IT’S on trend to eat fresh, seasonal and local produce and these days there is a small army of supporters behind the “eat local” mantra that supports Australian farmers and eating well.
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Chef and restaurateur Matt Moran went back to his roots last year by exploring all the produce Australia has to offer on his television program Paddock to Plate.
The show’s objective was to source the freshest in-season produce from local producers and educate viewers on why it’s important to buy local and how to use it.
Mr Moran was born in Tamworth where he lived on his family’s dairy farm until he was five.
About 20 years ago his father decided to go back to the land and now both own “Green Hills” at Oberon, a 809-hectare prime lamb and beef cattle property.
Mr Moran uses Moran Family Lamb at all of his restaurants and sells to boutique butcher Victor Churchill at Woollahra.
“The older I get the more in-tune I get to food on the land,” he said.
“Every State is blessed with amazing produce, but NSW (prime) lamb is second to none.
“We also have amazing seafood and blueberries from the north, venison from Orange and Bellata and Narrabri has some of the most fertile earth for Durum wheat.”
Mr Moran said the number of farmers’ markets and community gardens popping up showed people were aware of what they were eating.
“Eating local fresh produce isn’t a fad, it’s reality,” he said.
“People are wanting to know where their food comes from and they want to know what’s going in their mouths.
“My message is that you should be buying local.”
Also born in Tamworth and raised in Woolbrook on a sheep and cattle property, State Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce understands the importance of supporting Aussie producers.
“Agriculture has always been central to the Australian economy and support on the home front remains essential to ensure we can get a better return at the farm gate,” Mr Joyce said.
“Australia remains among the finest agriculture producing countries in the world and I encourage everybody to taste the world class product that is grown in our own backyard.”
Last October the Victoria Farmers Federation (VFF) launched a social media campaign urging consumers to pressure supermarkets into using more Australian-grown produce in their house brands lines.
The federation wanted social media users to use the hashtag “TellUsWhy” and ask a major supermarket chain why they would use sliced peaches, carrots and peas from the other side of the world.
VFF president Peter Tuohey said the campaign came on the back of growing public, political and media concern that supermarkets’ use of cheap imports in their house brands was forcing Australian farmers’ produce off the shelves.
“We’ve already worked hard to raise concerns about the impact of cheap imports on our farmers with growers having to push over trees in the Goulburn Valley and local food processors laying off staff or closing factories,” Mr Tuohey said.
He said Woolworths responded to public pressure by committing to using Australian-grown frozen vegetables in their Select house brand and replacing $9 million of imported tinned fruit with Goulburn Valley growers’ fruit.
“It’s a great first step and we hope other supermarket chains will follow Woolworth’s lead,” Mr Tuohey said.
“However, more can be done – tinned fruit represents just half the processed fruit on Woolworth’s shelves.”
