Local,grass-fed
beeffarmedon
a small-scale
usingconscious
practicesis the
way forward.SouthAustralianwinecompanyUnicoZelohasa radicalapproachtogrape-growing:where
possible,theygivetheirvinesonlyminimalwater.“We’reoddballs,”saysco-ownerBrendanCarterof
theirplaceinanindustrythatuses 440 billionlitresofwaterforirrigationinAustraliaeachyear.But
Carter’sreasoningis anythingbutodd.Weliveona drycontinent,soweshouldbegrowinggrapes
thatcantoleratedryconditions.“Ifa plantcan’tsurviveonthewaterthatnaturenaturallybringsto
it, thentechnicallyit shouldn’tbethere,”saysCarter.Thecompany’ssignature,single-vineyardwines
aremadefromdrought-hardygrapes,fianoandnerod’Avola,grownintheClareValley,Riverland
andAdelaideHillsregionsofSouthAustralia.TakingintoaccountAdelaide’sdroughtconditions,
heestimatesthattheselesserknownvarietiesuseaslittleasoneortwomegalitresperhectare
for irrigation, compared to the 10 or so megalitres commonly used on other vineyards.It’scommonknowledgethat
industrialisedbeefproductionhas
a significantenvironmentalimpact.
A recentstudybytheUniversityof
Australia,fundedbyMeat& Livestock
Australia,revealedthatit takes
180-540litresofwatertoproduce
onekilogramofredmeat.Cattleis
alsoestimatedtoberesponsiblefor
14.5percentofthemethanereleased
intotheatmosphereannually.One
solutionis tobecomeentirely
vegetarian,butthatdoesn’t
necessarilysolveeverything:in the
US,thehumbleasparagushas
a moredetrimentalenvironmental
impactthanporkorvealthanksto
itsshippingcosts,andin Australia,
runofffromsugarcaneproduction
negativelyaffectstheGreatBarrier
Reef.Ratherthancuttingoutbeef,
a betteroptionmaybesimplytocut
downandchooselocal,grass-fed
beef,farmedona smallscaleusing
consciouspractices.“Alittlebitofbeef
raisedongrassthatis closetowhere
thebeefis eaten,raisedonlandthat
isn’tsuitableforothercrops?That
won’tkilltheworld,it mayhelpfeedit,”
saysTasmanianfarmerandauthor
MatthewEvansin hisbook,OnEating
Meat. “Butbeefthatis grain-fed
fromareasbeingdeforestedor
overgrazed?Thathasthepotential
to bring all good farming undone.”DROUGHT-TOLERANT WINE
BETTER MEAT
DRINK
EAT
A staggeringone-thirdofthefoodwe
growormanufacturenevermakes
it intoourmouths,butit creates
enormousamountsofgreenhouse
gasasit breaksdown.Sustainability
researchorganisationProject
Drawdownestimatesthatif food
wastagewasreducedby 50 percent
by2050,we’dsavea whopping26.2
gigatonsofcarbondioxideperyear.
It’sa realitythatis ofincreasing
importancetofoodproducersand
restaurateurssuchasBradSimpson,
executivechefofAcreFarmand
Eateryin Melbourne’sBurwoodEast.
“I didn’ttakethisjobforthepay
cheque,butbecauseI reallylikedthe
conceptandI waspassionateabout
learningmore,”hesays.TheAcre
projectcomprisesa restaurant,
greenhouses,beehives,a chicken
coopandcompostsystems,and
Simpsonhasalsotranslateda lotof
whathedoesonthejobintohisown
life.“Mysonlovesanapplebuthe
leavesmostofit behindsoI make
vinegarwiththecores,”hesays.
“MywifeandI alsokeepa diaryeach
weekofwhatwe’reeatingand
who’sinchargeofit, andweshop
accordingly.”Thisapproachhas
yieldedsomewelcomebenefitsthat
gobeyondtheenvironment.“Not
onlyis it raisingoursontobehealthy,
but it’s saving us money too.”➤LESS FOOD
THROW AWAY
62 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (COWS).