Good News Bad News
The spring rains aren’t really eventuating which is allowing
some farms to dry out and leaving others badly in need of more rain. Next time
you complain about the price of a tomato, spare a thought for the guy growing
it. If it’s not too much or too little rain then it’s not enough or too much
sun or as one farmer experienced an attack of fruit fly. Anyway with a 9kg box
of organic tomatoes currently selling for $90 in the wholesale market it might
be better to do without until the Victorian season starts. Better still replace
with an avocado, who themselves haven’t experienced the best of seasons thanks
to an oversupply of water. However they are currently inexpensive and damn
tasty. Your other option is to do what I’ve done and just eat asparagus at
every meal.
In the world of clever people the owners and investors of
Gunn’s Limited, the geniuses behind the Dioxin rich Tamar valley Pulp Mill,
have finally got what they all deserved, a big fat nothing as the company heads
into receivership. The total stupidity, pigheadedness and lack of consultation
meant that the former CEO, John Gay refused to budge from a position that
wanted to build a pulp mill to world’s worst practice. The warning signs were
there early when a Scandinavian backer pulled out because the amount of Dioxin
rich effluent being proposed would have given them a bad name had they been
associated with it. This is after the State and Federal Governments of this
country gave it the green light. Had it not been for a strong and ethical campaign
to stop it involving both concerned business people as well as grassroots
action the pulp mill would have been built. It’s a great example of the people of this
country standing up against disastrous business practice. Of course there are losers
in this, namely the workers and their families and some would say the mum and
dad investors. Personally if you don’t know where your super is invested you
should or if you knew and didn’t care then tough. Gunn’s Limited and its former
CEO John Gay had a sorry history of shady business and personal practices. Read
this link to an article in the monthly by Richard Flanagan as I can’t say it
better than this. Gunn's
Article Richard Flanagan It shows just what happens when a company is run
by people with small minds.
Driving to work each day through the Yarra Valley made me
think how great it would be if all the wineries and food producers in the region
started growing organically. If the tracks of dead weeds and grass at the base
of almost every grape vine I drive past is any indication then a lot of
unnecessary spraying is going on. I’d be interested if anyone has calculated
the environmental costs of this spraying. Including the rising costs of oil
used to produce these chemicals and the added costs of transporting it to the
farms. We’ll get to a point soon, if we haven’t already, when smaller
operations won’t find it economically viable to use these synthetic chemicals, especially
when the farmer next door has cows producing it for free. I’ll leave you with
some good news Keeping
the Miners out
Russ
Russ
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