Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
Thank You . . do you know if any of these are OTC or avail at health supplement stores??
General David Petraeus: we have two weeks to save Pakistan from Taliban
General David Petraeus, the commander of US Central Command, has reportedly told American officials that the next two weeks are critical to determining whether the Pakistani government will survive.
Gen Petraeus reportedly said that “we’ve heard it all before” from the Pakistanis and he is looking to see concrete action by the government to destroy the Taliban in the next two weeks before determining the next course of action for the US.
“The Pakistanis have run out of excuses” and are “finally getting serious” about combating the threat from Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists operating out of north-west Pakistan, the general added.
He made these assessments in talks with US congressmen and members of the Senate, according to the Fox News channel.
thread here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2241917/posts
wonder why this is not being touted on the MSM ?
I got the information from:
http://www.sanantoniolightning.com/gitterle.html
I don’t know if that email is authentic or not, but I checked on N-acetyl Cysteine at several reliable sources, and it looks pretty appropriate.
I have been buying vitamins and supplements from the following company for years. They are the manufacturers and they are FDA inspected US company. I have always had very fast service from them and products have all been top notch.
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=0HO4CXiQ8*E&offerid=116038.10000008&type=4&subid=0
Just type
“N-acetyl Cysteine” in the search box.
Thank you again.. great site and prices better than local.
done...
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/kleen04_09.html
Kleen-Pak Recalls Spinach Because Of Possible Health Risk
Contact:
Gerald Kowaleski
414-481-4878
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — April 30, 2009 — KLEEN-PAK FOODS of Milwaukee Wisconsin is recalling its 10 ounce and 1 pound packages of fresh spinach because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
The recalled spinach was distributed locally in retail stores and food wholesalers in Wisconsin, the Chicago area, and Minnesota.
The product comes in 10 ounce and 1 pound packages marked with a use by date of 4/29, 4/30, and 5/01
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.
The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection revealed the presence of Salmonella in some 1 pound packages of spinach
The FDA and KLEEN-PAK continue their investigation as to the source of the problem.
Consumers who have purchased 10 ounce packages of curly leaf spinach are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1 414-481-4878.
#
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/tvfood04_09.html
TV Food LLC Recalls “Curry Spice” Because of Possible Health Risk
Contact:
TV Food LLC
510-483-3518
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — April 27, 2009 — TV Food LLC of San Leandro, California, is recalling its 3.5ounce package of “Curry Spice”, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illness such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
The recalled “Curry Spice” was distributed to only two retail stores in Northern California: Richmond New May Wah Supermarket on 711-719 Clement Street in S.F., CA. and New Saigon Supermarket on 950 International Blvd in Oakland, CA.
The product comes in a 3.5 ounce, clear plastic container with a red plastic lid, expiration date 01/31/2010, product name is labeled three different languages: English (“Curry” Spice), French (Saveur De “Curry” poudre) and in Vietnamese (Bot Gia Vi Ca Ri). The bar code number is 9-87512-31986-1. This is a product of Vietnam.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.
The potential for contamination was noted after sampling by FDA revealed the presence of Salmonella in some 3.5ounce package of “Curry Spice”
TV Food has ceased the distribution of this product and has withdrawn the inventory sold to the two retail stores noted above.
Consumers who have purchased 3.5ounce package of “Curry Spice” from either Richmond New May Wah Supermarket or New Saigon Supermarket in California are urged to return them to these retail stores for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact TV Food at 510-483-3518, M-F from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW02006.html
FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products
Dietary Supplements Linked to One Death; Pose Risk of Liver Injury
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.
The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.
Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.
“The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products,” said Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight-loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names. The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:
Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
Hydroxycut 24
Hydroxycut Carb Control
Hydroxycut Natural
Although the FDA has not received reports of serious liver-related adverse reactions for all Hydroxycut products, Iovate has agreed to recall all the products listed above. Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia products are not affected by the recall. Consumers who have any of the products involved in the recall are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase. The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.
Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report serious adverse events (side effects) or product quality problems with the use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online, by regular mail, fax or phone.
–Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
–Regular Mail: Use FDA postage paid form 3500 found at: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
–Fax: 800-FDA-0178
–Phone: 800-FDA-1088
The FDA continues to investigate the potential relationship between Hydroxycut dietary supplements and liver injury or other potentially serious side effects.
For more information:
Hydroxycut Products
Dietary Supplements — Overview
FDA 101: Dietary Supplements
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
Google Headquarters has an Organic Food Garden
The Google Garden consists of 100 EarthBoxes all planted with vegetables and herbs
from different regions of the world. The Garden was planned in cooperation with
the Chefs at Google, and made possible with support from Google and the Master
Gardeners of Santa Clara County and volunteers from Google, University of California
- Cooperative Extension, EarthBox, and TGC.
Brick City Urban Farm in downtown Newark, New Jersey
“We put EarthBoxes up there, and I couldn’t believe how well the plants grew,” Haberthur
said. “It was like I had a green thumb.”
Taylor found out about the 29-inch-long containers at a Whole Foods store.
EarthBox
says they can produce double yields, using less water and fertilizer than conventional
gardening. Taylor bought 500 of them at a wholesale rate of $13 each, and he said
EarthBox donated 500 more. Gibbons, the lead investor, contributed $20,000 and said
about half that was spent on the containers and soil.
New York Local - Eating the fruits of the five boroughs.
Twelve-thirty on a beautiful summer day, and the chicken committee of the City Chicken
Project is meeting at the Garden of Happiness, in the Crotona neighborhood of the
Bronx.
The chicken committee is devoted to the proliferation of egg-laying chickens
in the outer boroughs, giving hens to people and having them raise the birds in
community gardens and eat and even sell the eggs (”passing on the gift,” as this
is called in the project), and thereby gain experience of chicken, eggs, and community-or
fowl, food, and fellowship, as one of the more alliterative-minded organizers has
said. It is the pet program of Just Food, a small organization that is administered
by a startlingly young-looking woman named Jacquie Berger, who is silently monitoring
the proceedings.
World War II Poster - plant food gardens
World War II poster promoting home gardens so that food can be sent to refugees
freed from Axis regions. 1944.
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All stories here:
City Farmer News [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102567749946&s=1304&e=001Z8aClR5H6eOhiMDU6zvz810YX12F7xZX_dqbM3b91Av9e8YSEVTOgVWA2ktNjgXISBkaxtKtQ-dPQRetrphoCfjiW4jbZfFmLLOEWAjT7Hy1LIKyLuUFaw==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture
[Wonderful photos and ideas for growing, good nursery for the odd and hard to find seeds, I was happy with them...granny]
http://hosted.vresp.com/218973/7e32ff2973/306000131/8e132d027b/
We have been hearing from both new and experienced gardeners who want to grow more—not just summer treats like sweet corn and tomatoes, but a serious portion of the year’s food. So we’re spotlighting two ways to have more from the garden: growing crops beyond the salad/vegetable side of the plate, and increasing the yield and quality of what you do grow.
Scrambling to keep up with a flood of orders, we couldn’t spare anyone in February or March to write a newsletter about the crops that need an early start. Perhaps many of you have been late too, or didn’t know what to plant. Here are some ways—starting now, not next year— to really contribute to your household’s pantry.
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Old Favorites for Year-Round Meals
How did people provide a complete diet for themselves in the days before supermarkets and long-distance trucking? They grew sweet/starchy plants like winter squash and pumpkins that naturally keep for a long time. If they had the climate and space for it, they grew corn for cornmeal and hominy. They also grew nutritious greens like chard that could be cut over and over, and not mind summer heat or fall freezes. Snacks? Popcorn and sunflower seeds aren’t hard to grow at home. And two of the biggest dietary staples, beans and grains, store dry without any fuss. (We’ll have information and links for them further on.)
Corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers like warm weather and warm soil—they cannot be planted outside until after the last-frost date for your area. (Here in Willits, CA, ours is May 17th) Nothing is gained by planting these too early, so there is still time for you to get your seeds and plant them. At high elevations, or the far north, choose short-season varieties.
Root crops—carrots, beets, parsnips, rutabagas and potatoes—are another age-old staple, and can be stored in a cool moist cellar. (Potatoes grow from pieces of potato, but the rest grow from seeds.) There is still time to plant the root crops too—get storage varieties if you plan to store them in a root cellar, refrigerator, or in the ground for long periods.
Click here for Edible Sunflower
To see Chard Selections
To see Corn for Cornmeal, Popcorn, and Hominy
To see Winter Squash Selections
Or, if you don’t want to have to choose varieties...
The Survival Garden Collection was developed in response to the many customers who have asked for help choosing seeds for food security. It is an assortment of seeds for crops that give a high yield of food energy from a small space. Think of it as a starting place for learning how to grow these crops and which work best for you. It contains winter grain, summer grain, beans, soup peas, rutabagas, parsnips, carrot, kale, lettuce, onions, and squash.
Survival Garden Collection
Home Grain-Growing Booklet
ImageCarol Cox, manager of our research garden, has written this 24-page booklet titled Growing Your Own Grains: Raising, Harvesting, and Uses. It covers both winter and summer grains, with an excellent chart comparing seven summer grain crops. There is also a very useful cooking chart, bibliography and list of sources for equipment, seeds, etc. Just the facts; no fluff.
The owners of this suburban home were in their second season as new gardeners when this picture was taken. Growing some grain for your household doesn’t require tremendous skill—but it is important to monitor the crop and harvest promptly when it is ready, before the grains fall to the ground. If you will be away from home at harvest, you might want to grow a more forgiving crop, like winter squash, and work out a trade with another local gardener who would like to grow grains.
To order Grow Your Own Grains
Amaranth: Heat-loving Grain and Greens
ImageAmaranth is a vegetable native to the Americas, with varieties that have been bred for producing tasty nutritious grain, and varieties that are used when young as hot-weather substitutes for spinach. We carry both types, as well as Golden Giant, which is considered good for both uses. (pictured at left, with intern Anel Rojas)
The picture above shows a former suburban lawn that has been turned into a food garden, with dramatic plumes of both red and golden amaranth. Amaranths are exceptionally beautiful in the landscape, and are a good choice for front-yard plantings—some have been bred just for ornamental use. They love hot weather and require minimal care.
Click here to see Amaranth varieties.
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Grains for Breakfast, Dinner, and Dessert
Millet, Quinoa, Sorghum, and Teff are grain crops that are sown for summer growth. You can use them like rice, like oatmeal, or as an addition to baked goods. Many are similar in texture to polenta when cooked. Each of these can be ordered now, planted in time for summer weather, and harvested in the fall. (Bread grains like wheat and rye are generally planted in winter or early spring. We will feature them, along with information on growing them, in our Fall newsletter.)
All of the grains offer large amounts of straw for the compost pile, providing precious carbon to balance the green nitrogen-rich waste from garden and kitchen. So when you grow grains, you can grow fertile soil as well.
MILLET is the little round grain often seen whole in multi-grain breads (or birdseed). It has a mild flavor and fluffy texture like cous-cous. Unfortunately, most millet is encased in a hull, traditionally removed by pounding with a large mortar and pestle.
QUINOA (pictured far right) is extremely high in complete protein, and its small round grains cook quickly for main dishes and salads, with the grains separate like rice. Instead of a hull, the seeds have a soapy coating that protects them from insects, so they are easy to thresh for use. The natural soap coating must be washed off before cooking. (You can use the rinse water for washing laundry.)
SORGHUM yields a small grain used for porridge and beer in Africa. Many people grow it to make syrup or molasses out of the stalks. (It can grow much farther north than sugar cane.) 100 sq. feet of well-gardened ground can yield one gallon of syrup, as well as lots of carbon for composting. (See grain-growing pamphlet above for instructions.)
TEFF is the staple grain of Ethiopia. It has a rich taste much like whole wheat. Each grain is tiny, but the plant has many stalks with feathery plumes of grain, so yields are quite high. We started one seed packet of Teff last spring. It sowed two seed flats, and Golden Rule Garden planted them out into a 5’X5’ garden bed. From that tiny space, they harvested almost one and a half pounds of grain, enough for many bowls of hot cereal. Teff also makes delicious bread. It is easy to thresh.
click here to see our grain seed selections
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Delicious Main Dishes
Most gardeners have grown green beans for summer eating, and perhaps for canning or freezing. This might be the year to consider planting an extra bed to grow a crop of dry beans for winter soups and main dishes. Pole beans take very little space because they grow up a fence, wall, or tripod. (Or up a cornstalk, for a double crop!) Bush beans can be planted anywhere because they don’t need support. Both are easy to grow and enrich the soil for other crops. Pictured: Good Mother Stallard pole dry beans; a young bean plant; Ireland Creek Annie’s short-season dry beans; and Dragon Langerie wax beans, which can be eaten fresh as pictured, or left to mature into dry beans. Send us your favorite bean recipes for the Fall newsletter.
To See Dry Bean Selections
Books: Our Top Picks for Increasing Yields in the Garden
There are many gardening books out there, and many of them are charming, helpful, beautiful or just plain strange, but these are the ones we feel will give you the skills to really grow a lot of food.
First, the book that started it all, How to Grow More Vegetables, by our own John Jeavons, still a revolutionary guide to huge yields in small spaces. More timely than ever, with its unique emphasis on gardening without store-bought fertilizers or other products from outside your garden.
How to Grow more Vegetables
Roots Demystified...change your gardening habits to help roots thrive.
Would you believe that the roots left behind when you pull a carrot may go down over seven feet? Or that a lettuce has roots six feet deep? Modern research has shown that roots are not the same size and shape as the tops; they are much, much bigger, and live a life we can scarcely imagine. This book is a surprising guide to what they really want.
Robert Kourik is a practical, professional gardener. He tries things out, seeks the best research, and develops strategies that work. Here, he compares methods of planting, watering, digging, and getting rid of weeds in vegetable gardens, home orchards, lawns, and edible landscapes. He is honest about the downsides and trade-offs, so you can fit your garden to your soil, climate, and lifestyle. 150 pages, black and white, no frills.
Roots Demystified
The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
Research can tell you which composting methods will go faster, or yield the most nutrients, but it will never tell you how to get your family to empty the compost bucket; what to do with the box your computer came in; or how to use composting to solve all sorts of real-life landscaping problems in your real-life yard. This book will.
After they’ve explained when to use the traditional hot piles they introduce you to lazy-jane methods like cold piles, growheaps, catholes, treasure trenches, compost comforters, walking piles (and catch-and-release worm growing!). Lots of books say finished compost is the solution to garden problems—this is the only one we’ve seen that sees the composting process itself as a garden problem-solver.
There are nifty tables on how to compost everything from dryer lint and wicker furniture to clam shells, leather and different kinds of paper. There are sections on making sustainable potting soil, seed-saving, and using tree leaves and wood products—even making a solar cooker. There’s a great section on how different crops interact with compost. Sidebars highlight common questions and “perfect matches” between individual plants and compost methods. While not every single thing in this book is totally Biointensive, it’s hard to imagine a garden that couldn’t use all that fertility...Not to mention the humor, ingenuity, and just plain joy the authors bring to the task.
Quality Paperback, 8x10”, 300 pages, lots of color pictures.
Complete Compost Gardening Guide
Gardening Tip for May
ImageWith all the focus on those hot-season crops, don’t forget you’ll be wanting cool salads, and your early spring sowings of salad greens will not last forever... Here is a reprint of the summer salad tips from last year’s newsletter, for our new subscribers.
To keep having fresh greens in hot weather:
-Use seeds of bolt-resistant varieties.
-Put lettuce seeds in a jar in the fridge for a week before planting if weather has been above 85 degrees. (This make them think it’s spring again.)
-Succession-sow (works best for me to start half a dozen seeds every weekend, or do a few every two weeks).
-Use shade cloth or floating bed cover (old bedsheets will work in a pinch) stretched above your plants, or plant lettuce where there’s only morning sun or dappled shade.
Bolt-Resistant Lettuce Mix
Last Chance for Snail-Barr....Long-Lasting Barrier to Slugs and Snails
Copper creates all by itself a modest electrical charge that snails and slugs cannot bear to cross. The US Dept of Agriculture requires that any snail-rearing facility have copper strip to keep the snails from escaping. Copper strip works just as well to keep snails OUT, permanently.
Caveats: (1)You have to completely encircle the area to be protected—slugs will find gaps, branches touching the ground, etc. (2)The copper must be insulated from “ground” in the electrical sense—it can be on pottery, wood, or dry dusty soil, but moist earth will prevent the small electrical charge that repels the slugs. (3) Any snails inside the barrier at the start are still there and must be picked or otherwise eliminated.
CLOSEOUT: The world price of copper has put the manufacturer out of business, and we have searched in vain for remaining warehoused supplies, so what we have in stock is the last there is.
Order Snail-Barr
Ask Emmer: What does “Area 20” or “Area 100” mean in the variety descriptions? Where IS Area 20?
ImageThe “Area” figure at the end of the item description means that one seed packet will plant 20 square feet, 100 square feet, or whatever the area figure says. (This is in a perfect world, however, where all the seeds come up.) In the real world, inhabited by cats, birds, cutworms, and so on, plant a few extra...
Believe it or not, this is our most frequently-asked question. In the catalog, look along the bottoms of the pages (as well as on page 68) for explanations of the codes. On the website, just click on “cultural info/seed codes” at the top right-hand corner of the homepage (in the brown area).
Image We hope you will share the load, the bounty and the fun of gardening.
Most of us have a neighbor or two without the space, time, or strength to garden. Do you know a child or neighbor who might like to learn about gardening or food preservation? Plant a few extras for relatives, neighbors, and those friends you haven’t made yet. (Many food banks, churches, community organizations, and soup kitchens will gratefully accept garden produce.)
Finally, remember you won’t be able to do everything this year. Be patient with yourself and your garden. It’s more important to be learning than to be perfect...We at Bountiful Gardens wish you a summer of learning, sharing, and fun.
To learn more about small-scale grain-growing:
Ecology Action’s own Dan Royer-Miller has posted his first-hand experiences with grain gardening (along with helpful pictures) on this blog:
http://goldenrulegarden.blogspot.com
From:
Bountiful Gardens
18001 Shafer Ranch Rd
Willits, California 95490
I already take vitamin C and E, and am adding the vitamin D as discussed here earlier. Keeping antioxidants up, immunity strong and mucus under control - sounds like a course I would find beneficial flu or not... <<<
“Mucolytic therapy<<<
Your vitamin plan sounds wise, and have you used the Muc. therapy?
Thanks for the information, wonder if it would interfere with what I am already taking, for I am hitting the hard times of too much mucus and not enough room for oxygen.
“The Pakistanis have run out of excuses” and are “finally getting serious” about combating the threat from Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists operating out of north-west Pakistan, the general added.<<<
You have seen in the news headlines that I send out the danger of Pakistan falling to the terrorist.
Then we will have a nuclear armed terrorist country and hell will be on earth.
I have long suspected that Pakistan has only pretended to be western friendly, for the billions of dollars we have given them.
The New Land Grab
Date posted: 20 January 2009
View this article online here: http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/article/220.1
The new international land and agricultural resources grab – neo-colonialism writ large...
Just when colonialism was considered dead and buried, along comes neo-colonialism in its latest guise. Allied with its close relatives globalisation, free marketeering and lack of transparency, it is currently launching a new offensive on the disempowered population of this continent.
Kwame Nkrumah, along with others in the post-colonial Pan Africanist movement, coined the term ‘neo-colonialism’ to describe continued access to the resources of less developed nations, by both national and private interests allied to wealthy nations. He warned against the continued impacts of colonialism if the risks inherent to neo-colonialism were neither addressed nor dealt with.
The early thrust of neo-colonialism was primarily associated with cold war interests wishing to maintain their sphere of influence, coupled to the so-called ‘Washington Consensus’. This was where international finance instruments run by the then G5 (now expanded to the G8), such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund used aid and so-called development finance instruments to further their interests.
Neo-colonialism is now garbed in new clothes. Powerful interests are presently seeking and gaining access to land in government-to-government deals as well as through private capital. These arrangements ostensibly offer to manage land that is not being economically utilised in order to improve food security. But for whom?
This new trend is being driven mainly by recent rises in the prices of major food commodities such as maize, wheat, rice and soybeans, as well as pandering to the rising interest in agricultural crop based biofuels. While a certain amount of the food price increases were driven by shortages triggered by natural causes, the role of speculators in driving up costs in order to profit from perceived shortages and seek shelter from other risky instruments like junk bonds has also played a significant part.
The global food security focussed NGO, GRAIN, issued a report on this phenomenon in October 2008, where they cited more than 100 examples of this new neo-colonial land grab. These land grabs are primarily by nations that have insufficient natural capital or space – such as the desert-bound nations of the Middle East and overpopulated nations such as China and South Korea. They seek to improve the food security of those nations while undermining the ability of host nations to access similar benefits, through the alienation of prime agricultural land. The ecological impacts can also be significant.
Since the GRAIN report was published, the land grab has continued apace. The recent acquisition of a reported 1.3 million hectares (ha) of land in Madagascar by the South Korean company Daewoo Logistics Corporation on 99-year lease has raised eyebrows around the world. This land represents around half of that island nation’s arable land.
In Madagascar a reported 70% of the population suffer from food shortages and malnutrition. Nearly 4% are fed through aid programmes. Besides this, more than 50% of the population is below the age of 18. What hope is there for local youth when South African farmers are reportedly being recruited to run the highly mechanised and automated farms under the Daewoo lease? The benefits to the Malagasy people appear chimeral at best. Fortunately, media reports in Madagascar have raised the profile of this case, creating national disquiet about the matter. Meanwhile, Daewoo seeks to insulate itself from criticism.
This land grab is in the main driven by a new wave of colonial interests seeking to gain food security. Many of the oil rich Gulf States are involved as they have little access to arable land or water. GRAIN reports that the Kuwaiti government is actively pursuing land in Sudan, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Burma, Thailand and Laos. Qatar also is investigating options in Sudan, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. The Saudi government is seeking agreements with Brazil, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Pakistan, while the Saudi Bin Laden group (a private interest) has secured access to a reported 500,000 ha of land in Indonesia to put into rice production. The United Arab Emirates is on the hunt for land in Sudan and many other parts of the world, as is Bahrain.
This new thrust by the Gulf states is driven not only by issues of food security but clearly is influenced by the wish to diversify their extensive financial resources from recent oil price windfalls, to areas where they are able to generate sustainable profit and influence.
China is also actively seeking new land. Given its massive population and constrained access to farmland, China has moved aggressively into Africa with land interests in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon and Tanzania. Closer to home it has similar interests in Burma, Laos, Russia and Kazakhstan, both through direct government deals and private sector finance.
Besides these examples of ostensibly pursuing the national interest, there is perhaps a more worrying side to the new neo-colonial land grab. This is where corporate and financial groups and collectives seek similar opportunities for purely profit seeking motives. For instance, the Danish company Trigon Agri controls 100,000 hectares of land in Russia. Morgan Stanley, despite its liquidity problems, owns 40,000 ha in Brazil.
Lonrho, the UK financial house seeks land in Angola and elsewhere in Africa in order to profit from food. Swedish interests Black Earth Farming and Alpcot Agro already control around 400,000 hectares of Russian farmland, while actively pursuing further acquisitions there and in the Ukraine. Brazilian land is sought for the harvest of agricultural based biofuels like sugar cane. Using land to grow fuel further undermines food security, ecological diversity and perhaps most crucially, access to land by locals.
Even the World Bank is continuing its role as a neo-colonial consensus agent by actively pursuing and financing access to ‘under-utilised land’ around the world through its International Finance Corporation.
Perhaps more sinister is the recent news of leasehold rights being acquired for approximately 400,000 hectares of land in the Southern Sudan from the family of former warlord Gabriel Matip. In a deal struck by US financier Philippe Heilberg, who has used a British Virgin Islands subsidiary of his Jarch Group to facilitate the deal, private interests have intervened directly in disputed territories. Co-directors of the group reportedly include ex-CIA operatives. Given the ongoing instability in that nation and the forced eviction of millions in the neighbouring Darfur region, this sort of land acquisition is perhaps a harbinger of an unsavoury trend in who gets to control the land in disputed territories.
Given that the concept of neo-colonialism has African origins, it would be reasonable to assume that there would be awareness of these issues within Africa. However, corruption, limited democratic participation by civil society, non transparent bi- and multilateral deals, all coupled to the lack of transparency within many African governments themselves, evidently undermines beneficial outcomes for citizens.
Clearly those accessing land aim to accrue benefits. But Africa has not yet fully addressed many issues from its colonial heritage such as arbitrary borders, land dispossession by corporations and warlords or through internal and external political interference. These issues, coupled to the generally poor state of farming and infrastructure in Africa, show how little Africa has progressed in this important area of development. Recognition of the problem and talking about it is not the same as dealing with the problem.
NEPAD, the New Partnership for African Development, has actively sought corporate and private capital-friendly solutions. The wooing of powerful interests includes interventions at G8 meetings by the suave former South African president Mbeki, not to mention numerous jaw-jaw sessions at the World Economic Forum. This is why so many progressive commentators have been leery of endorsing NEPAD and its structures, criticising them as pandering to vested interests.
Activities to increase agricultural growth in Africa have also been severely compromised by questionable alliances. For instance AGRA, the African Union endorsed ‘Association for a Green Revolution in Africa,’ has seen the undemocratic and unsolicited intervention of supposedly neutral funders such as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. The relationship between these funders and pro-genetically modified food interests (in what is now termed bio-colonialism) has served to actively undermine local agricultural collectives, NGOs and projects that aim to promote and share proven solutions to food insecurity and malnutrition.
This is perhaps the most dangerous manifestation of neo-colonialism as it operates behind a veil of philanthropy while (wittingly or unwittingly) undermining democratic structures and interests. The obscene profits accrued by capital over recent decades, instead of being taxed and distributed by state organs, are now in the hands of ill-informed and often ideologically biased do-gooders. For instance, given the technocratic origins of the Gates fortune, it is logical that undue emphasis will be placed on similar technocratic agricultural solutions.
These ‘solutions’ are imposed through slick public relations and the support of corporate aligned agri-business interests such as Africa-Bio and A New Harvest, both of which are linked to GM corporations such as Monsanto, the worlds biggest seed company and genetically modified seed distributor.
There is an urgent need to examine these new neo-colonial thrusts. Careful and objective analysis must be undertaken as to how food and land sovereignty is being compromised through naïve interaction with the new global powers of finance and trade. The interests of global capital need to be tempered by intervention and through more pragmatic approaches that take account of the historical relationships between land, community, food security and economic development.
It is ironic that while Africans have fought to cast aside colonial oppression and its concomitant heritage, we have instead opened gates (pun intended) to a new wave of colonial interests that threaten, yet again, to bypass the marginalised whilst enriching a well-connected minority.
It would be tragic to cast aside Africa’s recently won freedom for a yoke of a different design.
By Glenn Ashton. Ashton is a writer and researcher working in civil society. Some of his work can be viewed at www.ekogaia.org.
This article by “name of author” from “author’s organisation” was distributed by the South African Civil Society Information Service (sacsis.org.za).
http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/news/detail.asp?iData=220&iCat=1443&iChannel=1&nChannel=news
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20593&Itemid=108
[This is the middle of the article, on farmland takeover]
A list of the land grab investments of 2008 have been put together by the Barcelona-based NGO GRAIN, based on corporate reports.
It confirms that several industrialised countries, like Japan and Sweden, rapidly growing developing nations, like China and India, and oil-rich countries, especially from the Arab Gulf, and even Libya, are buying large estates in Africa.
GRAIN is an international NGO committed to promoting sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people’s control over genetic resources and local knowledge.
GRAIN also lists multinational private investors, like the Blackstone Group, Deutsche Bank, Goldman & Sachs and Dexion Capital, as participating in the creation of these new agrarian enclaves in the heartlands of Africa.
Even private industrial conglomerates, such as the South Korean Daewoo, are also investing in land in Africa.
‘‘In July 2008, Daewoo leased 1.3 million hectare in Madagascar, about the half of the island’s territory, to cultivate maize and palm oil,’’ Hoering said. ‘‘Daewoo paid a symbolic price for the land. Allegedly, as compensation for the land lease, it is going to invest in public infrastructure.’’
Unsurprisingly, the investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial investment arm of the World Bank.
In Sept 2008, the IFC announced that it would greatly increase investments in ‘‘agribusiness development’’ in Africa, and South American states and in Russia because of new private sector interest in generating profits from the food crisis.
Part of its spending will be to bring ‘‘under-utilised’’ lands into production. In 2008, the IFC spent 1.4 billion dollars in the agribusiness supply chain, of which 900 million dollars went directly to agribusiness firms.
GRAIN also reports that the Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms in which China has recently bought a stake, ‘‘has already invested several hundred million dollars in the agricultural sector, mainly in buying farmland in areas like south of the Sahara’’.
For Hoering, the land grab in Africa by countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and Libya serve to guarantee their own national food security. ‘‘After the recent speculation on the cereal and other food markets and the spectacular price hikes, these countries have lost confidence in the world market,’’ Hoering explained.
‘‘They now want to be independent from speculators and be able tot control production and secure food imports.’’
The recent spike in global commodity food prices has also encouraged foreign investors to scramble for control of arable land in Africa.
Obviously, private investors see in the land grab a business with likely high returns. For instance, the Cru Investment Management, a British, Cardiff-based private investor, forecasts earnings of 30 percent for its agricultural fund investing in Malawi.
continued.
[Did our bank bailout money buy farmland in Africa???
AIG is buying farmland.
It would be interesting to know.
granny]
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages/article.html?in_article_id=440810&in_page_id=8
Farmland soars despite property blues
Simon Lambert, This is Money
26 April 2008
Homeowners may be suffering as the credit crunch bites and house prices head south but the cost of farmland has soared by a third over the past year.
Land grab: The cost of farmland is soaring as lifestyle buyers, farmers and investors all chase limited supply
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Detective searching with magnifying glass Find out what’s really happening to the property market and house prices near you.
Fears over the state of the UK property market, global economic worries and a collapse in the mortgage market have failed to dent the confidence of farmland buyers, according to estate agents Knight Frank.
Its latest report showed the price of farmland as having risen by 12% in the first three months of 2008.
Lifestyle buyers, UK farmers, their Irish and Scandinavian counterparts and a growing band of investors are all fighting out for the limited acreage available.
Knight Frank said farmland prices showed the average value of agricultural land had reached a record £4,621 per acre at the end of March – 34% more than the £3,459 per acre a year ago.
It said good arable land was regularly exceeding £6,000 per acre and despite the slowdown in the property market, lifestyle buyers were buying up 29% of farms.
Andrew Shirley, head of rural land research at Knight Frank, said: ‘The UK farmland market not only continues to shrug off the credit crunch affecting other property classes, but continues to grow in value at a phenomenal rate.’
Knight Frank’s report said that the rising price of farmland reflected the oft quoted Mark Twain suggestion to ‘buy land, they don’t make it anymore.’
It said demand had increased by nearly 19% during the past year, while the availability of land to buy had remained stable.
This came at a time when the Halifax house price index has reported growth slowing to an annual rate of just 1.1% in March.
‘The key driver behind this growth is a growing number of potential buyers fighting for a limited supply of land,’ said Shirley.
‘Our research shows that demand has grown almost 19% over the past 12 months while supply has flat-lined.’
Knight Frank said farmers and agricultural businesses accounted for 57% of purchases, with Irish and Scandinavian farmers attracted by land that even at today’s high prices was cheaper than in their own countries.
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Meanwhile, almost a third of land went to lifestyle buyers. These purchasers can be motivated by green ambitions, the attraction of somewhere to stable horses, or simply those snapping up parcels of land that come up for sale near their homes.
A growing band of investors, either private or as part of a fund, are also buying into UK farmland as the cost of crops rises, but Knight Frank said high competition meant their opportunity to purchase was limited.
Shirley said: ‘Their presence in the market is an example of the serious amounts of money being invested in agriculture around the world.
‘While this trend continues - and analysts are predicting an extended bull run for soft commodities - UK farmland values should continue to benefit.’
Those considering purchasing farmland as an investment are advised to seriously consider the situation before leaping in, despite its rising value.
Experts warn that owning land comes with a responsibility for its upkeep and finding a new buyer can take a long time. People are also advised to steer clear of any firm offering small potential development plots for sale, or land banking. These typically have no chance of achieving planning permission and are highly expensive.
Other stories:
How to buy a bargain home in a slowdown
Are you facing the negative equity trap?
House prices falling ‘faster than 90s crash’
Castles in the sand: the beach hut boom
House prices fell by £5,000 in March
Will I have to sell the family farm?
City boys claiming EU farm payouts
Farmland price boom fuelled by City buyers
Buying farmland: Our fields of dreams
Ten steps to reducing IHT
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* Buy a bargain home in a slump
* Castles in the sand: Beach hut boom
* Buying farmland: Our fields of dreams
* Ten steps to reducing IHT
https://topcropmanager.annexweb.com/content/view/1685/67/
Canada
[snipped from middle of article]
The notion of farmer-as-businessman is increasingly the reality in Canada and around the world as agricultural producers try to navigate volatile markets and economic uncertainties.
But the image could become even more entrenched as agriculture experiences a paradigm shift and farms become the subject of corporate takeover.
Around the world, farmland is being snapped up by large investment houses, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, even hedge funds known for their relentless search for the quick buck.
Big spikes in crop prices have shown institutional investors it’s time to invest not just in commodities, but in the farmland itself, not to mention the agriculture infrastructure that supports it, such as fertilizer distribution centres and grain elevators.
The bet is that the world’s need for food is only going to intensify, making the means of producing it increasingly valuable. Yet the rush of capital into agriculture raises questions about national control over our resources, as well as what kind of environmental stewards these new profit-seekers will be.
While still a rather new phenomenon worldwide, institutional investing in agriculture has just arrived in Canada, where a combination of factors has kept corporate interests at bay. But the “fundamentals,” as investment-types are wont to say, are changing.
http://www.optimumpopulation.org/blog/?p=437
Warning of food price hike crisis
Posted on April 20, 2009
Filed Under 1 |
A crisis is unfolding in the UK as people in poverty struggle with rising food prices and the recession, the Save the Children charity has warned.
Colette Marshall, of Save the Children, said: “We are facing a crisis. Benefits simply haven’t been enough and with rising food costs it means that families cannot afford to give children proper decent food.
“We think we are heading towards malnutrition here in the UK.”
She is calling on the government to meet its target of halving child poverty by 2010 by putting £3bn in the Budget.
Kate Green, of the Child Poverty Action Group, said that many families were buying less fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, and consuming more affordable tinned and packet food that was often higher in sugar, salt and fat.
Government efforts had lifted 600,000 children out of poverty in the last 10 years, but one in three still lived below the poverty line, she said.
According to The Grocer, a typical basket of 33 items of food cost £48 a year ago. That has now risen to £57.50.
James Ball, from the magazine, told the BBC: “It is the staples that have really gone up and that’s tough for people who buy the cheapest food.
“Rice costs double what it did last year, baked beans are up more than a third. Lots of everyday items cost a lot more than they used to.”
As the UK imports about 40% of its food, the weak pound has driven up prices. Unpredictable world harvests and a spike in oil prices last year have also played a part.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7982056.stm
>>>I am hitting the hard times of too much mucus and not enough room for oxygen.
<<<
Granny, I should get it Monday or Tuesday... Will give you a report on how well it works. I am expecting it to work something like Mucinex which is Guaifenesin with hopefully a bit more punch... I am hoping it will work well with the Spiriva to help open things up. I mostly have trouble first thing in the morning and late at night, depending what the weather does.
On the Vitamin D, I had not thought about it before, but using the sunblocks just about shuts off the uV light from the skin which eliminates most of the vitamin D production. So supplementation is wise.
Oh, I did follow up on that Dr’s letter - it was legit - but he got in trouble because it appeared that the CDC wasn’t prepared enough with the Tamiflu which they were running out of. He wrote a letter to family and friends about it (and that is the one we saw) and he was somewhat critical of the Govt. for not reporting all - he did apologize if he created any hard feelings with the govt or CDC. Appears his recommendations were straight on though.
He is the Chief Emergency Room Coordinating Doctor for the Hospital there. So he should have a bit of knowledge on what’s up, and what to treat it with.
CDC response seemed to be that he may have been low on Tamiflu but they said they had more on the way. Also that he was not in a position to see the whole picture...
It does appear though that they are trying to not release all the information. If you look on the swine flu website that the govt. has up, it is way way behind on posting the numbers of confirmed cases. Checked it a while ago, and they still don’t have the 4 confirmed cases that were announced Tuesday in Delaware posted on their maps. Same with Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Georgia, where they show no confirmed cases, but the CDC has confirmed it locally.
Oh, that site I posted also has about 140 (i think it was) essential aromatherapy oils too. They looked to me to be reasonably priced, but then I don’t really know those prices. A few of them I had not heard of before.
Remember about a year ago when some people were saying that there would not be an African American in the White House till a pig could fly....... Well, 100 days into his administration and pig flu. LOL saw that on a joke page and couldn’t resist.
Well, Wife is off tomorrow, and we are going to Sam’s Club - want to get a couple of heavy duty shelving units for our overflow provisions, and pick up a few other storables. Then to the Mennonite bulk food store.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I could go 12 weeks without outside provisions, but want to touch up on some of the niceties - just in case. Wife wants to stock up on hand sanitizer, gloves and masks too. She still has her scrubs from when she was doing ER admissions.
At times like these, I wish I were still a Federal CD Emergency Designee as I was in the late 60’s and 70’s. That was a pass to get just about wherever you needed to go. But those days are long gone...
http://www.anbg.gov.au/bibliography/medic.html
Australian native medicinal plants
A bibliography of native medicinal plants, prepared by the Library staff at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Aboriginal Communities of the Northern Territory (1988) Traditional bush medicines : an Aboriginal pharmacopoeia. Greenhouse Publications, Richmond, Vic. 256p.
Aboriginal Communities of the Northern Territory (1993) Traditional Aboriginal medicines in the Northern Territory of Australia. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory of Australia, Darwin, NT. 651p.
Collins, D.J. et al. (1990) Plants for medicines : a chemical and pharmacological survey of plants in the Australian region. CSIRO, East Melbourne, Vic. 303p.
Cribb, A.B. & Cribb, J.W. (1983) Wild medicine in Australia. Fontana/Collins, Sydney. 228p.
Kryriazis, S. (1996?) Bush medicine of the northern peninsula area of Cape York. Nai Beguta Agama Aboriginal Corporation, New Mapoon, Qld. 39p.
Lassak. E.V. & McCarthy, T. (1983) Australian medicinal plants. Methuen Australia, North Ryde, NSW. 240p.
Low, Tim (1990) Bush medicine : a pharmacopoeia of natural remedies. Angus & Robertson, North Ryde, NSW. 238p.
Wightman, G. & Mills, L. (1991) Bush medicine identikit : common medicinal plants of Australia’s Top End. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Darwin. 65p.
Updated Wednesday, 5-May - 98, 23:45:03 EST, Murray Fagg (anbg-info@anbg.gov.au)
http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/aboriginal-trail.html
Home > ANBG > Aboriginal Trail
shield motif This article is based on the guide leaflet for the Aboriginal Trail at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. The trail is an interpretive walk (see map) focussing on plants used by the Australian Aboriginals.
The directional and interpretive signs along this trail are marked by this distinctive Aboriginal shield motif.
You can also visit another ANBG site: Aboriginal Plant Use in South Eastern Australia
horizontal green line
Aboriginal Trail
Introduction by Beth Gott
The Aborigines have lived in Australia for at least 40,000 years, and in all those long generations the land provided them with everything they needed for a healthy life. They also learned to manage their country in such ways that its resources renewed themselves and were not used up.
click to enlarge illustration
How did they do this? To quote Edward Curr, an early settler, they ‘tilled their ground and cultivated their pastures with fire’. By controlled burning, they kept the bush open and allowed the growth of new seedlings in the ash-bed. Aborigines in Arnhem Land still do this. Many Australian plants will re-grow quickly after a fire; indeed some plants such as the grass-tree (Xanthorrhoea spp.) flower more prolifically after fire.
At least half of the food eaten by Aborigines came from plants, and it was the task of the women to collect them. Just as we eat root vegetables, greens, fruits and seeds, so did the Aborigines. Fruits, seeds and greens were only available during their appropriate seasons, but roots could usually be dug up all the year round, because the earth acted as a natural storage cupboard. Important foods were replanted. The regular digging-over of the soil, and the thinning out of clumps by collection of plants, together with burning to provide fertiliser, is not very different from what we do in our own gardens, and the whole country was in a way an Aboriginal garden.
The particular plants which were eaten varied, of course, in different parts of Australia; in this guide it is only possible to mention a few of them.
In Arnhem Land, north Queensland and the Kimberleys, there are many tropical trees which bear fruits and seeds, such as native figs (Ficus spp.), lilly-pillies (Acmena, Eugenia and Syzygium spp.) and Macadamia nuts. One fruit, the Green Plum (Buchanania obovata) is enormously rich in Vitamin C. True yams (Dioscorea spp.) were important root vegetables, although one of them, Dioscorea bulbifera, is called the ‘cheeky yam’, because it will make you sick unless it is grated up and thoroughly washed in water before it is used. Another important root was the wild Water-chestnut or Spike-rush, (Eleocharis dulcis).
In central Australia, where water is scarce, the plants are spread thinly over the land. Here the Aborigines relied more on the seeds of native grasses, and wattles such as Mulga (Acacia aneura), Wiry Wattle (Acacia coriacea), and even seed of the Coolabah tree (Eucalyptus microtheca). There were also fruits of the various ‘bush tomatoes’ (Solanum spp.), Quandong or Native Peach (Santalum acuminatum), Native Plum (Santalum lanceolatum) and Desert Fig (Ficus platypoda). Roots included Desert Yam (Ipomoea costata), which can have a tuber the size of a man’s head, and Nalgoo (Cyperus bulbosus), a sort of nut-grass, often called ‘bush onion’.
In the southern parts of Australia, roots (applying that word to all underground plant parts) were the most important foods. Like the Maoris of New Zealand, the Australians used the long roots (rhizomes) of Bracken Fern, (Pteridium esculentum) from which they chewed or beat out a sticky starch. There are many native lilies with small tuberous roots which were collected for food Early Nancy (Wurmbea dioica), Chocolate Lily (Dichopogon strictus) and Milkmaids (Burchardia umbellata) for example. Murnong or Yam-daisy (Microseris lanceolata) was a plentiful and favourite food. Along the Murray-Darling river system, cumbungi or Bulrush (Typha spp.) provided much nourishment, as did Water Ribbons (Triglochin procera), and Marsh Club-rush (Bolboschoenus medianus), which has hard walnut-sized tubers.
In south-western Australia roots were also the most important food, especially Warran Yam (Dioscorea hastifolia).
Most southern fruits were small, including those of the Heath Family (Epacridaceae) and Dillon Bush (Nitraria billardieri), which bears heavy crops of red fruits which were much liked.
Plants were used for many other things besides food. The long leaves of sedges, rushes and lilies were collected to make baskets and mats, and soaked and beaten to free the fibres to make string. The bark of trees made buckets, dishes and shields; River Red-gum bark was particularly good for making canoes, and old scarred ‘canoe trees’ can still be seen. Some rice-flower shrubs (Pimelea spp.) have such strong fibres on the outside of the stem that they have been called ‘bushman’s bootlace’, and were used by the Aborigines to make fine nets in which to collect Bogong Moths to eat.
Medicines also came from plants native mints (Mentha spp.) were remedies for coughs and colds, and the gum from gum-trees, which is rich in tannin,was used for burns.
The plants in this guide are listed by their botanical names, because common names often vary in different parts of Australia. The Aborigines spoke many languages, and so they also have many different names for plants. Some Aboriginal names have become our common names Geebung, for instance, for Persoonia species.
Some of the plants on this trail have not yet reached the stage at which they would have been utilised by the Aborigines. Many of the food-producing plants bear their fruits for short periods of the year only. Thus the part of the plant that was used will not always be evident on the specimens presented here.
The references used to compile this folder are filed in the office of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
The following books can be consulted for more information:
Gott, B., 1991 Victorian Koorie Plants: some plants used by Victorian Koories for food, fibre, medicines and implements. Yangennanock Women’s Group, Aboriginal Keeping Place, Hamilton, Victoria.
Issacs, J., 1987 Bush Food. Weldons, Sydney.
Low, T., 1988 Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
click to enlarge illustration Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood)
The wood of Blackwood, being very hard and close-grained, was used in Victoria for spear-throwers and shields; the bark was infused in water to bathe rheumatic joints, and the inner bark was used to make string. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC.
There are over 1,000 different wattle species in Australia, and many of them were used by the Aborigines. In many areas wattle gum was an important food as well as a cement. Wattle seed is high in protein and carbohydrate and was eaten both green and dry in the arid areas. The Tasmanians ate the green seed and pods of Coast Wattle, Acacia sophorae, and Varnish Wattle, Acacia verniciflua, and wattle blossom was hung in their huts to promote sleep.
click to enlarge illustration Alocasia macrorrhizos (Cunjevoi)
The swollen stems are starchy and fibrous, but are POISONOUS if eaten raw, causing the mouth and throat to swell, sometimes fatally. The Queensland Aborigines repeatedly roasted and pounded the plant to remove the poison. Cunjevoi is an Aboriginal name from southern Queensland. NSW, QLD.
click to enlarge illustration Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya Pine)
When this tree is mature it will bear large green cones, and inside each scale of the cone will be found a hard-shelled nut about 5cm long. These nuts were such a popular food that tribes came from hundreds of kilometres around the Bunya Mountains in southern Queensland to feast on them.
Particular trees were considered to be the property of certain Aboriginal families, but everyone was invited to share the delicious nuts, which are not unlike chestnuts when roasted in the fire.
Although found only in Queensland, Bunya Pines have been planted in the southern States, and the nuts may sometimes be bought in Sydney markets. They can be boiled or roasted. QLD.
click to enlarge illustration Banksia spp. (Banksias)
The flower-cones were soaked in water in bark or wooden containers to extract the nectar to make sweet drinks. Early settlers called banksias ‘honeysuckles’. Some banksias, such as the local Silver Banksia, Banksia marginata, retain the dry flowers on the cones, and Victorian Aborigines used these as strainers for drinking water. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
Brachychiton rupestre (Bottle-tree)
The seeds, young roots and shoots were cooked and eaten in Queensland. The wood contains a nutritious jelly. By making a hole in the trunk, sap could be obtained for drinking. String for making nets was made from the fibres in the bark. QLD.
Callitris spp. (Native Cypress pines)
Aborigines on the Murray River made a combined canoe pole and fish spear nearly 4 m long from the wood of the Murray Pine, Callitris preissii, called by them Maroong. The resin was also a cement for fastening barbs to spears. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
Casuarina and Allocasuarina spp. (She-oaks)
The hard wood of she-oak was much used for making boomerangs, shields and clubs. In Wyrie Swamp, South Australia, archaeologists found a boomerang 10,000 years old, made from she-oak wood. Young shoots were chewed to allay thirst, and young cones were also eaten. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
click to enlarge illustration Citriobatus pauciflorus (OrangeThorn)
The edible fruits are round and yellow, 1-3cm across, with a leathery skin and large seeds. NSW, QLD.
Dianella spp. (Flax Lilies)
The fibre in the leaf is very strong. A leaf, split and twisted into a cord, has been found in an Aboriginal burial in central Victoria. This and other Flax-lilies were used for baskets in Tasmania. The berries are blue-purple, and may be poisonous. There is no evidence that they were eaten by Aborigines. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Dicksonia antarctica (Smooth Tree-fern)
The top of the trunk was split open to extract the soft starchy pith. The Tasmanians preferred the Rough Tree-fern, Cyathea australis, because it tasted better than the Smooth Tree-fern. The Smooth Tree-fern is the one which is usually grown in home gardens. NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC.
click to enlarge illustration Dendrobium speciosum (Rock or King Orchid)
The swollen stems were beaten to break up the fibre and then cooked on hot stones. NSW, QLD.
click to enlarge illustration Dodonaea viscosa (Hop-bush)
In Queensland the juice of the root was applied for toothache and cuts; the chewed leaf and juice was put on stonefish and stingray stings and bound up for 4-5 days. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
click to enlarge illustration Doryanthes excelsa (Gymea Lily)
The flowering stems grow up to 4 m high, but were cut when young, about 0.5 m long and thicker than a man’s arm, and roasted. The roots were also roasted and made into a sort of cake. The name ‘GYMEA’ comes from the Wodi Wodi tribe of the Illawarra district near Sydney. Flowering summer. NSW.
Enchylaena tomentosa (Ruby Saltbush)
The tiny red flattened fruits were shaken off the bush and eaten. They have a small black stone inside, which was also eaten. All mainland States: NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, NT, WA.
Eucalyptus viminalis (Manna Gum)
Where holes have been made by insects in the young branches, sap flows out and dries into hard sugary drops which fall to the ground, hence the name ‘manna’. Aborigines and early settlers were very fond of it. Other gum-trees may also produce manna for example Eucalyptus mannifera, of which there are numerous specimens in the Gardens. Both these gum trees are native to the Canberra district.
In common with other eucalypts, the wood was used for implements such as shields, and wooden bowls known in Victoria as ‘tarnuks’. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC.
Eustrephus latifolius (Wombat Berry)
The roots of this climber are edible, and it is highly likely that they were eaten by Aborigines. The fruits do not seem to have been eaten. NSW, QLD, VIC.
click to enlarge illustration Exocarpos cupressiformis (Cherry Ballart, Native Cherry)
The fruits of the Native Cherries have a succulent base with a hard seed on top. There are several species, but this one is the most common. The wood was used for spearthrowers and for bull-roarers (a musical instrument), and the sap was applied to snakebites. The native cherries are hard to cultivate, because they are parasitic on the roots of other trees. The Aboriginal name ‘BALLART’ comes from western and central Victoria. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC.
Hedycarya angustifolia (Austral Mulberry)
The most important use of this mountain shrub was as straight sticks for fire-drills, which were twirled between the hands while resting on another flat piece of wood, often the dry flowering stalk of the grass-tree. Within two minutes fire could be produced. The sticks were so highly prized that they were traded from tribe to tribe, from the mountains to the Murray River. The fruits resemble a yellow mulberry, but are not edible. NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC.
Indigofera australis (Austral Indigo)
One of the many different plants that were crushed and put into pools to kill or stun fish so that they could be easily caught. Among other plants used in different parts of Australia were the leaves and bark of several wattles and gum-trees, and the Wild Indigo, Tephrosia purpurea. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Lambertia formosa (Mountain Devil)
The copious nectar of this plant sometimes flows down the twigs. The flowers were sucked. Although there is one report of nausea and headache after consuming a large amount, the nectar appears to contain no toxic substance. NSW.
Livistona australis (Cabbage Palm)
The heart of the palm was eaten in the north of Australia, but although it can be found as far south as eastern Victoria, early observers say it was not eaten there before European settlement. NSW, QLD, VIC.
Lomandra longifolia (Spiny-headed Mat-rush)
The long smooth leaves were used to make baskets and mats. By beating and soaking the leaves, fibre was separated to make string for net-bags. The flowers provided nectar. This plant is still used at Lake Tyers, Victoria, to make traditional baskets, and at Lake Condah to make eel-traps. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC.
click to enlarge illustration Macrozamia spp. (Burrawangs)
The seeds of these and other cycads are borne in a large cone and have an orange outer coat. They are POISONOUS, but the Aborigines knew how to treat them to remove the poison, and so take advantage of the large amount of food provided by a single plant. One of the ways was to cook the seed, break it up, and then soak it for up to three weeks in running water. In Western Australia, only the outer red part was eaten, after treatment by washing and burying. NSW, NT, QLD, WA.
click to enlarge illustration Marsilea drummondii (Nardoo)
An unusual fern, which grows in shallow seasonal waters. When the water dried up, the hard spore-cases were collected. They were broken up on grindstones, and the spores were separated from the outer cases. The spores swell when moistened, and were made into damper. Although used in drier areas such as Cooper’s Creek, Nardoo is said to have been largely a standby food when other things were in short supply. The explorers Burke and Wills found that a diet of Nardoo alone was not enough to sustain life. NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC.
click to enlarge illustration Microseris lanceolata (Murnong or Yam-daisy)
This small perennial plant was the favourite food of the Aborigines of central and western Victoria, and was also eaten in South Australia and New South Wales. It has a radish-shaped tuber, which is renewed each year. In the spring the plant forms a yellow flower-head like a dandelion, and in the summer the leaves die off and the tuber becomes dormant. The tubers were cooked in baskets in an earth oven, producing a dark sweet juice which was much liked. Once a common plant, Murnong became scarce due to grazing by sheep. NSW, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
click to enlarge illustration Nothofagus moorei (Antarctic Beech)
An orange fungus, Cyttaria septentrionalis about the size of a golf-ball may grow on this tree, and was eaten raw. Other species of Nothofagus in Tasmania and Victoria bear a related fungus, which was also eaten. NSW, QLD.
click to enlarge illustration Persoonia pinifolia (Geebung)
Inside the sweet pulp, the edible fruit has a very hard stone, which was discarded. Other persoonias were also eaten. The New South Wales Aboriginal name ‘GEEBUNG’ has been given to all Persoonia species. NSW.
Phragmites australis (Common Reed)
The tall bamboo-like stems were highly prized for spears, and were also cut into short lengths to make necklaces, or to stick through the septum of the nose as an ornament. The leaves were used to make bags and baskets. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
Podocarpus elatus (Brown Pine)
The seed is borne on a purple-black fleshy stalk, which was eaten. It is sweet but mucilaginous. NSW, QLD.
Rhagodia spinescens (Thorny Saltbush)
The Aranda tribe in central Australia used the fruits to make a red paint for the face. NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC.
Rubus hillii (Native Raspberry)
There are several native raspberries, all of which were eaten. This one is found in rainforest. The Mountain Raspberry, Rubus gunnianus, is found only on Tasmanian mountains, while the Small-leaf Bramble, Rubus parvifolius, is widespread in drier forests. NSW, QLD, VIC.
Solanum laciniatum (Kangaroo Apple)
One of the Kangaroo Apples of eastern Australia, the egg-shaped orange fruits were eaten only when they were ripe enough to fall from the bush. In Tasmania, they were picked earlier, and buried in sand-heaps to ripen. They can be POISONOUS if eaten unripe. The fruits contain hard small stones as well as seeds. In central Australia, many other Solanum species are important foods, and are known as bush tomatoes’. NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Sollya heterophylla (Bluebell Creeper)
The dark bluish fruits were eaten in Western Australia. WA.
Tasmannia insipida (Pepper Tree)
The flesh of the purple-black fruit is edible, but the few black seeds are very peppery. NSW, QLD.
Typha spp. (Cumbungi or Bulrushes)
A multi-purpose plant, the ‘staff of life’ along the Murray-Darling river system and in south-western Australia. The underground horizontal ‘roots’ (rhizomes) were steamed in an earth oven, the outer layer was stripped off, and the starchy fibrous inner part was tied in a simple knot. This was then chewed to remove the starch, which tastes like potato. The remaining fibre was dried, soaked, scraped with mussel shells, and then rolled on the thigh to give very strong string for making large nets which were used to catch ducks and fish. Finer string was made from the leaves. The young shoots which appear in early summer were eaten raw. ‘CUMBUNGI’ is a name from the middle Murray River area. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
Xanthorrhoea spp. (Grass Trees)
The bases of the leaves are sweet and nutty, and the heart of the stem was also eaten. Nectar was collected from the tall spike of flowers with a sponge made of stringybark. The dry flower-stems of smaller species were used for spears, and those of this larger species were used to make fire, as well as containing large edible grubs. at the base of the plant globules of a hard waterproof resin were collected, which served as a cement to fasten barbs in spears or stone axes to handles. The tough leaves were used as knives to cut meat. This is one of the native plants which flowers in response to fire. All Australian States: NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, NT, WA.
You can also visit the web site: Aboriginal Plant Use in South Eastern Australia
HTML mark-up by Jim Croft Updated 21 August, 2006 ,by Murray Fagg (anbg-info@anbg.gov.au)
Remember about a year ago when some people were saying that there would not be an African American in the White House till a pig could fly....... Well, 100 days into his administration and pig flu. LOL saw that on a joke page and couldn’t resist.<<<
Yeee gadds, I can’t laugh at that, for it is almost eerie it is so true.
At times, I am amazed what a few words can say.
Yes, keep me posted on your new medicine, as I am going to have to do something, as I am not getting enough oxygen to even walk, lately.
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