Organic Shopping Adventures in Australia's Sunshine Coast

Hallo, beautiful viewers, and welcome to Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living I…m MJ, and today we…re coming to you from the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia Today, we…re going to be doing things a little bit differently We…re going to be taking a look at organic farming and organic shopping We…re going to go on an adventure to the local markets and have a chat to some of the farmers about how they get the food from the trees all the way into our tummies We…re going to chat to some customers as well about why they choose organic, and hopefully get some tips choosing the best produce So, we better get there nice and early So, let…s go on adventure! What a majestic morning at Noosa The dolphins are dancing in the waters, coming up to say hallo to us We are making our way to the world famous Eumundi Market, Australia…s largest market and a premier tourist attraction Here we are in historic Eumundi It…s a small town nestled in the Sunshine Coast hinterland And it…s a bit chilly compared to the beach so I…ve popped on my jacket The Eumundi markets originated in 1979, where local farmers put their crop on display for the residents to enjoy Today, the markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday And this place is a hub of activity during these times People will drive for hours to be a part of this event So let…s have a look at some of the organic fresh fruit and vegetables So many beautiful organic fruit and vegetables on offer! Let…s see, where shall we go first? Let…s stop in at this natural organic olive stall and pick up some fresh olives for a yummy dinner tonight I come to this market every Wednesday and every Saturday I sell olives here I…m the olive guy My name is Simon All right, nice to meet you Simon Nice to meet you, too And so, why do you think we should buy organic? Because organic is the way that things have been grown for thousands of years And we should stick that way Never mind about the multinationals and all the chemicals And stick to what…s good for you These olives will be a great addition to the vegan dinner party I will put on! Walking around the local market, you certainly get to meet some amazing people who provide shoppers with an abundance of delicious organic food Farmer…s markets are also a nice way to spend the day out with your loved ones Let…s have a look around and see what other things we can pick up This stall here has a great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables We stop in to pick up from organic goodies and have a chit chat with Kelly, one of the many organic farmers at Eumundi Market Could you tell us a little bit about your store? Okay, our store, we…ve been here for nearly 30 years, 29 We started with bananas We…re certified organic, the whole property We grow 90% of the vegetables Okay, so is this a local family business? Yes, we…ve been in business for a long time My mother in law still comes She…s 78 My father in law still picks and he…s 78 And we grow our mandarins We have an orchard as well as the market garden And my husband and I run the orchard and the market garden and Nick helps us, my son And he goes to university as well And we…ve been doing it forever And, yeah, it…s a great life We…re very passionate about organic, certified organic And what do you think are the benefits of growing and eating organic foods as opposed to your normal foods? Organic is grown with no chemicals, no artificial enhancers, no hormones Whereas non-organic, children are fat on vegetables because of what is put into them and what is in the soil People say that children are allergic to bananas, kiwis, things like that They are not actually allergic to the fruit, they are allergic to what the fruit is grown in And with the amount of cancer that…s out there It…s coming from somewhere We…re not just getting cancer, it…s our lifestyle And when you go to a super market and you see meat, cooked meat, has 18 chemicals in it And it…s ridiculous So, yeah, organic is the only way to go We ask Kelly for some tips on how to pick the best produce at its peak freshness You can tell it…s fresh by the color I mean, if you look at it, it…s a beautiful orange All the corn is a beautiful yellow, but you might have a lighter green on the outside simply because the frost has hit the outside of the corn; so we take the outside off Cucumbers, they are a little odd shapes but it…s still healthy, good, solid Make sure things are solid if you are buying them They are not soggy If they are soggy, they…re old And they…re green, you know, a lot of nice green color to them, not yellow If they…re yellow, they…re old You…ve got bok choy You can always tell bok choi is ripe by the color It…s a beautiful green, very white on the bottom We…ve got some funny, odd little cauliflowers These were only picked yesterday But you can tell they are fresh by again the whiteness There is no black on the bottom They are the first pick They are always tiny on the first pick You…ve got, it…s a nice color, looks good, solid; that…s the sweet potato And it always, it looks fresh, like the carrots look nice and orange They are not faded And that…s how you tell things are fresh When you pick, and we go out, we pick twice a week every week And we picked the tomatoes just a little bit behind because they ripen up at the market; they…ve got a natural ripening gas And the same with the lemons, we pick all the ripe lemons twice a week Mandarins, of course, you can tell the color because they are orange If they…re not orange, they are not sweet, and they won…t taste any good And we sell heaps of mandarins Other than that, it…s just a matter of knowing You get used to it We sort of pick lettuce and you just know what color it is Okay Now, picking pumpkins, you…ve got to be careful Make sure the little tassel has actually died off, or they will be green inside Okay, thank you Nature provides us such a rich assortment in the rainbow of fruits and vegetables Indeed, being vegan opens us up to more new ideas and creativity when it comes to eating Thank you, Kelly It…s great to learn more about organic farming Now we know exactly what to look for when selecting organic produce While browsing the stalls, we happened upon two little organic shoppers! Do you like buying fruit and vegetables at the market ? Yes Do they taste better? Yes! Tastes better than chocolate and iceblocks Fruit is very healthy for you Yes, it is! Tell me about your veggie garden at home This little one told us about her homegrown organic garden It…s never too early to start living sustainably! Well, we grow capsicums and we used to grow some beans And we have, we used to grow lots of tomatoes on the plant And좰 How do you look after the veggie garden? We water it and make sure it…s going in the sun And I…ve got purple seeds at home that I…ve been growing for about 3 months And in a pot, they are about that big now Well, we…ve met some lovely locals, and sampled some beautiful, fresh, organic fruit and vegetables at the original Eumundi Markets where they make it, bake it, grow it, and sew it Next, we…re off to the Noosa Farmer…s Markets But first, we…re going to take a quick stroll in the national park So, please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television Welcome back, benevolent viewers As you can see, we are now at the Noosa Farmer…s Market These markets are not as old as the Eumundi Markets but they are certainly just as popular These markets claim to showcase the finest and freshest of regional produce that the Sunshine Coast has to offer So, got no time to spare, let…s get in there and see what yummy treats they have We are so lucky to have these local markets to get all our fresh organic goods The Eumundi Markets are more established and have more on offer, but this one really showcases the harvests of local farmers And the local citizens know that So we got here early while the good stuff is still available and the market is not quite as busy What to buy, what to buy좰 I go through my mental list of ingredients I need for the vegan dinner party tonight as we carouse the different fruits and vegetable stalls After our great chat with Kelly at Eumundi, I have a pretty good understanding of what is the best to select It…s always exciting seeing how newly picked the produce is at the local markets Everything used in looking after the organic plants are pure and from nature So healthy and nutritious, you can really taste the difference Especially in preparing a luscious vegan meal, you want the best ingredients you can find Plus, another great thing about shopping locally is that you are supporting your friends in the area We help keep their organic farms flourishing, and in turn, they offer us the most tasty fruits and vegetables to share with our family and friends The fruits and veggies don…t spend as much time traveling on the roads, which keeps our Earth cleaner and ensures our food literally comes straight from the fields Organic foods are grown and harvested without the use of pesticides We can rest assured that we are eating what nature intended, and not synthetic chemicals that are harmful to our health and the environment Recently, I read a report by Rodale Institute, the longest running study on organic agriculture Not only does organic farming keep soils more fertile, if these natural farming methods were widely practiced, these healthy soils can sequester nearly 40% of all carbon emissions! Furthermore, if you want nutrition for your money…s worth, organic produce is said to contain a wider abundance of vitamins and minerals The University of Texas, Austin in the US found that non-organic foods nowadays have almost 40% less nutrients than before, due to worsening soil conditions, quicker harvests, genetic modifications, etc It seems organically grown vegan foods are definitely the key to sustainable living, for ourselves and our precious planet! It…s no wonder organic foods have grown so fast in popularity lately, witnessing as much as a 20% gain in sales! Imagine how lush, beautiful, and kind our Earth would be if we were all vegan and supported our local organic markets! I think this is enough shopping for a day I got us some great, fresh, organic fruit and vegetables, and we…re almost ready to get this delicious vegan feast on! Well, our time here at the markets is coming to an end I hope you…ve enjoyed all that the local farmers have to offer as much as I…ve enjoyed buying it Now, I…ve still got one more treat for you, so let…s go Okay, I…m starting to get a little bit hungry now, so I…m going to take some of these lovely fresh snow peas and tomatoes inside to make myself a yummy salad I hope you…ve enjoyed our show today, here on Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living Let…s do all we can to support our local organic fresh fruit and vegetable farmers Please stay tuned today for Between Master and Disciples, here on Supreme Master Television May we all enjoy the fresh fruit and vegetables that our beautiful Earth provides for us.