl of Judith Kennedy’s cauliflower soup with truffle oil.
First make the stock - Roast, onion, leek, potato, Carrot, celery and any other favourite roasting vegetables in Rosnay Olive Oil for 30 minutes in a hot oven. Remove the browned vegies and tip into a saucepan of hot to warm water. Add black pepper and sea salt and simmer for 2 hours.
Strain the liquid – It should be light brown, fairly thick and drops of olive floating on top. Tip in plenty of flowerets of cauliflower and boil steadily until the caulie is soft. Cool down before blending or you will break the glass of the blender!
Now it’s ready to serve in nice wide bowls. Drizzle a little truffle scented oil over the top. Pour a glass of Rosnay wine and sit back and enjoy!
The first thing you might think about is the much-touted truffle oil and how difficult it can be to really taste something upfront, especially in the relatively every-day truffle-infused oil. Then you notice the fullness and balance of the cauliflower soup, without any strong highlights or spice. As you get half way through the bowl the two begin to work together into a full-flavoured but rustic balance. The rest is lost in conversation.
I must try this at home!
After saying this I can’t help but plug a book in which you can find this recipe, whose authors are old friends from opposite parts of my life. Judith Kennedy, known to have many pursuits in the culinary, vinophile, cultural spheres, is the chef and co-author, and I had the pleasure of this soup from her very kitchen tonight, along with some family wines - they were also amazing. Matthew Squires is here too, who I know from uni days 15 years ago as a very chilled-out guy who I went to yoga class with once or twice but who now runs his own Sydney physio practice and helped Judith and many others to great health. He is the phsio, co-author ever-impressive demonstrator of his yoga-inspired exercises.
I don’t know about getting up early for yoga, but I do know that the soup was superb. I can’t wait to get into the rest of this book, as it’s all in bite size practical snippets, which is about all most of us can handle these busy days.
The plug: http://www.rescuemeonline.com or from the Rosnay Cellar door - I’m getting a few spare copies just for you!

RTD’s OUT!
The recent increase on taxes on “alco pops” to reduce alcohol related harm is long overdue. Some might think it unwise to comment on this, lest wine be the next target of the federal treasury. However, I think there is more to it than tax collection. From my own experience, spirits in soft drinks give me a filthy hangover, and thats assuming the drinks actually decide to stay in my stomach, probably re-fermenting. Maybe I am soft gutted, but I know that I can consume an equal volume of organic wine and wake up feeling fine, assuming I get enough hours sleep and drink some water before bed. The benefit of using taxes to divert drinkers away from “alco-pops” towards all-natural fermented beverages such as beer and wine is a reduction in health issues.
But is there an alternative to “alco-pops” for people looking for alcoholic refreshment that is less throng than wine, and is not beer?
Organic Sangria IN!
Organic Sangria is a great way to celebrate and refresh. Its so simple to make I wonder why I took so long to find it. First, chop lots of organic fruit, such as juicing apples or in-season stone fruit, some citrus, and even bananas, manoges or other tropical fruit. Work on at least 20% to the volume of sangria being made. Put the fruit in a bucket and cover with red wine overnight, or as long as possible. When the party is about to start, make the mix as follows:
50% dry red wine, not too big and “Barossa”, but not too soft and fines either.
25% organic orange juice. Buy a full carton from a wholesaler and you wont regret the leftover juice in your cupboard.
25% soda water - just for the bubbles
Organic raw sugar to taste - dissolve in some hot water if necessary
Throw the fruit in and some ice, turn up the salsa music and serve.
Make sure people eat their fruit before they can have a refill!

I would be VERY interested in knowing your experiences with Sangria, and I hope that the kids of today will discover this healthy alternative to alco-pops.

Another good question: “We were lucky enough to be given a bottle of the Shiraz from a friend to try, and although we loved the taste, there was extremely heavy sediment in the bottom of the bottle that actually clinked the glass when dropped back in. We are concerned about the toughness and hardness of this sediment, can you advise us as to what it could be and if this is common, before we consider buying some wine ourselves. And this did detract from our full enjoyment of an otherwise tasteful wine. Thank you for your time with this matter”
Answer: “Tartrate crystals, also known as wine diamonds, potassium bitartrate crystals, or cream of tartar, occur naturally in wines that are high in tartaric acid, which is the sign of a quality grape. Tartaric acid is the primary acid found in grapes, just as citric acid is found in oranges, lemons and other citrus. In wine, the tartaric acid binds with natural potassium, forming potassium bitartrate. The crystals precipitate either to the bottom of the fermentation vat, adhere to the inside staves of the oak barrel, or form in the bottle, especially if the wine is chilled. In the bottle, the crystals are usually found just under the cork or at the bottom of the bottle, depending how it has been stored or transported. Tartrate crystals do not in any way alter the taste of the wine, but they are displeasing to the eye. If tasted, they are slightly tart but not unpleasant, just like the cream of tartar you might add to beaten egg whites to form a meringue. To avoid this, gently decant the wine to separate the wine from the crystals. You will also find a general improvement in the taste of red wine when it is decanted.
Because most Australian drinkers are not familiar with wine diamonds as they are in Europe, some Aussie wines are “cold stabilised” at the winery to remove the crystals before bottling. Chilling the wine to near freezing for a period of days accelerates the formation of the crystals, which are filtered out. Apparently the drawback to this technique is that there is the potential for oxidation of the wine since chilling makes oxygen more soluble. Our philosophy is to use the most gentle winemaking techniques possible, with minimal intervention, to maximise the wine’s individuality and structure. Therefore our reds are not cold stabilised, and we sometimes find a few harmless wine diamonds in the bottle.
I hope this is a helpful answer to your question. Its a shame I didn’t explain this to you earlier, as you may have enjoyed that wine more!”

Part two of this pertinent email question - and the topic on everyone’s mind - climate change.

I dont have an axe to grind here, but as a farmer, I know that I am part of an industry that will be VERY heavily affected by both climate change and peak oil. And agriculture is also a heavy contributor to it. It is estimated that food production, distribution and preparation contribute 30% of global greenhouse emissions. However numerous studies have shown that CO2 emissions from organic farming are 40-60% lower per hectare than for conventional farming systems.
There’s so much debate in this area that I can only point out some of the factors that may contribute to this:
1. The production of artificial chemicals and fertilisers is energy intensive. It takes as much energy to produce a tonne of fertilisers as it does to produce a tone of steel. This fact was brought to my attention by a supplier of a unique alternative to artificial fertilisers - a product called “Twin N” which is a nitrogen fixing bacteria naturally occurring in the Amazon and which has been isolated and “farmed” for use on organic and biological farms - with almost no carbon footrint. The use of compost, recycled waste and non-genetically engineered biological fertilisers is central to organic farming.
2. The killing of soil life is also the burning out of soil carbon. Organic farms by definition depend on soil carbon to remain viable. If they do not conserve organic matter and slowly build the organic carbon of the soil they will not produce crops beyond the conversion period. Our soil organic matter has triple since we have been using organic farming methods ond conserving soil, thus sequestering many tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. Our annual organic audit takes this into account to make sure we are viable and sustainable. Burning of crop residues is also still practiced in my part of Australia - but it is not permitted in organic systems.
3. The industrialisation of farming is energy intensive. Massive sheds sull of birds under lights, or feedlots where cattle are fed grain rations for up to 500 days until they are too fat and unhealthy to stand up if they fall over… This is the style of agriculture that is both inhumane, wasteful of resources, and unhealthy for animals and consumers. It is not natural for cattle to eat grain rations carted from hundreds of kilometres away - they should be out eating pasture. My own experience with feedlot manure is that it has an aweful smell and does not compost properly - and I bet that feedlotted animals also release more methane. Feedlots are not permitted in organic farming.
4. Organic food is often over-packaged and transported excessive distances by centralised supermarket distribution systems. This is a down side which can be reduce by wise consumer decisions at point of sale. Organic standards stipulate a preference for recylclable or renewable packaging, but this is not heavily enough enforced. In the UK transport is now being considered, with most airfreighted fruit and vegetables now no longer eligible for organic status.

All the above considered, we beleive that the federal governments support of more intensive, chemical dependent and genetically engineered agriculture is a step in the wrong direction for our future climate.

Email question I received: Do you have any figures on the organic industry in NSW - how big, how fast it’s growing, how much exported, farmer income, climate benefits compared to conventional?
“Starting with the size - I have information from the Biological Farmers of Australia, the largest organic certifying organisation Australia, of which we have been members for 10 years. Global organic food and drink sales are now pushing the US$40 billion mark. In Australia the market was worth A$400 million in 2006, and the area certified was a massive 12.3 million hectares - the largest in the world. There were 2567 certified organic operators in Australia in 2006, of which 1700 were certified by Australian Certified Organic.
Consumption seems to be tied to income and education - those in the know and who can afford to be “progressive consumers” are in the rich world. Over 70% of organic exports from Australia are destined to Europe (Austrade 2003), with the Asian market growing strongly. Rosnay wine is growing steadily in its main export market, Japan.
Climate benefits… that will have to be the subject of a future post… “