• I'm an E cup. When I was younger and skinnier I was only a C cup and could handle underwires. Then I got pregnant and discovered the bliss of maternity bras. Post babies and breastfeeding I went back to the wires only to find they poked me and now I've got 'birdseyes' in my cleavage. I cannot fathom the underwire. Obviously the person who designed it has never had to wear one. Having big boobs we're all encouraged to wear them, but now I'm old and fat they're far too uncomfortable to contemplate. I'm happy with my 'wirefree' bras. I figured that if manufacturers could make a maternity bra without wires that fitted perfectly and provided excellent support to lactating breasts, they could do the same for large, non-lactating breasts too. I found the perfect fit for me at a large chain store and bought the same type for years. Not terribly sexy, but comfortable and serviceable. Now I've discovered same large chain has a moulded cotton bra in large sizes. Better still, you can order them online when the sales are on and collect them from the store. Bliss! - BeansGran
  • Well put Sonya. I am so glad that you have created this documentary. Also, you have put forward a voice of reason backed up by compelling evidence & your own credibility. I am pro-vaccination, but I understand why it is an delicate decision for many parents. I haven't come across the anti-vax theories (I'd never even heard of the AVN until Mamamia kept writing & tweeting about them). I'd always just followed the immunisation schedule. But I have come across a lot of pushy pro-vaxxers and I have to say, it is a turn off. I understand that it's a passionate issue. But is it an effective way of increasing immunisation rates? Of course not. Some pro-vaxxers make it their full time job to name, shame & harass people opposed to vaccination. Is harassment going to change their position, heck no! Is it going to galvanise their anti-vac position, quite probably! I just think we need to be smarter about this. I know it is not a "debate" in the sense that the science is in on the benefits & general safety of vaccines. But it completely normal to feel uneasy about purposely injecting your child with something most of us know very little about. And then watching their every breath that evening as they process that vaccine. Sonya, I hope that your documentary is the beginning of the change in the way we talk about immunisation. Well done. - Kasey
  • I am very impressed by what you've set out to achieve and how you've come about it. Much of my work these days is in vaccination and I work hard to break down the myths and false beliefs people have about vaccines. I find listening to concerns, empathy and responding with good evidence based information has been the most successful manner I've had so far. I also reassure parents that it is always their choice, but I also share that I am a mum too and that I choose to vaccinate my child fully. And funnily enough that's usually the clincher. Respect, good information and empathy can go a long way. I really hope that many people watch your documentary and help absolve the many concerns and myths surrounding vaccination that are out there. You must be proud of your work :) - The Huntress
  • Not everyone has access too or any interest in the internet, you cannot drive a tractor and watch the internet but you can listen to radio, you cannot drive a car and watch the internet but you can listen to radio, you cannot wash the dishes, the clothes, yourself and watch the internet but you can listen to the radio, you can also lie in bed with Phillip Adams, half my University of the Third Age students go to bed with Phillip. Australia's best journalists were trained by the ABC. What I don't understand Gee is your palpable hatred, how can you be so angry all the time, just relax and learn that we are all different and some of us prefer the quiet nature of the ABC compared with the ranting and rage of radio shock jocks and commercial TV. Your phrase 'slash and burn' is shocking to me, no one I know hates anything, no one I know wants to destroy things or institutions, not even the IPA, why such violence of language? - sue Bell
  • [...] Science says vaccinate! [...] - LET'S TALK (NOT SHOUT) VACCINATION
  • Thankyou Emma for your good work and humanistic attitude towards others. I could not do your job and be nice to others at the same time, i'v e realized. The other ABC journo's et al should be taking notes.......all the best in your career! - louise
  • Why censor the pictures, Ro? Don't call them "young men" either. They are "vicious animals" as their act so clearly evidences. They are not human at all. Are you saying it is "justifiable" for ethnic Nigerians, who have never been to either Afghanistan or Iraq but grew up on the teat of the British Welfare State, to run down and then Halal butcher a complete stranger walking along the street and minding his own business? How can you possibly draw any connection between what happened in London and the alleged mistreatment of Aborigines in Australia? What a fine example of the "straw man" argument! Do you think NATO and other allies were "unjustified" in invading Afghanistan and liberating it from the Taliban? That same Taliban that banned girls going to school; regularly indulge in female genital mutilation and the sodomising of "dancing boys"; blew up ancient Buddhist monuments; regularly carried out executions by stoning and beheading as half-time entertainment at football matches in Kabul and Kandahar; undertook ethnic cleansing against Hazara muslims; banned music and dancing on pain of death; and provided a base for the racist extremists of Al Qaeda to operate completely unfettered? Do you think it was wrong to overthrow Saddam Hussein who had used poisonous gas on the Kurds of Iraq? Whose two mongrel sons crawled the streets of Baghdad looking for women to rape; who executed his own son-in-law after promising "forgiveness' if he returned from exile; who gained power in a coup and then personally executed scores of his own "party"? The problems in Iraq today have nothing to do with Saddam's overthrow and everything to do with the seething sectarian and ethnic hatreds that have plagued Mesopotamia since the Babylonian Empire. Why didn't those two vicious animals condemn the latest round of sunni-shia bombings and murders in Iraq? If muslim women are subjected to the regular sight of dismembered bodies, those bodies were provided by other muslims. Why is it that only this week we saw Syrian women asking Bob Carr why it is that the USA and the non-Islamic world is not interfering in their current civil war? The war is yet another essentially religious/sectarian conflict between a Sunni majority and an Alawi-Shia minority. Why should any young Americans, Britons or Australians risk their lives for these benighted, backward bastards who regularly tell us how much they hate us? Have you forgotten the spontaneous eruption of glee and happiness that occurred in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the "Islamic world" when the 9/11 attack was carried out? It seems to me that you, like so many others, have forgotten the lessons of the period from 1919-1939. Appeasement never works. Trying to trivialise this disgraceful crime; saying that ...well, maybe, it was Britain's fault and maybe if Britain hadn't been and Imperial power 200 years ago and ... really, when you look at that and what happened to the Aborigines here, maybe they were justified in running over a total stranger, who'd done nothing to them or any of their family or relatives, and then hacking off his head with a meat cleaver. The white-washing, the diminution, the trivialising, the justifying has already started in media and the blogosphere. The appeasers and the white-hating racists are already talking this whole thing around so that in a few weeks they'll be wanting to give these two mongrels a medal and have them treated as Prisoners of War. I am so glad the British cops didn't shoot them dead. I want them to suffer in HM Prison System for the rest of their lives. But, knowing the way the British EHRC led by that treacherous hater, Trevor Phillips, operate, they'll probably be named and shamed and given 20 hours community service. - Jack Richards
  • Anyway. So long Latin. I know there will be people close to Hazel who will be feeling sad and confused today. Sad for who she was and confused because she is perhaps better off dead now. And then there is everyone else who were touched by Hazel's contribution to our lives. Thank you Hazel and her supporters. - ro.watson
  • Always thought that Hazel H. was too much in the background type of PM's wife.From the information revealed recently about her I've realised how essential and important she was to Australia. This deception was probably due to the limelight on her ex-husband/PM Bob .He might have been successful politically but how he maintained the persona of god's gift to women for so long, baffles me. He is just another ugly aussie male. He should show more atonement towards such an admiring woman as Hazel. Condolences to her children and their families. - louise
  • Perhaps I am projecting, but there really is something very special about the relationship between a regular cartoonist's work and their readers. A sort of mutual getting to know you abandon. - ro.watson
 
11
Categories:  Must see, News and Opinion, Wellbeing

FOOD. SHOW SOME RESPECT

By Jen Barwick
August 29, 2012

Food has an image problem.

And it’s not just about our expanding waistlines, or our warring supermarkets and the damage they’re doing to our milk industry.

It’s about food’s role in our society, its future and that we take for granted that it will always be there for the eating.

Given all the attention that Australia’s mining boom and its earnings generate, one might be forgiven for thinking that we’d be better off ditching our weet-bix for a bowl of coal.

But a little-recognised fact is that Australia’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors have significantly outstripped their fellow manufacturing, mining and retail sectors in terms of productivity growth for the past 15 years.

What this means is despite this nation continually underestimating its real value, the people responsible for delivering the food have been doing their job extremely well for a really long time.

Its continued success, however, is not a certainty. Recent events such as Facet 2012 have raised the spectre that Australia’s food future isn’t as assured as we might like to believe.

Even the Federal Government now admits it hasn’t done enough to acknowledge the importance of food – and all that it encompasses.

So, it’s developing a National Food Plan, which it hopes will produce its first “integrated approach to food-related policies and programs for the benefit of food businesses and consumers”.

It’s a tad mind-boggling that it’s taken to 2012 before someone in the government backrooms thought it appropriate to set up a plan to protect the nation’s food security but perhaps we only have ourselves to blame.

Most of us can acknowledge it’s rather vital in our ability to, you know, live. But, what about its role in other ‘little’ matters of national interest?

Did you know that some 2 million Australians needed food relief last year?

More than 90 percent of all the fresh produce sold in Australia is grown in Australia. With such a high level of access to fresh food why are people in our own towns and cities unable to afford it?

Have you ever fired up the barbecue on a weekend and thought that 60 percent of Australia’s land mass is being managed by farmers? That’s a massive responsibility, which needs constant investment, as well as ongoing innovation to accommodate the many challenges thrown their way.

When was the last time you cleaned out your fridge – adding to the 351kg of food waste every Aussie generates each year – and considered how many people, worldwide, rely on Australia’s ability to feed them? It’s 60 million people worldwide, by the way, who are fed by Australian agriculture and fisheries.

A further 400 million people are helped through Australian-generated agricultural development programs.

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11 Responses to this article

  1. Marnie August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I get really angry when I see farmers ploughing their produce back in to the land because it costs more to grow it than sell it. When I see farmers shooting stock during drought because they can no longer feed them. Sure, they have to sell them cheap to the wholesellers because if they didn’t all the middlemen wouldn’t make a profit, but hey! what about us?? We can’t afford to buy them at exorbitant end prices but we can sure afford to buy them direct AND the farmer can make a profit. Farmer’s markets are great but limited to small farm holdings. Come on, get your thinking caps on. We need to get produce to the table from the farm without the middlemen, then we ALL win.

     
  2. Ms Adelaide August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Are you seriously saying “you get angry with farmers”, Marnie? OMG did you read the piece properly? Just read the headline again, and it will give you some clues. What kind of milk do you buy? I’m guessing you do not know too many farmers then. I do not know quite where to start but it does completely confirm what this article is essentially about, the disconnect between the city and the country is a political nightmare of massive proportions. I have been worrying about this for a long time. It goes far deeper than food security. Rural Australia is our sustainable goldmine but too many people now grow up with no connection to the land and with every expectation that they are entitled to good, safe, ethical food at ‘cheap as chips’ prices. NO – YOU SHOULD EARN IT, THE FARMER SHOULD NOT SUBSIDISE YOU.

     
    • Jay August 31, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Well said Ms Adelaide!! I wholeheartedly agree. Such a concern and something needs to be done!

       
  3. Les Parsons August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    When you see the damage being done to farmers by Coles and Woolworths, and companies such as McCain also reducing farmers income to below cost it makes one’s blood boil. Their filling the shelves with their Own Brand, which leaves an opening to using overses foods. Heinz closing their plant in Victoria and going to NZ which has a free trade agreement with Australia which will allow them to import from Asia and state Made in NZ, which could only be the label. It requires a re-think on how to supply to the consumer from the Federal Government downwards.While ever the consumer purchases the cheap milk ( which has 17% cheese byproduct added) and other cheap food products produced by our farmers in the price war between Coles and Woolworths, they are helping to destroy our farmers.

     
  4. Margaret August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I have blogged about signing up to Aussie Farmers before. http://www.aussiefarmers.com.au/
    Love all the fresh produce delivered to our door. Milk (real milk), cheese,yoghurt, eggs and meat. All fresh and keeps for ages, no more throwing out the rotten fruit and veg. We also give a small weekly donation to the farmers. Love it. We are fussy eaters, so if they please us they are doinjg plenty right! All the produce comes from the east coast, so the food miles are less and the produce deliciously seasonal.

     
    • The Huntress August 29, 2012 Reply
       
       

      I’m with you, Margaret! I love Aussie Farmers and get most of our weekly groceries delivered by them. Not only do we get to support our local farmers, we don’t have to endure the hellpit of the supermarket and we ALWAYS have fresh food on hand to knock a meal up, no matter what. If more people got on board Aussie Farmers we could better support our farmers and we get better quality, better priced produce. It’s a win/win!

      Plus I love chatting to my Aussie Farmers man, Brian. He’s so nice and always puts a smile on my face :)

       
  5. catecat August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Thank you so much for this article!
    About time for a National Food Plan, but in the meantime a big cheer for groups which have already started to do something (eg Food Connect and Aussie Farmers) as well as Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden school programme (which is helping to set kids straight about where yogurt comes from.

     
  6. Tracy August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    We think Jen is just a great writer and we want hear more. Love your secret admirers

     
  7. Rhoda August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Glad this is finally on someone’s agenda. I worry most about prime farming land going under to suburban landscapes and then there’s coal seam gas – 3000 wells and 400000 projected – that’s in Queensland alone. A nightmare. I refuse to buy gas now and greenies should be doing their homework on this subject. It’s a terrible worry to anyone in the food industry or to anyone reliant on our rivers and streams.

    And I never go into a supermarket if I can help it – there’s not much there that can be classed as proper food. A whole aisle devoted to soft drink. Another one devoted to cleaning products. Packets of this and cans of that – from heaven knows where. You’ve got to be kidding.

    I grow a lot of my own food. It’s not rocket science. Does require a bit of organic fertilizer and some weeding – water is the big thing. If we can’t afford water we can’t afford to grow our own.

    A National Food Plan has to consider both these issues or won’t be fair dinkum.

     
  8. Rhoda August 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Sorry, that was 40 000 coal seam gas wells – not 400 000.

     
  9. Sara September 1, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Thanks Jen. I love reading this type of article on the Hoopla.

     

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  • BeansGran: I'm an E cup. When I was younger and skinnier I was only a C cup and could handle underwires. Then I got pregnant and d...

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  • Kasey: Well put Sonya. I am so glad that you have created this documentary. Also, you have put forward a voice of reason backed...

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  • The Huntress: I am very impressed by what you've set out to achieve and how you've come about it. Much of my work these days is in vac...

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  • sue Bell: Not everyone has access too or any interest in the internet, you cannot drive a tractor and watch the internet but you c...

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