Kris and I made it back to the states almost three weeks ago and are happy to be home. New Zealand treated us great and we ended up spending the last few weeks in the northern regions of the north island, landing a wonderful and informative WWOOF stay in Ahipara and some great surf on the west coast.
Thanks to all of you who have read my blog so far, despite the fact that I didn't post during the last month of the trip.
Untill the next adventure...
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Raglan
April 11th, 2010
After leaving the Roadhouse, we came back to Raglan. Raglan is a New Zealand surf town with multiple world-class, and world-famous, left handed point breaks. These waves are perfect for goofy-footers like me and Kris because when you surf the wave, you are facing the face and supposedly, this is an easier way to navigate the ride. I can’t really tell the difference right now. There is also a beach break in Raglan that we surfed when we first arrived here more than a week ago. Raglan is by no means a secret and is generally crowded. The beach break is nice because surfers and swimmers are spread out, but if the surf is working it gets crowded with surf lessons and beach-goers. The point breaks however, are a different story. The past few mornings we have been at Manu Bay and by 6:45am there are no less than 15 people in the water. That population doubles in less than an hour. I am usually in the water briefly to catch some of the inside sets, and then hang on shore and watch the spectacle of 30 people in the water paddling for one wave. Sometimes, it’s all love out there and at others it’s a snake-fest. Kris holds his own pretty well in these conditions, even winning the hearts of a few grommets who recognize him in town. School aged kids are on the last days of a full two week vacation from school and around here, most of them surf. They are awesome to watch (most have been surfing since they were very small, and their experience shows) and by and large have a great attitude in the water, taking time to chat to just about everyone and just having fun. There is also a surf beach south of Raglan that works when Raglan is flat. This spot is pretty far out along rough and winding gravel roads, but the beach is beautiful and there are a few different breaks so surfers can spread out a little more. We have had some great surf there too. We went out there yesterday and were surprised to find a Volcom sponsored, teen surf competition crammed in to the little dirt parking lot. What a change of pace! The conditions looked not-so-good for surf and it was almost low tide so we took a long beach walk and gathered mussels for dinner along some rocks. By the time we came back, the DJ was awarding the lucky winners of the surf competition each a round trip ticket to Australia and a check. We went in for a quick surf, then headed back ‘home’ to shower and cook the mussels.
Incidentally, we are house-sitting in Te Mata, a small town 15km outside of Raglan, for a few days. I met Neil in the parking lot at Manu Bay one morning and he offered his place while he is away in Auckland. We are here through the weekend until he comes back; his son is having surgery and the recovery time is unknown. Neil’s house is a DIY project made of two shipping containers and is completely off the grid. Solar panels on the roof charge a central battery during the day for electricity when the sun goes down. There is a composting toilet which uses worms and therefore conserves overall water use considerably. A diesel stove is used for heating, which Neil plans to convert to bio-diesel and the cooking range and hot water are fueled by refillable gas tanks. Rain water is harvested from the corrugated roof and held in two tanks on this property. Just being here has been a great learning experience because the place is still a work in progress, but completely livable. We don’t know how long we can stay here as time is ticking and there are still a few places we’d like to visit. And we have to sell our van…
Hope everyone is well and enjoying these last few weeks of winter!
After leaving the Roadhouse, we came back to Raglan. Raglan is a New Zealand surf town with multiple world-class, and world-famous, left handed point breaks. These waves are perfect for goofy-footers like me and Kris because when you surf the wave, you are facing the face and supposedly, this is an easier way to navigate the ride. I can’t really tell the difference right now. There is also a beach break in Raglan that we surfed when we first arrived here more than a week ago. Raglan is by no means a secret and is generally crowded. The beach break is nice because surfers and swimmers are spread out, but if the surf is working it gets crowded with surf lessons and beach-goers. The point breaks however, are a different story. The past few mornings we have been at Manu Bay and by 6:45am there are no less than 15 people in the water. That population doubles in less than an hour. I am usually in the water briefly to catch some of the inside sets, and then hang on shore and watch the spectacle of 30 people in the water paddling for one wave. Sometimes, it’s all love out there and at others it’s a snake-fest. Kris holds his own pretty well in these conditions, even winning the hearts of a few grommets who recognize him in town. School aged kids are on the last days of a full two week vacation from school and around here, most of them surf. They are awesome to watch (most have been surfing since they were very small, and their experience shows) and by and large have a great attitude in the water, taking time to chat to just about everyone and just having fun. There is also a surf beach south of Raglan that works when Raglan is flat. This spot is pretty far out along rough and winding gravel roads, but the beach is beautiful and there are a few different breaks so surfers can spread out a little more. We have had some great surf there too. We went out there yesterday and were surprised to find a Volcom sponsored, teen surf competition crammed in to the little dirt parking lot. What a change of pace! The conditions looked not-so-good for surf and it was almost low tide so we took a long beach walk and gathered mussels for dinner along some rocks. By the time we came back, the DJ was awarding the lucky winners of the surf competition each a round trip ticket to Australia and a check. We went in for a quick surf, then headed back ‘home’ to shower and cook the mussels.
Incidentally, we are house-sitting in Te Mata, a small town 15km outside of Raglan, for a few days. I met Neil in the parking lot at Manu Bay one morning and he offered his place while he is away in Auckland. We are here through the weekend until he comes back; his son is having surgery and the recovery time is unknown. Neil’s house is a DIY project made of two shipping containers and is completely off the grid. Solar panels on the roof charge a central battery during the day for electricity when the sun goes down. There is a composting toilet which uses worms and therefore conserves overall water use considerably. A diesel stove is used for heating, which Neil plans to convert to bio-diesel and the cooking range and hot water are fueled by refillable gas tanks. Rain water is harvested from the corrugated roof and held in two tanks on this property. Just being here has been a great learning experience because the place is still a work in progress, but completely livable. We don’t know how long we can stay here as time is ticking and there are still a few places we’d like to visit. And we have to sell our van…
Hope everyone is well and enjoying these last few weeks of winter!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Easter Sunday
April 4th, 2010
It’s Easter Sunday and we have just spent our first night at the Oparau Roadhouse. We left Raglan a few days ago and have been parked at a small, quiet, and beautiful, locals-only fishing wharf to wait out the holiday weekend. Kiwi’s celebrate Easter for 5 days (Good Friday through Easter Tuesday) and we wanted to be out of the way for the chaos. Then we needed gas and ventured out toward a town called Kawhia where we found the Oparau Roadhouse for gas, and a sign for free campervan and tent parking. Soon after we met Bill and Brenda, the owners and some of the most generous kiwi’s we’ve met so far. Bill showed me the many places we could park in addition to offering laundry and showers (which at this point were much needed) in the main house that has been outfitted as a hostel (called backpackers here). There is a Canadian couple living there for the time being until they return home at the end of the week.
Bill and Brenda moved on to this property 20 yrs ago after moving into a bus as a result of a bad recession in New Zealand. Bill’s parents lived in Kawhia so the ventured here in their bus and eventually saved enough $ to buy this property, which at the time was just a house and land. They slowly built the roadhouse and grounds, and eventually moved into a flat above the shop and fitting their house for the backpackers accommodation.
The Oparau Roadhouse itself is quite the one-stop-shop. There is a general store stocked with hardware, sewing supplies, fishing gear, wholesale adult beverages and everything in between. There is also a self-service café that serves up Brenda’s homemade goodies. Brenda makes the New Zealand favorite, meat pies, from scratch and we’ve heard they can’t be beat. They also serve up dairy-free fried chicken, which we couldn’t resist yesterday. It was finger-lickin’ good. A few hours after our chicken and chip feast, Bill called us in for ‘afternoon tea’ (or lunch in these parts), which consisted of venison sausage, potatoes and salad. We were also served ‘evening tea’ (yup, you guessed it, dinner) and the next day, I’m still stuffed. So we have gone from rationing our food closely as the holiday weekend most stores are closed, to feeling like stuffed piggies!
It’s Easter Sunday and we have just spent our first night at the Oparau Roadhouse. We left Raglan a few days ago and have been parked at a small, quiet, and beautiful, locals-only fishing wharf to wait out the holiday weekend. Kiwi’s celebrate Easter for 5 days (Good Friday through Easter Tuesday) and we wanted to be out of the way for the chaos. Then we needed gas and ventured out toward a town called Kawhia where we found the Oparau Roadhouse for gas, and a sign for free campervan and tent parking. Soon after we met Bill and Brenda, the owners and some of the most generous kiwi’s we’ve met so far. Bill showed me the many places we could park in addition to offering laundry and showers (which at this point were much needed) in the main house that has been outfitted as a hostel (called backpackers here). There is a Canadian couple living there for the time being until they return home at the end of the week.
Bill and Brenda moved on to this property 20 yrs ago after moving into a bus as a result of a bad recession in New Zealand. Bill’s parents lived in Kawhia so the ventured here in their bus and eventually saved enough $ to buy this property, which at the time was just a house and land. They slowly built the roadhouse and grounds, and eventually moved into a flat above the shop and fitting their house for the backpackers accommodation.
The Oparau Roadhouse itself is quite the one-stop-shop. There is a general store stocked with hardware, sewing supplies, fishing gear, wholesale adult beverages and everything in between. There is also a self-service café that serves up Brenda’s homemade goodies. Brenda makes the New Zealand favorite, meat pies, from scratch and we’ve heard they can’t be beat. They also serve up dairy-free fried chicken, which we couldn’t resist yesterday. It was finger-lickin’ good. A few hours after our chicken and chip feast, Bill called us in for ‘afternoon tea’ (or lunch in these parts), which consisted of venison sausage, potatoes and salad. We were also served ‘evening tea’ (yup, you guessed it, dinner) and the next day, I’m still stuffed. So we have gone from rationing our food closely as the holiday weekend most stores are closed, to feeling like stuffed piggies!
The Honey Harvest
March 18th, 2010
This morning after breakfast, we began weeding the beds along the front walkway. Kris went with Debbie to bring the car to the mechanic, and I got to participate in the honey harvest! This is one of the coolest things I have done here. Jack has a hive at the bottom of a large hill among some poplar trees, and the honey is harvested once a year. Lucky me! It was fascinating. Neil is Debbie’s cousin’s husband and helps Jack with the harvest, as Jack is just starting out and Neil is a professional. Neil has an extra set of protective gear so I suit up quickly, grab the camera and hop on the four-wheeler. Eventhough we are running a little late (Neil has to make an appointment at noon), Jack and Neil keep checking each other and forgetting gear, their interactions are pure comedy. But, they’re pretty laid back and we get down there with everything we need.
The hives are arranged in boxes stacked in three pillars. The boxes have no top or bottom so the bees can move freely within. The honey comb is built around wooden frames which hang inside the boxes like files in a file cabinet. To extract the honey, they first light some stringy burlap into a little puffer thing- looks like a kettle with a stoker attached to the end so the smoke can be pumped out the spout. They lift of the top of one of the stacks and give the bees a puff of smoke to chill them out. Then they lift a ‘file box’ and place it on a metal stand with a slide beneath it. Next, the bees are blown through the box with a blower so they slide on the ground, and then we place the box aside. This is where I helped out, transporting heavy boxes of honey comb away from the hive space to beside the four-wheeler, which was just a few paces away. This process continued until we had 10 boxes to stack on the trailer.
Today was cold and the bees don’t take well to lower temps. It makes them angrier, as if disturbing their hard work wasn’t enough. But, the girls didn’t swarm us or anything. Although at one point Jack was covered and even Neil said, “Uh, Jack. Mate, you’d do good to get those girls off you.” Neil and Jack are still relaxed and comical around the bees. How can you avoid jokes when the nature of bees? The girls do all the work, and the drones are essentially useless except for the lucky few that mate with the queen, then they die. Sometimes Neil harvests the honey with no gloves, in the summer of course. He was also excited to be able to show off some of his bee knowledge to me. At one point he grabbed a drone, sacrificing it to explain the mating procedure with the queen. He squeezed the abdomen which popped out his reproductive innards. When the drone mates with the queen, his reproductive innards are ripped out from him and it’s lights out after that. However, mating with the queen is the pinnacle of a drone’s life, so what’s there left to live for? They are ignored by the worker lady bees because they don’t do any work. We also found an unlucky bumble bee that had snuck into the hive. The ladies had torn it to shreds, inside and out, leaving only a black shell of its former furry figure.
We were given a file’s worth of honey comb from the experience, which Jack and Kris cut from the wooden frame. So now we have about a liter of unfiltered honey along with us!
This morning after breakfast, we began weeding the beds along the front walkway. Kris went with Debbie to bring the car to the mechanic, and I got to participate in the honey harvest! This is one of the coolest things I have done here. Jack has a hive at the bottom of a large hill among some poplar trees, and the honey is harvested once a year. Lucky me! It was fascinating. Neil is Debbie’s cousin’s husband and helps Jack with the harvest, as Jack is just starting out and Neil is a professional. Neil has an extra set of protective gear so I suit up quickly, grab the camera and hop on the four-wheeler. Eventhough we are running a little late (Neil has to make an appointment at noon), Jack and Neil keep checking each other and forgetting gear, their interactions are pure comedy. But, they’re pretty laid back and we get down there with everything we need.
The hives are arranged in boxes stacked in three pillars. The boxes have no top or bottom so the bees can move freely within. The honey comb is built around wooden frames which hang inside the boxes like files in a file cabinet. To extract the honey, they first light some stringy burlap into a little puffer thing- looks like a kettle with a stoker attached to the end so the smoke can be pumped out the spout. They lift of the top of one of the stacks and give the bees a puff of smoke to chill them out. Then they lift a ‘file box’ and place it on a metal stand with a slide beneath it. Next, the bees are blown through the box with a blower so they slide on the ground, and then we place the box aside. This is where I helped out, transporting heavy boxes of honey comb away from the hive space to beside the four-wheeler, which was just a few paces away. This process continued until we had 10 boxes to stack on the trailer.
Today was cold and the bees don’t take well to lower temps. It makes them angrier, as if disturbing their hard work wasn’t enough. But, the girls didn’t swarm us or anything. Although at one point Jack was covered and even Neil said, “Uh, Jack. Mate, you’d do good to get those girls off you.” Neil and Jack are still relaxed and comical around the bees. How can you avoid jokes when the nature of bees? The girls do all the work, and the drones are essentially useless except for the lucky few that mate with the queen, then they die. Sometimes Neil harvests the honey with no gloves, in the summer of course. He was also excited to be able to show off some of his bee knowledge to me. At one point he grabbed a drone, sacrificing it to explain the mating procedure with the queen. He squeezed the abdomen which popped out his reproductive innards. When the drone mates with the queen, his reproductive innards are ripped out from him and it’s lights out after that. However, mating with the queen is the pinnacle of a drone’s life, so what’s there left to live for? They are ignored by the worker lady bees because they don’t do any work. We also found an unlucky bumble bee that had snuck into the hive. The ladies had torn it to shreds, inside and out, leaving only a black shell of its former furry figure.
We were given a file’s worth of honey comb from the experience, which Jack and Kris cut from the wooden frame. So now we have about a liter of unfiltered honey along with us!
Te Ahuru Ora
March 17th, 2010
Yesterday around 4pm we arrived at our fourth WWOOF stay. We are about 80km south of Dunedin in a town called Milton (the marquee to the town reads “Welcome to Milton: The town of opportunities”). We met Jack at the info station and followed him to Te Ahuru Ora, which in Maori loosely means “A Safe Place”. Jack and Debbie relocated an old-style church to this 10 acre property in 1993 and converted it into a cozy home. They took out only the pews and pulpit, leaving the natural rimu wood interior walls, added a loft which serves as their bedroom, a coal burning stove with wetback to heat house water, and built two sets of French doors along one of the long walls. Out the doors, they built a conservatory out of bricks, some old stained glass windows and translucent corrugated ceiling. The conservatory is about as big as the house and stays warm in the cool weather so is a nice place to relax. It is also home to Jessie, their 2 yr old fox terrier, and some start up plants.
Jack is Maori and after an accident rendered him unable to continue logging, took up teaching and now passes on the Maori language to high school students as well as working on their lifestyle block. Debbie does various odd-jobs and caretaking for people in the community as well as working their property…which is beautiful and organized. Debbie is building their third glasshouse (all of which she has gotten for free, secondhand), the other two house peppers (capsicums) and tomatoes. There are two large, possum-proof veggie beds, and some fruit trees as well as a variety of herbs and flowers. Debbie and Jack are both into herbs. Debbie makes all kinds of extracts, decoctions, and mixtures from them; it’s her hobby. About the possum-proofing, one year possums decimated their veggie harvest so the proofing is necessary. So is having Jessie for hunting them and keeping them away in general. Possums are a real problem in New Zealand, responsible for eating copious amounts of native vegetation. A dead possum is a good sight for any kiwi, and they are even compensated for killing them. Their fur fetches about $7 per pelt (you can also pluck the fur from a fresh carcass, bag and sell that). It’s as good as wool for insulation, and mainly woven into socks and sweaters. A powerful pesticide called 1080 was recently dropped in the Taranaki region, and has caused quite a controversy as it is pretty heavy stuff. Kris wrote more extensively about this toward the beginning of our journey, see his site for more info.
Back to Te Ahuru Ora, they have animals here too. There are 2 kids and 6 goats which are used for milk and meat. On Sunday Jack and Debbie will get two piglets (called wieners) in addition to the two pigs they have already, also raised for meat. There are a small flock of about 8 sheep, but usually not slaughtered until they are older. And about 15 chooks (chickens). Jack does the slaughtering and butchering and we just missed one. It was a goat or a pig, I can’t remember. Bummer. As a one-time vegetarian and now meat eat, I feel I should experience the slaughter at least once.
The milking shed and animal areas are kept pretty clean here, which is a big change from being surrounded by cow shit and general filth during our stay at the dairy farm. Seems like we will learn a lot here during our short stay. Our days are packed though, breakfast at 8am, begin working around 9. Break for lunch at noon-ish, and continue until 3-ish. No matter though, we both have a good feeling about this place and look forward to our short time here. We can only stay here until Saturday morning.
Yesterday around 4pm we arrived at our fourth WWOOF stay. We are about 80km south of Dunedin in a town called Milton (the marquee to the town reads “Welcome to Milton: The town of opportunities”). We met Jack at the info station and followed him to Te Ahuru Ora, which in Maori loosely means “A Safe Place”. Jack and Debbie relocated an old-style church to this 10 acre property in 1993 and converted it into a cozy home. They took out only the pews and pulpit, leaving the natural rimu wood interior walls, added a loft which serves as their bedroom, a coal burning stove with wetback to heat house water, and built two sets of French doors along one of the long walls. Out the doors, they built a conservatory out of bricks, some old stained glass windows and translucent corrugated ceiling. The conservatory is about as big as the house and stays warm in the cool weather so is a nice place to relax. It is also home to Jessie, their 2 yr old fox terrier, and some start up plants.
Jack is Maori and after an accident rendered him unable to continue logging, took up teaching and now passes on the Maori language to high school students as well as working on their lifestyle block. Debbie does various odd-jobs and caretaking for people in the community as well as working their property…which is beautiful and organized. Debbie is building their third glasshouse (all of which she has gotten for free, secondhand), the other two house peppers (capsicums) and tomatoes. There are two large, possum-proof veggie beds, and some fruit trees as well as a variety of herbs and flowers. Debbie and Jack are both into herbs. Debbie makes all kinds of extracts, decoctions, and mixtures from them; it’s her hobby. About the possum-proofing, one year possums decimated their veggie harvest so the proofing is necessary. So is having Jessie for hunting them and keeping them away in general. Possums are a real problem in New Zealand, responsible for eating copious amounts of native vegetation. A dead possum is a good sight for any kiwi, and they are even compensated for killing them. Their fur fetches about $7 per pelt (you can also pluck the fur from a fresh carcass, bag and sell that). It’s as good as wool for insulation, and mainly woven into socks and sweaters. A powerful pesticide called 1080 was recently dropped in the Taranaki region, and has caused quite a controversy as it is pretty heavy stuff. Kris wrote more extensively about this toward the beginning of our journey, see his site for more info.
Back to Te Ahuru Ora, they have animals here too. There are 2 kids and 6 goats which are used for milk and meat. On Sunday Jack and Debbie will get two piglets (called wieners) in addition to the two pigs they have already, also raised for meat. There are a small flock of about 8 sheep, but usually not slaughtered until they are older. And about 15 chooks (chickens). Jack does the slaughtering and butchering and we just missed one. It was a goat or a pig, I can’t remember. Bummer. As a one-time vegetarian and now meat eat, I feel I should experience the slaughter at least once.
The milking shed and animal areas are kept pretty clean here, which is a big change from being surrounded by cow shit and general filth during our stay at the dairy farm. Seems like we will learn a lot here during our short stay. Our days are packed though, breakfast at 8am, begin working around 9. Break for lunch at noon-ish, and continue until 3-ish. No matter though, we both have a good feeling about this place and look forward to our short time here. We can only stay here until Saturday morning.
Friday, February 26, 2010
AMERICARNA
Feb 25th, 2010
AmeriCARna happens once a year in New Zealand. And we just so happened to be in Opunake the day over 700 American made cars roared into the sleepy little surf town and overtook the beach cove, their first stop on the North Island. As we drove into town that morning, we noticed the red, white, and blue balloons and streamers hanging from the lamp posts, the American flags lining the Surf Highway 45, and the people setting up along the road in front of their houses and figured something was up. After talking to some of the spectators, we were told that alot of these cars are shipped over from the U.S for the event. They drive all over the country, and they are heading south (just like us!). Anyway, we had to go check it out. Here are some of the pictures from the event...just another American cultural export!
CONUNDRUM OF A CONCIOUS CONSUMER
At the end of our daylight hours, we cook dinner and eat with Simon. Simon is surprisingly lively after working such a long day, and is always jazzed to talk with us. Our dinner conversations usually revolve around tourism, agri-policy, and their property. Simon had an organic farm in Ireland (he’s kiwi), where he sold his produce and supplied a restaurant there. He was certified organic for three years, then decided not to pay for the certification but still adhere to organic growing principles. They purchased the Wheturangi Homestead almost two years ago and are converting it to organic. They haven’t used any sprays since they took over and things seem to be sprouting up just fine. As in the U.S, it takes about three years to convert to organic certification status in New Zealand. Although Simon and Maria want to be able to live off their land, and maybe sell produce here and there, they do not have any plans to go through the certification process.
Before the introduction of man-made chemicals into the food supply, all food grown was organic. Now, foods grown or processed with chemical aides are called “conventional”, and the old fashioned way of growing food is called “organic”. For livestock to be called “organic”, they have to be fed an organic diet and not depend on the aide of antibiotics or hormones. Organic certification exists to distinguish those products that adhere to organic standards (generally, grown without chemical aides) and those that do not.
Organic foods are on the rise. Here in New Zealand, we have not come across Whole Foods-type super markets. I don’t think they exist here. For the most part, the only place you can get all organic food is in small, independently owned food stores that specialize in organics (and they are usually pretty expensive). However, since the industrialization of some organic goods (mostly milk, cereal, and corn products) they are readily available in the local supermarkets. Organic products are in higher demand than they were in the past, and therefore are attracting more producers. But can organic sustain the large scale?
Consider the ingredients of simple corn chips. If the organic corn is shipped from the U.S, and the organic oil used to cook the chips comes from New Zealand, and the product is sold in New Zealand, is it really organic? That corn had to be shipped over 7,000 miles. Consider the emissions required for that, especially when all of the components could have been grown in New Zealand. Peanuts are another good example of unnecessary food miles, at least here in New Zealand. We have been hard pressed to find organic nuts, or nut butters (which, I’m ashamed to admit, have been a staple in the diets of these two travelers) that did not come from China. This fact floors me even more when I look through the WWOOF book of possible hosts and at least half of them harvest nuts from their property. The label usually reads “made from local and imported ingredients”. Which really translates as 98% importe7 (nuts), 3% local (oil).
So, should my two examples of corn chips and peanut butter (they taste good together, by the way) really be considered organic? What does organic even mean? Is it enough just to know that the workers who harvest and produce organic goods, anywhere in the world, were not exposed to harmful chemicals? Would you choose to buy local conventional over imported organic? For the conscious consumer, these are very real questions. And judging by the increased popularity of organic products, and the supply and demand of food products in general, most of us are conscious consumers.
Before the introduction of man-made chemicals into the food supply, all food grown was organic. Now, foods grown or processed with chemical aides are called “conventional”, and the old fashioned way of growing food is called “organic”. For livestock to be called “organic”, they have to be fed an organic diet and not depend on the aide of antibiotics or hormones. Organic certification exists to distinguish those products that adhere to organic standards (generally, grown without chemical aides) and those that do not.
Organic foods are on the rise. Here in New Zealand, we have not come across Whole Foods-type super markets. I don’t think they exist here. For the most part, the only place you can get all organic food is in small, independently owned food stores that specialize in organics (and they are usually pretty expensive). However, since the industrialization of some organic goods (mostly milk, cereal, and corn products) they are readily available in the local supermarkets. Organic products are in higher demand than they were in the past, and therefore are attracting more producers. But can organic sustain the large scale?
Consider the ingredients of simple corn chips. If the organic corn is shipped from the U.S, and the organic oil used to cook the chips comes from New Zealand, and the product is sold in New Zealand, is it really organic? That corn had to be shipped over 7,000 miles. Consider the emissions required for that, especially when all of the components could have been grown in New Zealand. Peanuts are another good example of unnecessary food miles, at least here in New Zealand. We have been hard pressed to find organic nuts, or nut butters (which, I’m ashamed to admit, have been a staple in the diets of these two travelers) that did not come from China. This fact floors me even more when I look through the WWOOF book of possible hosts and at least half of them harvest nuts from their property. The label usually reads “made from local and imported ingredients”. Which really translates as 98% importe7 (nuts), 3% local (oil).
So, should my two examples of corn chips and peanut butter (they taste good together, by the way) really be considered organic? What does organic even mean? Is it enough just to know that the workers who harvest and produce organic goods, anywhere in the world, were not exposed to harmful chemicals? Would you choose to buy local conventional over imported organic? For the conscious consumer, these are very real questions. And judging by the increased popularity of organic products, and the supply and demand of food products in general, most of us are conscious consumers.
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