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Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
#1
Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
Get a load of this lot!

http://youtu.be/FntroNL0EZQ

http://youtu.be/FntroNL0EZQ

http://youtu.be/Bi10RfHffZM

Desalination...water..can't live without it
http://youtu.be/mZ7bgkFgqJQ
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#2
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
I've only watched the first video so far, but it seems brilliant. The obvious question is whether this system is economical enough to provide food on a mass scale. Frankly, if it is, I'd consider that a big plus for "camp vegetarian," although you could also imagine livestock in a very large-scale system, which consume inedible plant parts and provide fuel/fertilizer. If it was a very large system (i.e. large enough to contain human populations), then in theory you should have perfect nutrition and perfect diet, since no nutrients should ever leave that enclosed space.
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#3
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
Oh bugger! Sorry that I duplicated the first vid on Sundrop farms. What excites me about this is the use of waste materials to provide a media for the plants. The total diminution of water usage (VITAL for Australian agriculture) and the solar panel usage to drive and control the whole thing. The Hemp story is fascinating as again it uses "waste" material, does carbon capture, and is looked on favourable by our indigenous population who just "don"t like white fellas houses". Further the plants don't require much in the way of fertiliser and water, pesticides and fungicides they also provide food and oil along with fibre for clothing utilising current technology and the raw materials for housing construction in our remote communities where just getting the raw materials there would cost alot!

Actually it is a big plus for big Ag. The fact that you like to have a vegetarian diet is secondary. The main issue is distribution so this may only be at a local/ national level but it does have promise if the concept can go global.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#4
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
(February 18, 2014 at 11:57 pm)KichigaiNeko Wrote: Actually it is a big plus for big Ag. The fact that you like to have a vegetarian diet is secondary. The main issue is distribution so this may only be at a local/ national level but it does have promise if the concept can go global.
If it could be done on a big enough scale, it could see an actual transformation of the world. Clean water + free calories = win.

As for big Ag-- I agree. I have no problem with new technologies providing both food and new jobs. As a vegetarian, it seems having an enclosed environment would (if it's actually completely enclosed) also allow more control over incidental impact-- voles getting chewed up by ploughs, etc.

As for desalinization, I really think the filtering process is a dead end except for small-scale stuff. It seems to me that ocean winds and currents, as well as sun energy in those places that most need fresh water (read: Africa), should be able to generate enough energy for cooling to use an evaporation/condensation purification system. This kind of system would also allow for some climate control, allowing non-native crops to grow in hot regions.
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#5
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
(February 19, 2014 at 12:37 am)bennyboy Wrote:
(February 18, 2014 at 11:57 pm)KichigaiNeko Wrote: Actually it is a big plus for big Ag. The fact that you like to have a vegetarian diet is secondary. The main issue is distribution so this may only be at a local/ national level but it does have promise if the concept can go global.
If it could be done on a big enough scale, it could see an actual transformation of the world. Clean water + free calories = win.

This is my thinking. There is so much work being done to incorporate aqua-culture and crop-culture that also looks promising

(February 19, 2014 at 12:37 am)bennyboy Wrote: As for big Ag-- I agree. I have no problem with new technologies providing both food and new jobs. As a vegetarian, it seems having an enclosed environment would (if it's actually completely enclosed) also allow more control over incidental impact-- voles getting chewed up by ploughs, etc.

Agreed..... the minimal in-put for maximal gain is the only thing stopping it. Seems they have struck a balance.

(February 19, 2014 at 12:37 am)bennyboy Wrote: As for desalinization, I really think the filtering process is a dead end except for small-scale stuff. It seems to me that ocean winds and currents, as well as sun energy in those places that most need fresh water (read: Africa), should be able to generate enough energy for cooling to use an evaporation/condensation purification system. This kind of system would also allow for some climate control, allowing non-native crops to grow in hot regions.

Also Australia! Big Grin Our biggest issue here is WATER!

Do you have any documentation/ information regarding evaporation/condensation purification system this is new to me. It would seem the particulate matter is the greater issue hence the filtration route to desalination.

Quote:19 February 2014, 6.12am AEST
Big Food lobbying: tip of the iceberg exposed

Direct lobbying is one of several tactics food companies use to shape regulation and public perception in their favour........
The influence of the food lobby has come into the public spotlight over the past week, with revelations that Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash’s chief-of-staff, Alastair Furnival, has strong links to the food industry. Furnival previously worked as a lobbyist for several food companies and is the co-owner of a firm that has represented the food industry.

The controversy came as Nash personally intervened to have health department staff withdraw a website launching a new government-approved health star rating food labelling system for Australia. Nash has since been accused of breaching ministerial standards for failing to declare Furnival’s conflict. And Furnival resigned from his chief-of-staff position on Friday.

This incident has exposed one of the many ways in which powerful food companies exert their influence over government policy. From a public health perspective, the major concern is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Big Food tactics

Full article:> https://theconversation.com/big-food-lob...osed-23232
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#6
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
(February 19, 2014 at 2:57 am)KichigaiNeko Wrote: Do you have any documentation/ information regarding evaporation/condensation purification system this is new to me. It would seem the particulate matter is the greater issue hence the filtration route to desalination.
I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that the three main methods of water purification are evaporation, freezing, and filtering. With regard to evaporation, here's a link on how to make a basic emergency still:
http://survival.about.com/od/1/a/Turn-Se...-Still.htm

My idea would be to have a very tall tower, with a reflective surface at the top, and a heat-absorbing black surface at the bottom. Focused mirrors or lenses could superheat a pool of water, causing faster evaporation and high humidity.

Maybe it's broscience, but it seems to me that it should work.
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#7
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
Farming Fish
Broadcast: 15/02/2014 8:38:13 PM
Reporter: Sean Murphy

Quote:PIP COURTNEY, PRESENTER: Australians aren't eating enough fish. As a nation, we consume about 40 per cent less seafood than recommended for a healthy diet.

The reasons for this are partly due to cost, but also perhaps a reluctance to eat farmed fish from Asia.

Seafood importers have now launched a campaign to correct what they believe are misconceptions about Asian aquaculture.




SEAN MURPHY: The Department of Agriculture says better than 99 per cent of imports are deemed safe. Seafood importers say the public should have faith in their products because they're tested more than Australian seafood.

http://blogs.abc.net.au/theoverflow/2013....html#more

Yum! For our Iberian Cuzzies
Cooking with mussels

Quote:Recipes courtesy of Chaxiraxi Afonso Higuera

Talking out loud about how I would track down a chef to prepare and talk about mussels on camera, Spring Bay Seafood boss Phil Lamb said, "Oh there's a Spanish chef up the road who uses our mussels, and the Spanish know how to cook mussels better than anyone, maybe she's worth a call?"

Chaxiraxi Afonso Higuera proved up for it.

Chaxi (pronounced Sharsi) cooked a range of Spanish dishes showing mussels can be hearty or summery, part of a dish or a star on their own.

Spill the Beans
Broadcast: 2/02/2014 11:43:01 PM
Reporter: Kerry Staight

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2...936358.htm

Traqnscript
Quote:PIP COURTNEY, PRESENTER: They may be the butt of many jokes, but baked beans have been a staple in people's pantries for generations. However, while the market has remained steady, the local industry that produces the classic toast topping has faced many challenges since it was established during World War II. But, as Kerry Staight reports, with the owner of SPC Ardmona, the country's only baked bean cannery, threatening to shut down its Australian operations, this year could deliver one challenge too many.

KERRY STAIGHT, REPORTER: The tropical Burdekin region in North Queensland is classic cane country. But it's not the lush, elegant-looking crop Barry Breadsell has his sights on today. Instead, he's heading for the less attractive shrivelled-up patch of navy beans tucked in between.





A Dry Debate
Broadcast: 8/02/2014 2:46:11 PM
Reporter: Pip Courtney

Transcript
Quote:PIP COURTNEY, PRESENTER: This story is about the crippling drought over most of Western Queensland and parts of New South Wales. As farmers become increasingly desperate, the Federal Government is under pressure to deliver billions of dollars in drought assistance. But the Government is also keen to rein in what it sees as unsustainable welfare, with the Treasurer declaring the age of entitlement is over.

In the middle of this debate about drought and dependency is Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, who hit the road to see and hear for himself what's going on.

Historically low rainfall and searing summer temperatures have hit Queensland farmers fast and hard. The drought is now so bad, a staggering 69 per cent of the state is drought declared.

JOHN MCVEIGH, QLD AGRICULTURE MINISTER: You know, this is almost a perfect storm, this particular drought. It's gripped Queensland fairly quickly, particularly hot in the recent weeks; you know, the heatwaves that have been around the country have sort of landed on top of the developing drought. Severe water - surface water shortages, which is a bit different to previous droughts where we did at least see occasional rainfall. So this is particularly, I think, unique, this drought. Of course here we are looking down the barrel of a second failed wet season.

PIP COURTNEY: Sheep and cattle producers in the north and central-west were affected first, and when crucial summer rains failed to arrive, cotton growers in southern inland Queensland were hit too.

BEN SUTTER, QLD COTTON: During this summer there's been basically no rainfall event, no in-crop rain. So, normally the cotton growers bank on getting one or two rainfall events that will help the crop along, but there's just been nothing since - basically nothing.

PIP COURTNEY: A month out from harvest and the cotton around Dirranbandi and St George is suffering as growers run out of water. Ben Sutter says more than a third of the crop might not make it.

BEN SUTTER: As every day goes by at the moment, there's crops running out of water and there's cotton fields that won't get through to maturity and stuff that has been already ploughed in.

PIP COURTNEY: Hamish McIntyre planted 1,300 hectares of cotton, but has had to turn the taps off to 150 hectares as he's run out of water.

HAMISH MCINTYRE, ST GEORGE COTTON GROWER: We had budgeted on growing approximately 20,000 bales of cotton, our family, a year, and this year, I'll be very happy if we grow sort of 12,000 to 13,000.

DONNA STEWART, BALONNE SHIRE MAYOR: Normally this time of the year there'd be ski boats going up and down and people really enjoying themselves, canoes and kids jumping off the trees into the river and just generally enjoying water sports.

PIP COURTNEY: Farmers aren't the only ones running out of water; so has the Balonne River. Mayor Donna Stewart's never seen it this low.

And this is the town water supply as well?

DONNA STEWART: This is the town water supply. Yeah, this is what we pump out of it.

PIP COURTNEY: Looks pretty prim.

DONNA STEWART: Yeah, it doesn't look too good, does it?

PIP COURTNEY: Donna Stewart's been surprised by the speed and severity of this drought, now hitting a region that was fighting floods just two years ago. She's hearing more stories of desperation than ever before.




A Sheep Called Alice
Broadcast: 24/11/2013 12:57:24 PM
Reporter: Pip Courtney

Very interesting discoveries by a Tasmanian wool grower

Transcript

PIP COURTNEY: Nan started managing her land differently and then a sick sheep called Alice turned her approach to farming on its head.

Unable to stand, Alice was in a sling. Nan became her grazing assistant and would take her out to a paddock near the house to feed. Fortuitously it had a lot of weeds.

NAN BRAY: I started watching and she was eating in the same order, so there was chicory, plantain - which is another exotic plant that works for intestinal parasites - lucerne, clover and a couple of kinds of grass. Chicory, plantain, lucerne, clover, get to the grass she'd look up at me, 'Can we move now?' And then dawned on me she was very specific about which plant. I thought, 'Oh, OK.' So, I mean I basically just watched that and went, 'Well, there's something here. I don't know what it is.'

PIP COURTNEY: Nan realised Alice's eating pattern tied in with ground-breaking work done in the US by Professor Fred Provenza about the link between plant and animal behaviour.

NAN BRAY: The animals are trying to balance their diets and the plants are trying to not be eaten to death. And so what the plants have developed in their ecological system is a whole set of - a range of defences, most of which are chemical. Some of them are mechanical like spines and things, but mostly they're chemical compounds that the plant manufactures, that when an animal eats too much of it, it makes them nauseous. So then they stop eating that plant and move to another plant. So that the plant that was being grazed goes, 'Oh, phew, thank you,' and gets a chance to regenerate.

I learnt from Alice that sheep are incredibly specific about what they eat. They know what they want to eat, that a diversity is really important to them, that grass is the last choice in the forage list. I always just thought she ate grass, you know - what do you think.

And then from Fred's research, what I learned was why. Why are those broad-leaf plants so important in, for sheep nutrition - nutrition generally. And then that allowed me to start changing some other things.

PIP COURTNEY: Nan stopped fighting weeds. Alice taught her they're a medicine chest that sheep will use when they need - what Fred Provenza calls nutritional wisdom.

(Talking to Nan in a paddock) You've just bought the mob through into this laneway area and they've immediately put their heads down and they're absolutely going for it. What are they eating?

NAN BRAY: I reckon they're eating a bit of chicory. This is chicory. It's an exotic plant and it has properties that help the sheep deal with worm burden and they love it.

DAVY CARNES: We have not drenched a sheep for years and years. When they look as if they're not right, they tell you more or less - once you know them - we put them in what we call the chicory patches. They eat the chicory and they get right, no worm. And that's a big expense.

PIP COURTNEY: This dam paddock is the farm's pharmacy but how do the sheep know what to eat and when? Well, Nan says farmers have to help them learn.

Now there's no forced weaning. Nan lets the lambs wean themselves and then stay with their mothers who then teach their young what to eat.

(Davy and Nan talking)

DAVY CARNES: That means bringing the rams in first.

NAN BRAY: We've got to bring the rams in first.

PIP COURTNEY: Davy said the pair have had a few arguments as new management practices, which challenge everything he's seen and done, are introduced. But he's now a convert.

DAVY CARNES: She's got some very radical ideas, I might say, but they are all to me, they're sensible ideas, they can work.

PIP COURTNEY: Nan's sheep aren't divided into age groups. They live in multi-generational flocks. Again, not what Davy was used to.

DAVY CARNES: I like it. It's as simple as that, I just like it.

PIP COURTNEY: Why?

DAVY CARNES: I think the animals themselves get more contented, they are more contented doing that sort of thing, yeah.

PIP COURTNEY: Do you think that a mother and its baby - even two years after she might have had that lamb, do they know each other?

DAVY CARNES: Oh yeah, oh, yes, my word they do. Oh, yes, they know their family groups, mind you, they do. Oh, yes, yes.

PIP COURTNEY: Nan says allowing a family social structure to exist has transformed flock behaviour. She's seen a family group surround and protect a sick ewe from crows.

NAN BRAY: It's like there's this strength of the social fabric that supports all of the animals in the flock. They don't run away, you go into a paddock, even with strangers about, the sheep may move away, but they invariably will turn and look at you and go, 'Well, would you like to state your business because you're on our territory.'

So it's not the kind of stuff that you're used to associating with sheep.

PIP COURTNEY: But perhaps the biggest change at Lemon Hill was Nan's decision to keep the tails on her sheep. She says it's an animal welfare issue. She says lambs with tails grow faster and weigh more and because of their varied diet don't get daggy and at risk of flystrike.

"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#8
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
Oh WOW!

On another thread I posted a video of the 24/7 robotic milking machine where the cows themselves determine when they are milked and have some luxury (cattle variety) thrown in..... Looks like it is coming "DownUnder"

For all you non-Australians, Tasmania is very much liken to.... say The Downs/ Dover area of England.

Innovation Island
Broadcast: 5/10/2013 2:13:53 PM
Reporter: Pip Courtney
http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2...863064.htm

Quote:PIP COURTNEY, PRESENTER: A few weeks back, we looked at the ambitious plan to turbocharge Tasmania's $340 million dairy industry.

You'll recall DairyTas wants to lift milk production in the state by a whopping 40 per cent over the next five years. This will require thousands more cows, bigger farms and a bit of luck. And another essential ingredient of course is innovation.

This week we take a look at some of those farmers already at the cutting edge.

If the Tasmanian dairy industry is to increase milk production by 40 per cent in just five years, it's going to need 60,000 more of these, 100 more of these and hundreds more of these. The target of increasing milk supply by a massive 370 million litres in such is a short time has been set by industry body DairyTas. Its growth program is called Filling the Factories and is designed to secure the future of the state's four big milk processors.

MARK SMITH, DAIRYTAS: Our target here for 40 per cent more milk, which is pretty well set by the companies and their processing capacity. 350 million litres means more jobs, we need more cows and we definitely need more farm investment.

PIP COURTNEY: The growth spurt's already begun, with several multi-million-dollar farm conversions in non-dairying areas this year. But scale isn't everything. To hit 40 per cent, farmers will have to farm smarter, making more milk from each cow and growing more feed from each hectare of land.

DairyTas says the signs are there Tasmania's farmers are up for the challenge.

MARK SMITH: I think it's a strength of the industry here that some very good innovative dairy farmers and they're in the industry for the long term.

PIP COURTNEY: Several of the state's dairy farmers lead the country in the adoption of new technology, having looked to Europe and New Zealand for an edge. At Deloraine, west of Launceston, all eyes are on the Dornauf family's robots. They were the first commercial operators in Australia to install a fully-automated robotic rotary milking system from Sweden. The spend is big. And Nick Dornauf, who runs it, says the cost is a secret.



"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#9
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
Seriously, just WHO doesn't eat fruits?
[Image: 1654419_597014907035839_1020034562_n.jpg]

So they have some benefits ...big deal.... they all tastes YUM! Tongue

[Image: 1958419_597014710369192_882259709_n.jpg]

Add a dram of Scotch and she'll be sweet! Tongue

Add these to your next meal?
[Image: 1662680_597014620369201_1531816119_n.jpg]

Trouble is that Broccoli does cause inflammation IN SOME INDIVIDUALS, Nuts and seeds are deadly for the same individuals..... spinach is also known to cause GI upset in some individuals

In fact all of the above can and will cause problems for some individuals ..... point of all this? Trust your own body to know what it needs.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#10
RE: Veggie Thread v2.0 ...all stuff regarding food production
(March 2, 2014 at 5:07 am)KichigaiNeko Wrote: Seriously, just WHO doesn't eat fruits?
[Image: 1654419_597014907035839_1020034562_n.jpg]

So they have some benefits ...big deal.... they all tastes YUM! Tongue

[Image: 1958419_597014710369192_882259709_n.jpg]

Add a dram of Scotch and she'll be sweet! Tongue

Add these to your next meal?
[Image: 1662680_597014620369201_1531816119_n.jpg]

Wow.

Some exceptional information there. I was not aware that the benefits of fruit were so diverse and potent. Obviously I knew they were good for me, and we have strawberries, bananas, grapes and blueberries most weeks, but that's staggering really.

Good stuff.
[Image: atheist_zpsbed2d91b.png]
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