Maximise Soil Carbon When Needed

Alan Lauder, retired Cunnamulla grazier and grazing management consultant, believes the key to sustainable grazing is not how long pastures rest but when they rest. Its about making the most of every rainfall event. "Carbon compounds determine the resilience of both the pastures and the soil. In soil, carbon compounds influence water infiltration and storage." and "Grazing animals should feed on a plant's excess growth, not on the first flush of growth after rain." [Excellent read from Small Farms Magazine August 2009]  Spell a Paddock 15/09/2009,18:26 1.17 Mb

Tipping Point or Turning Point?

As a follow on to last week's Outcomes Australia - Restoring our Landscape - a meeting was held recently that pulled together over 80 people from farmers to agricultural consultants to scientists with the goal of finding a solution to the nation's agricultural and environmental crisis. As the programme developed, it became clear that everyone had a way to deal with the problems and the similarities in results were startling. Many have already formed into expert teams to develop policies and plans.  Press Release 16/09/2009,22:34 28.00 Kb

"Without knowing it, we have been drying out this countryside...the current dryness is not just lack of rain." [Absolutely!]

Soil Carbon Handbook

As part of a recently completed Caring for our Country project - Reducing emissions and improving soil carbon levels in southern Queensland soils - the North East Downs Landcare have compiled a handbook which is basically a summary of workshop proceedings, together with a fair bit of research information. They have had 1500 copies printed and are available free of charge to anyone who is interested. Contributors include: Dr Christine Jones, Colin Seis, David Rowlings, Dr Maaten Stapper, Ian Moss, David Hardwick and Bart Davidson. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it directly. [It is beautifully done up - I highly recommended it]

Ecosocial Labeling

This is a new certification label that aims to incorporate environmental, social and economic criteria. It requires growers and producers to choose at least two ecological and two social goals in order to qualify, and they must continuously improve on these goals to retain recognition under the program.

So Much Food. So Much Hunger

More people are hungry today than ever and that total should exceed one billion people this year for the first time. How can so many people be hungry when farmers produce enough food, at least in theory, to feed every person on the planet? The answers are complex and involve everything from American farm politics and African corruption to war, poverty, climate change and drought.

Its Time to Learn From Frogs

Some of the first eerie signs of a potential health catastrophe came as bizarre deformities in water animals, often in their sexual organs. Now scientists are connecting the dots with evidence of increasing abnormalities among humans, particularly large increases in numbers of genital deformities among newborn boys. Apprehension is growing among many scientists that the cause of all this may be a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, widely used in agriculture, industry and consumer products.

Resistance to An Endosulfan Ban

Endosulfan has been banned in more than 50 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union. In January, New Zealand banned the pesticide's use and in April, the US Environmental Protection Agency began public consultation to consider a similar ban. But despite growing opposition to endosulfan's use, however, the Australian regulator, which is funded by agribusiness, has resisted persistent calls for a national ban.

Educating on GM

Negative consumer attitudes towards biotechnology (GMOs) and irradiation could be improved through communication and education, a new report has concluded. Most consumers have learnt about biotechnology and irradiation through research on organic methods, with most organic groups portraying biotechnology and irradiation in a negative way. The report claims there is scope for the food industry to become involved in "active education" to shape future consumer attitudes towards these technologies. [Surely if people don't want it, they don't want it. When does education become propaganda?]

It concludes that consumers are more likely to know about, and accept, organic foods because they are clearly labeled and widely available - a point which provides an interesting perspective on the biotechnology labeling debate.

Monsanto Investing in Vegetables

[It reads as a good news story, without a GM focus - but it's still obviously about ownership and profits in the end] Monsanto is spending about $75 million developing new vegetable seeds for health and flavour, becoming a leader in the global vegetable seed industry. Much of its budget still goes to traditional and advanced breeding, though it is speeding the process up using powerful biotech tools - the use of molecular markers, DNA fragments used to identify genetic features of plants.

Tweaking Vegetable Genes

A range of 'super' foods are being developed for supermarkets and fast food outlets. First it was BARLEYmax, and now Booster broccoli, and others are planned for the future. BARLEYmax is GM derived, but its not clear if the broccoli is too. I like the comment that such an approach fails to address the underlying problem of poor eating habits. "I have a real difficulty with the argument that you can have your cake and eat it too - what you are doing is rewarding poor dietary behaviour."

Stop Babies to Stop CO2

To heck with carbon dioxide. A new study performed by the London School of Economics suggests that, to fight climate change, governments should focus on another pollutant: us. [no surprises that this argument would eventually rear its head. But how about this idea: stop building facilities and energy supplies for unrealised future populations - when humans (not faceless entities) are reconnected to 'natural' limitations, they will find their own solutions - and perhaps that will be reducing family sizes through choice - not force/coercion][A cynical aside: of course governments and businesses won't touch the population issue - they rely on population growth for profits]

The Sunspot Drought

Earth is experiencing a sunspot drought which, if it persists, may deliver a make-or-break test of the theory of anthropogenic global warming. "If we have a solar minimum and global temperatures continue to climb over the next decade, it will have established carbon dioxide as a potent force on the Earth's climate." One researcher is also linking the Earth's magnetic field with cloud formation - [how interesting]

Keep Extracting

How pointless getting us all to pull back our carbon footprints when companies are actively ripping into enormous underwater reservoirs of methane, with the intent to open up even more! [How utterly contemptuous these faceless entities are - is it really about supplying electricity to the poor or profit-making?]

Also, the World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change.

Tracking Rubbish

Waste is monitored, but only to see how many tonnes of different kinds of garbage arrive at a sorting centre, landfill or incinerator, and how many leave. These are tallied up under vague categories such as electronic or household waste. "It's fairly well measured in terms of mass...it is not well measured in terms of content." And in terms of environmental impact, it is the content that matters. To get a clearer picture of the life cycle of different kinds of waste - a trash tracking experiment is taking place.

Deformed Wildlife

Judy Hoy has tracked genital malformations among Montana's roadkill for years. She's been reporting disturbing trends for years, but few are paying her heed. But more and more scientists are documenting reproductive changes in male animals ranging from cricket frogs to polar bears. The link to pesticides is becoming strong - even in valleys away from the spraying. What had first been detected in toads, fish and birds was showing up in mammals around the world.

Vegetable Juice Contaminates Land

Juice wastes have been sprayed on fields near the Coca-Cola plant since 1961. The accumulation of juice wastes sprayed for more than 40 years has caused the soil to release naturally occurring iron, manganese and arsenic particles into groundwater, making it dangerous to drink. Ironically, those with the contamination problem are buying clean water from Coca Cola! [Even natural waste in large quantities can be problems - big centralised facilities will always generate waste issues]

Net Zero Energy Houses

The efficiencies of building homes in a factory setting, together with an integrated design process (where the architect, structural engineer and construction manager work in parallel), contribute to reduced costs. The houses include photovoltaics, automated energy controls and high-performance insulation. 

Pooey Pools

Most people have about 0.14 grams of faeces on their bottoms that, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water. That accumulation presumably derives from sloppy wiping habits. If correct, Washington D.C. pools have potentially hosted as much as 23,000 grams - or 50 pounds-of faeces this summer.

Composting Dog Waste

Some dog owners began worrying about all the plastic bags filled with dung that ended up in the landfill, which stimulated the idea of creating a dog waste composting park. Dog owners put special corn-based bags and their contents into large bins near the park's entrances, which are removed once a week. The waste is dumped into a pile and mixed with a bit of yard and wood waste.

Fertiliser Sale

Fertile Farm have the following products on sale:

What's New...

It's a terrific thing to have more and more independent biological consultants emerging in the industry. Carl Reeve has already built up his biological experience over 7 years, and is now offering his services independently. They include agronomy services, soil and leaf analysis, advice of compost and EPA issues, and even manager/holiday relief for farms!

I do not know Carl personally, but am excited that the biological industry obviously continues to expand and evolve. All the best!

Soil Foodweb Institute Newsletter

This month's newsletter includes articles on: US Standards for compost teas; whether compost tea use should wait for the science first (with examples of its use in a public garden already); compost tea vs chemical fertilisers (compost tea is winning); Canadian online compost standards; compost tea brewing hygiene; compost tea case study in viticulture; and using holistic management to improve arid pastures.  SFI Sept 09 21/09/2009,18:00 455.13 Kb

Hugh Lovel Dates

I have more details on Hugh Lovel's Comprehensive Testing workshop in Guyra 17th & 18th October. At one point the dates were changed - so apologies for the confusion to those that made contact last week. It is now definitely the weekend 17th & 18th.   Hugh Lovel Guyra 09 20/09/2009,18:27 466.71 Kb

Permaculture Design Certificate

The Mulloon Creek Natural Farm's Permaculture Design Certificate Course is now FarmReady. The next course will be held at Bungendore 30th November - 13th December. Come along to see the property filmed on Peter Andrews latest Australian Story series.

Farm Planning

This 2-day free course is hosted by Sandy Sim of All State Agricultural Service and will cover: Practical techniques, ideas and problem solving for sustainable farm management; Functional farm planning and layout; Internal fencing and laneway design for ease of stock movement and grazing management; Economical stock watering system design. Course 1: Coolongolook 2nd October & 13th November. Course 2:  Krambach17th October & 21st November.  Farm Planning Courses 17/09/2009,22:41 119.65 Kb

Health

Swimming Pools and Allergy

Swimming in a chlorinated pool may boost the odds that a child susceptible to asthma and allergies will develop these problems, a study indicates. "The impact of these chemicals on the respiratory health of children and adolescents appears to be much more important -- at least by a factor of five -- than that associated with secondhand smoke."

Misleading Name

One company is launching its Real Stevia sweetener following approval for high Reb-A stevia sweeteners in France.....but its not real!!!! Real stevia is broken down into Reb-A. Reb-A is the concentrated extract of real stevia - what a perversion of language. How will consumers differentiate between the two products now?

Microchip at the Tip of the Needle

Apparently swine flu injection needles contain nanoparticles in their tip and are clearly visible with as little as a 12 times magnifying microscope. They work in the human body like a motherboard in a computer and lots of data can be stored on it. For this year no forced vaccinations are planned but people will be instead encouraged via the media to volunteer for the jab. The original article on this story was in German. [While a tad skeptical, but curious, I found it well worth reading the comments below Ron Paul's article and following some of the links - there are some worrying things happening to support this idea, including a 'buried' clause in the new US Healthcare Bill to allow microchiping, there is even a picture of a microchip - looking much like a speck of dust on a thumb]

Vaccines Did Not Save Us

This is the data the drug industry do not want you to see. Here are two centuries of UK, USA and Australian official death statistics that show conclusively and scientifically that modern medicine is not responsible for and played little part in substantially improved life expectancy and survival from disease in western economies.

Vaccination - The Hidden Facts

The science is there - vaccinations simply are not the panacea they are purported to be, but the vaccination myth continues due to many manipulative incentives - not least power and money and the propaganda that can be bought with it. This is a sample from the book Vaccination - The Hidden Facts - Chapter 11 - Why Vaccinations continue.

French Doctor Against Swine Flu Vaccine

Dr Marc Girard, a specialist in the side effects of drugs and a medical expert commissioned by French courts, has said on French TV that the "swine flu" vaccine could cause 60,000 deaths in France, especially among young people, children and pregnant women. "The problem with the swine flu vaccine is that it is not just "badly developed" but "not developed.""

Past Mass Vaccination Failures

The statistics are stark and pop up regularly throughout history and around the world - vaccines are not doing the job they are purported to do. Whooping cough, polio, measles, flu and more. While governments like to take credit for success in eradicating disease and protecting the public, this is not generally the reality.

Vaccine Theses

When will the science come through mainstream media? There are so many interesting points made in this thesis. I was particularly interested in the fact on p.52 that "some other part of the immune system, other than antibody response, is responsible for the protection against disease in these individuals" [Note that antibody response is the main, if not the only, indicator used to determine vaccine efficacy - even for the upcoming swine flu]

This other thesis is rather long, but the conclusions are quite stunning too. For example, the physical attributes and mechanisms of the immune system reported as facts in standard immunological texts are the subject of considerable conjecture and dispute; and the current standard of measurement, antibody levels, is not an adequate or comprehensive measurement of immune response, and does not correlate strongly with protection from disease. Lasting improvements in the health status of populations will
only come about when the underlying economic and social causes are addressed, not a reductionist perspective that views immunisation as the main tool for the prevention of infectious disease.

Chinese Vaccine Woes

Dismissed and harassed by local officials, a group of parents seeking redress for what they say are their children's vaccine-related disabilities traveled to the capital in a centuries-old tradition. Now one of those protesters has gone missing.

Inconvenient Truths on Gardasil and Swine Flu Vaccines

The Gardasil vaccine is not as safe as the government, medical organizations and Merck have said it is. Second, the H1N1 influenza pandemic is not as serious as health officials are telling you it is. It is also likely that, when children get swine flu vaccine in schools and then get really sick or even die like the Gardasil girls, that all those bad health outcomes will be written off as a coincidence by health officials. And if any bad outcome reports are filed, they will be kept from the public.

Gardasil Whistleblower

Amid questions about the safety of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, one of the lead researchers for the Merck drug is speaking out about its risks, benefits and aggressive marketing. She says that enough serious side effects have been reported after Gardasil use that the vaccine could prove riskier than the cervical cancer it purports to prevent.

Why the 1918 Spanish Flu was so Deadly

A recent study of why so many died during the 1918 flu pandemic found that most of the deaths were secondary to bacterial pneumonia and not the flu virus itself. In 1918 hospitals had little to offer a sick patient -- there were no antibiotics, other than sulfur drugs, no IV fluids and no respirators -- all they could offer was a warm bed and aspirin.

Food for Flu

Registered dietitians in the US are recommending that consumers 'protect' their family during the flu season with foods that can help boost immunity, including probiotics, vitamin D and garlic.

Sick for Profit

Instead of helping policyholders attain the health security they need for their families, big insurance companies get rich by denying coverage to patients. [Given that all corporate businesses are under the same profit-making pressure, I wonder if this behaviour is as prolific in Australia's health insurance industry too?]

The Important Role of the Appendix

The appendix has often been referred to as an ancient, but now useless, remnant - but in fact may be serving as a vital safehouse where good bacteria can lie in wait until they are needed to repopulate the gut after a case of diarrhea. Past studies have also found the appendix can help make, direct and train white blood cells.

Probiotic Strips

Thin strips have been designed to adhere to the tongue, where they dissolve to release probiotics into the mouth. They provide "an alternative for individuals who are unable or prefer not to take supplements in pill or liquid form."

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Is it fact or myth? According to some it is psychosomatic, particularly because it cannot be scientifically linked to causes and effects. It is therefore not officially recognised or able to be insured against. Interestingly up to 16% of the US population is afflicted with the problem - even more common than diabetes, and may even have wider health ramifications than diabetes.  "It's very political. We are going up against fragrance, pesticide and chemical companies; some of the most powerful industries out there."

Permission to Queue Jump

Hyperactive children do not have to wait in line at theme parks because they cannot cope with the stress of waiting. The youngsters are being given wristbands that allow them to sail past the crowds queuing for rides and other activities.

Health Claims and Freedom of Speech

It is argued that companies should be able to make non-misleading claims about products even when the science is not conclusive, and some US groups are accusing the FDA of breaking the law. It's a difficult debate. If product X claims to do Y when consumed in a certain way, how much science is enough? Or how do you demonstrate a product promotes wellness rather than prevents or reduces disease? With billions of dollars at stake, the detail of such claims or laws have massive financial impact.

Probiotic Laced Apples

Applying probiotic bacteria to fresh-cut apple wedges may offer an alternative way for a daily boost to gut health, and offer a dairy-free alternative. 

Probiotic Pizzas

400 to 500 Naked Pizza franchises are planned over the next year. The Naked Pizza crust is formulated with 12 types of whole grain, including amaranth and buckwheat, and fortified with a prebiotic, and a heat resistant Bacillus coagulans strain. 

Cartoon

Miscellaneous

It is an essay on 9/11, but it has some stunning quotes from one who really knows how those in power manipulate those on the street or farm - e.g. Hermann Goering during the Nuremburg trials. It is perhaps one of the most succinct to the point essays that literally leaves you wondering, really wondering about everything.

Events

The calendar is playing up, so most of the links below are directed back to other websites where possible or to a contact email address. If there are no links, look to the related article above.  

* Comprehensive Testing Workshop - Guyra NSW 13th -14th October 2009.

* Farm Planning Course 1 - Coolongolook NSW 2nd October & 13th November 2009.

* Farm Planning Course 2 - Krambach NSW 17th October & 21st November 2009.

* Permaculture Design Certificate Course - Bungendore NSW 30th November - 13th December 2009.

Postscript

Something to ponder... men come and go, but some women don't.

The Queen and 11 US Presidents