We Are Meat Eaters

My family are meat eaters.

I used to be a vegetarian through highschool, purely because I connected with animals well being (the health benefits of being a vego didn't even occur to me back then), to me it seemed cruel to raise an animal for human consumption. I also have family members and friends who what the same morals towards animals, so I had contact with non-meat eaters throughout my life.

I have to admit, I crave meat. I love the taste. There is nothing more satisfying than an antipasto platter with a bit of prosciutto on the plate. Taste is undeniably the first reason I began eating meat again. Focusing away from sustainability, I feel as though meat has a purpose in our diet, meat from smaller frames such as poultry, seafood and game. I believe in a balanced diet from wholefoods, personally if it was my choice, we would be eating a diet consisting mainly of vegetables, pulses, fruit, grains, some fish and little meat. But, living in a family which considers other members, I feel I must provide what my family wants, within reason. What I don't believe is that meat is an everyday food, that it should be the focus of the meal.

 

Because I have high morals about animal cruelty and living sustainably, I buy either organic free range meat or at the very least free range. I don't buy my meat from the supermarket, only from local butchers who buy from local farmers.

My two favourite butchers at the moment are Feast Fine Foods, who provide a range of meats and cuts you would see at the supermarket or any other butcher BUT they deal with the most premium producers you can find in the state. You'll find restaurant quality, organic, free range, rare breeds and rare cuts of meat. They really try to respect meat and it shows by the support they have for local farmers and the butchery classes they hold at The Adelaide Central Markets. I buy cheaper cuts of meat from Feast, as their prices are quite high and I'm realising because I buy meat that is mostly on the bone or a whole bird, it allows me to connect with the animal. During food preparation, I find myself slowing down and really seeing what animal I'm working with, where it came from and I give  it a little more respect and dignity. I don't think I could get the same feeling from a shrink wrapped, clean piece of fillet.

The second is Wild OZ. Wild OZ caters to my sustainable side. They hunt their produce, to a certain degree. I can be sure to find wild kangaroo (which is one of Australia's most sustainable meats), wild rabbit, open range pork and goat. They also try to focus their flavours on Australian bush foods, which also feeds my passion for native plants.

I'm finding if I have balance with my meat eating I can do so without overwhelming guilt. I am still working towards gradually cutting down my family on farmed red meat and I think kangaroo will be a great alternative. But boy, pushing for veggies in my family is hard work, although Mike has started eating more and he actually LOVES mushrooms now. Persistence!



MamaKoo

Does your family eat meat? What are some of your family favourites when it comes to vegetarian meals?

Plastic free update

Its been six months since I made a vow to go plastic free and I thought I'd update about my plastic free journey... I must admit and accept that its not going to plan.

Its A LOT harder than I first thought it would be. Simple things like finding a non plastic packaging alternative to buying milk. I know what you're thinking.. "MamaKoo, haven't you heard?! Milk comes in cartons!" but did you know, cartons are made from cardboard lined with a polyethylene plastic? What happened to the days of old, where milk was delivered to your door in glass bottles?

I think although I haven't been able to make the full transition, trying to go plastic free has made me rethink the things I would have purchased in the past, try to find alternatives and in doing so has made me find different and wonderful places to shop. Its made me slow down and live life more simply, appreciate the things I have access to and forced me to start making things I normally would buy (which I enjoy doing!).

Hopefully down the track we can become an almost plastic free family, I really think that at this time in history becoming COMPLETELY plastic free is a near impossibility. We can always try, can't we?

Free Energy Efficient Lighting

Just a note: I'm not a representative of this company, I'm just speaking from my own experience.


I've just finished having my house's light bulbs changed over to energy efficient lighting for.. FREE! Yes, free!

Through the assistance of State and Federal government schemes a carbon reducing company called Green Home Green Planet are on a mission to change as many light bulbs as possible. They've changed some 400,000 energy efficient light bulbs for their customers free of charge. I found out about this wonderful scheme due to pure coincidence when a representative came to my door. At first I thought he was selling something, so if you happen to have a representative come past your house, don't turn them away!
  
The benefits of this program include;

• A reduction in your electricity bill
• A reduction in carbon emissions
• Making a positive contribution to slowing climate change
• Reducing peak demand for electricity companies, therefore reducing the need for costly network investment (which appears as additional cost on your bill)
• Significantly reduce or eliminate fire risk from overheating quartz halogen down lights
• Lower running temperatures mean less need for air conditioning 

They're also offering free home energy assessments and have a wide range of products to help create a more energy efficient home or business.


MamaKoo

Tis the season

This is going to be Grub's second Christmas and if her second is anything like her first, shes going to be overwhelmed with a large amount of gifts. I think its wonderful she has so many people that adore and love her but I find that even I can be overwhelmed with the amount she receives. She generally wants to play with the boxes and wrapping that they come in and I'm quite happy to let her do this as I tend to place her gifted toys in storage so I can gradually bring them out for her to play with.

Grub last Christmas

Some of the presents don't sit well with me and my 'rules' of trying to minimise consumerism in my household or some are poorly made and I find myself recycling gifts or giving them to charity. Shhh... don't tell anyone! Although I'm not really throwing away items, I still feel a sense of unnecessary waste. Not to mention the wrapping, boxes, cards etc etc that have been used to present the presents.

So this year and onwards, Mike and I have decided that we'll be getting Grub one present for Christmas, that is until shes old enough to bring up Santa with us. Then Mike and I will have to have another discussion on what our views are about that situation.

As for gift giving to other family and friends, we're planning on creating homemade yummy treats and goodies wrapped in recycled packaging and card.


Do you and your family try to reduce the amount of consumerism during Christmas? What do you plan on giving this Christmas?



MamaKoo

Biodegradable Seed Starter

Its spring! And that means its time to get my vegetable seeds ready. I've been saving extra large egg cartons from Rosie's Free Range Eggs for the past few months so I can use them as seedling trays.

Because the cartons are biodegradable when its time to plant I plan on cutting them into individual pots and plant them as is.

Yay for kale!

When the weather becomes warmer and a bit more predictable I'm going to use You Grow Girl's method of using toilet paper rolls to plant seeds that require a bit more depth in the soil. There are loads of newspaper seed starters online too, but I think I'd become a bit impatient at folding all those little boxes!

For your information; I'm using organic veggie and herb seeds from Green Harvest which is an organic garden supplier based in Queensland. I'm yet to find anything similar with such variety closer to South Australia. They provide such a variety of heirloom plants, permaculture resources, organic gardening resources, natural pest control.. the list really does go on.

What veggies are you growing this season?


MamaKoo

Sustainable Seafood

When choosing fish from your local fish monger have you ever thought what purchase would have a lesser impact on the environment? Now you can make a more informed choice with The Australian Marine Conservation Society's Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide. They've released a free iPhone app, PDF file or hard copy you can purchase off their website for easy access to the information.

They've made the database easy to use, classifying seafood under "better", "think" and "no". It not only takes overfishing into consideration, but it also takes into account destructive fishing techniques, contamination and leakages dues to poor aquaculture practices and pollution. I highly recommend it for people who do consume seafood.


Overfishing, destructive fishing gear and poor aquaculture practices impact significantly on our seas, marine wildlife and habitats. An incredible 80% of the world's fish stocks are now over-exploited or fished right up to their limit. Once considered inexhaustible, our oceans are now in a state of global crisis, and they need our help.

As consumers we can and do make a difference through the choices we make. By choosing sustainable seafood we take a step towards a future with healthy oceans by helping drive change in the way our fish and shellfish are caught or farmed. We can all help make our seafood sustainable.


Also The Australian Conservation Foundation is conducting an independent Sustainable Seafood Assessment Program and provides an interactive map of Australia with a few sustainable seafood available in some states. As the assessment continues the map will be update and hopefully they can gain enough funding and momentum to have an extensive assessment avaliable.




MamaKoo

A World of Plastic

My latest post is a bit depressing but I encourage you to turn your mind set and use it as a powerful tool to encourage you to make a difference in the way you live.

Take a moment to think about the popular saying "think globally, act locally". A large proportion of people have trouble thinking globally. They only think about the effect of their actions in a certain vicinity. They don't think about the consequences of their waste thrown out of a car window will most likely aid in the death of a sea creature or end up in our oceans adding to the indescribable amount of waste, with no way of degrading in our lifetime or their grandchild's lifetime. Out of sight, out of mind.

chrisjordan.com

With my recent research into chemicals plastic are made out of, plastic pollution and how little of our plastic is actually recycled, I've become somewhat scarred. I think its a good thing, its a motivation to do something about it, to act locally (my family) but think globally! Looking around my house at the moment, although I consider myself to be more 'eco' than others, our cupboards and fridge are overloaded with plastics, not to mention the massive amount of plastic packaging from the food we buy. I try to buy products with the least amount of packaging, but I've never really gone out of my way to search for alternatives, only whats avaliable at my local Foodland or markets.

After being inspired by Gina's, A Plastic Free Year, I also want to take this vowel on October 1st and try to be virgin plastic free for a year and hopefully there after.

A Plastic Free Year Guidelines

REFUSE, RE-USE, & LET NO PLASTIC TO ENTER WASTE STREAM.

• Do not purchase or be gifted virgin plastic.

• Where a plastic free alternative to a product can not be found, plastic re-used or recycled item of that product can be purchased or borrowed.

•  If any plastic is (unwillingly) purchased or gifted during 2011, it can NOT enter the waste stream - it must be kept by me. The accumulated plastic will be weighed at the end of 2011 to measure what my annual plastic footprint is, and will be turned into plastic 'art'.

Please post me any suggestions you have on how I can survive My Plastic Free Year - I need all the assistance I can get! And feel free to join me - the less demand created for virgin plastic, the better for all of us!

Thanks for your support ;-)

 I'll post updates every now and then including thoughts, the amount of plastic accumulated and products I've found helpful. I encourage you to join me in this journey, if not to re-think your plastic situation and review the links on this post. Everyone is accountable!

MamaKoo

Also, if you have any ideas to help reduce plastic consumption to share them with me... this is going to be a hard task ahead! 

The branded child

I feel as part of a Western culture, its somewhat predetermined that our children will grow up being taught to be greedy. They are bombarded with TV programs that have its marketing arms extended into the world of childrens clothes, food and toys. They're subliminally instructed to crave the latest and the greatest, to want more and need more and the more that they have, the cooler they are. Dora the Explorer yoghurt, Hannah Montana t-shirts, Thomas the Tank Engine pyjamas (Do you know how hard it is to find non cartoon branded pyjamas?)

From what little television Grub watches, I agree some shows are educational. But its one thing to watch a half hour show once a week, compared to obsessing over Dora the Explorer merchandise because the girl at Kindy has a so and so. Its this type of mentality that is detrimental to a childs ability to accept who they are and what true happiness is, without the aid of materialistic things.

The combination of marketing creeping its way into our childrens lives and rise of Tween consumers, its more important than ever to provide a home environment where our children can grow up without feeling like more is better. These are my 'rules' I've set up for myself to combat the onslaught of the marketing world and to help Grub appreciate and respect her toys:


No plastic toys - The majority of branded toys are plastic. Not only are a lot of plastic toys poorly made, they are made with toxic substances that over time can cause various health problems including, reproductive defects, an increased risk of breast cancer and organ failure. Wooden toys last longer, are aesthetically pleasing, are hardly ever branded and lack flashing lights and sound allowing the imagination to express itself. Eco Toys sell amazing wooden toys for all ages and types of play.

Don't allow toys to get out of control - Every toy has a home on a shelf or in a cupboard. I like to display Grub's toys so she can easily access them when she wants to play and so they can easily be put back when shes finished. I try to get her to focus on one toy at a time, when she moves on to another toy, I put away the previous. If shes abusing or rough handling a toy, I take it away until she can play with it respectfully. 

Limited media exposure - Grub seriously only watches about 30 minutes of TV a week... Maximum! Some weeks the TV isn't even switched on. On the odd occasion that she does watch it, I switch it off when ads are playing. 

No kid focused branded foods - Since starting baby led weaning, I've only bought one branded kids food. Cheese stringers, it was an over priced, saltier, plastic laden version of mozzarella. 

Stay away from branded clothes - Majority of Grub's clothes are either hand me downs, from op shops or gifts. I've rarely had to buy new clothes, but when I do, I look for non branded clothes, that are easy to move in and made from natural fibers. 


Homemade or handcrafted toys -  Simple ideas like creating a hanging toy out of a Christmas bauble and a stick. Making a rattle out of pasta and a bottle. A cubby house out of two chairs and a sheet. For older kids, fun can be had by making toys together or doing activities like those in Action Pack. 

As parents we should be teaching out kids that self esteem comes from the inside out, not the outside in!


MamaKoo

Eco friendly Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day! Forget presents that will eventually end up in landfill, quality time or handmade crafts from the kids are much more valuable and memorable when it comes to giving for Father's Day.

Here are a few eco friendly ideas you can do with that special guy.



Rent bikes and cruise the town. A great way to spend your outdoor family time, plus its cheap, green and gives you some exercise.


Go for a hike. Check out this list of Australian National Parks, pack a picnic, find a cool spot and check it out.


Plant a tree with or for your Dad. Research what trees are endemic to the area you live in, stop by a nursery and plant it together. You'll have something that will be around for years to come. For a global perspective, buying trees will help combat desertification, climate change and deforestation.


Visit a nursery. Nothing says 'inspiration' like visiting a nursery. Take the time and maybe plan an new garden bed or project over the weekend. Nurseries Australia have a list of nurseries in all states.


Spend some time in the garden. Its Spring! Get out in the garden, weed away those Winter weeds, prepare your veggie beds, turn the compost. Go on, smell the fresh air.


Swing by a farmers market. Cut down on greenhouse emissions and support your local growers and producers. Everything is beautifully fresh, homegrown and handmade. Every area has a farmer's market, but if your not sure where to go, take a look at the farmers market online directory.


Cook him breakfast in bed. An oldie but a goodie. Make sure its his favorite breakfast and organic! He'll feel pampered and special, a great way to start his day.

Above all, remember, its the thought that counts and what better way to show you care, than to spend some quality time with the old man!




MamaKoo