In the last century as our lives have become more and more specialised, we have entrusted the growing of our food to market gardeners and farmers. This change has destroyed the nutritional quality of our food as fruit is picked unripe to extend supermarket shelf-life. Almost all the berry fruits such as strawberries and raspberries are picked before sugars, vitamins and antioxidants develop. Fruit is now sprayed with anti-ripening chemicals and a survey found that what supermarkets euphemistically call “Fresh Food” could be 9 months old. Orchardists make much more profit by pumping apples, grapes and tomatoes so full of water to boost weight, that flavour, nutrition and antioxidant levels are almost negligible. The quality of food diminishes proportionally to the time and distance from harvest.
Ninety percent of the garlic we eat is imported. Our quarantine department insists that every bulb is fumigated with one of the world's deadliest chemicals – the poison methyl bromide. This chemical works like a biological nuclear bomb, it kills weeds, insects and bacterias etc, rendering soils sterile and lifeless. It is 45 times as destructive to the atmosphere's ozone layer as the already banned CFCs. Even ignoring whether it's safe to use on food, don't we have a right to know whether garlic is sprayed with such chemicals? Aren't we entitled to country of origin labelling so we can make informed choices about our food?
Apples have been cultivated for thousands of years and at the turn of the 20th century there used to be three to four thousand apple varieties. Almost all these cultivars have been replaced by 4 or 5 supermarket varieties because, as one grower stated, the supermarket buyer is not interested in buying any apples or peaches with less than a 4-month shelf life. This is the reason why 90% of all fruit and vegetable varieties have disappeared.
At Digger's we have been conducting taste tests on tomatoes and strawberries comparing pre-globalisation heirloom strains with supermarket-focused hybrids. The results have been astounding. In the case of strawberries there is just one strawberry, Cambridge Rival, that has survived the 100 years. When we compare this heirloom grown in our garden with the variety purchased at our local supermarket we recorded a taste rating of 90% compared with 25%.
Without exception the best-tasting and most nutritious fruit and vegetables never reach our food markets. Our food is so altered that the supermarket hybrid tomato has become both the box and its contents! When we grew our own food we knew what we were eating. We can no longer trust multinational seed merchants to grow tasty and nutritious food. We can't trust our governments to regulate a globalised food supply and we can no longer trust our farmers or supermarkets to grow quality food unless it carries an organic label.
For the last 15 years we have been rescuing the best-tasting heirloom vegetables and with the writing of this book we are extending our search and commitment to the best of the pre-globalised fruit varieties. If you value flavour and health you will have to grow your own food at home.
The globalisation of our food supply has unexpectedly destabilised the climate we need to grow our food. Ecologists estimate that about 25-30% of our greenhouse gas emissions are the result of us not growing our own food. By replacing our own energy to dig, grow and harvest our own food with non-renewable fossil fuels, it has been estimated to account for almost 50% of the additional CO2 that is destabilising our climate. Fossil fuels are used to plough the ground, sow the seeds, spray the plants, harvest the crop and then ship, often thousands of miles, to market.
To stabilise our climate requires us to cut emissions by 60% over the next 50 years.
By growing our own food we would meet half this target immediately.
As a result of climate change it is almost certain that average temperatures will rise by at least 2°C in the next 40 years. This increase will mean that Melbourne gardeners will then have a climate like Sydney and Sydney gardeners a climate like Brisbane. Avocados and subtropical fruits will become as popular as the lemon tree. Australia's most popular garden guide lists avocados as a tropical fruit, even though there are orchards south of Melbourne. It's no wonder many Australians have failed to grow avocados.
The Hass variety avocado can easily be grown and fruited in every capital city except Canberra and Hobart. Every camellia or ornamental shrub you replace with an avocado cuts our greenhouse emissions.
For too long the growing of food has been thought of as functional only, when the food garden should be as decorative as the most inspiring flower gardens.
Isn't a persimmon in autumn as exquisite as any magnolia in spring? Camellias and citrus both grow in similar climates and provide dense screens of evergreen foliage, but who can say that the camellia's winter blooms are more appealing than the orange blossom and fruit that hangs for months? Blueberries will grow wherever azaleas thrive but wouldn't the quality of our gardens (not to mention our health) improve if we replaced one with the other?
Now that our garden spaces are reducing and rainfall is diminishing we need to replace thirsty shade trees from temperate climates with drought-tolerant mini trees. The best candidates are mostly fruiting trees such as mulberries, loquats, figs, jujubes, medlars and persimmons.
We can help you become totally self sufficient and you can help us rescue those precious heirloom fruits and vegetables that are vital to preserving our gardening civilisation.
A recent survey found that only 10% of the Australian population gets enough exercise to maintain basic fitness for heart and lungs. As we have abrogated the growing of food to others not only has the quality of food declined but our health has suffered as well.
Our globalised diet has caused us to be overfed, under-exercised and under-nourished.
Two thousand, three hundred years ago Hypocrites wrote “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. Today's dieticians are unanimous in recommending that for good health we need to be eating 7 servings of fruit and vegetables each day. Growing your own food is the key to a healthy long life.