One Magic Square is a call to action, with the know-how to get started right away. We all have the potential to grow our own food, even if we’re jammed in a terrace house in inner-city anywhere. One Magic Square provides the plot design, food knowledge and seasonal organisation.

The one-square-metre idea is not new, and One Magic Square picks up on much of the environmental urgency the conscientious are already aware of in ‘Part Two: Toward food self-sufficiency’. But this artfully packaged reference guide to the practice of individual self-sufficiency will make it easy for anyone to get a shovel on, no matter the colour of their thumb.

The principles behind One Magic Square are much like those being expounded by citizen journalists in the media industry: large corporations are not considering the long-term interests of the masses, so it is up to the individuals to reappropriate control of the food industry.

Thankfully, One Magic Square doesn’t mince words when acknowledging that individual action is not the whole answer – one square-metre plot will yield approximately ten per cent of your food needs. The idea is to use the first square to plot your expansion. At the very least, if you grow your own corn it won’t be fed to beef cattle or hybrid engines.

Definitely a book to get you started, and one to keep on your shelf and splash with dirt before turning to your tomato-stained cookbooks.

—
Published by Wakefield Press
Paperback, 352 PP 200 x 200
9781862547643
$45.00

A couple of months ago I was hungover and hungry and I’d just woken up at Ronnie’s place. For ages it’s been something of a personal hangover ritual of mine to make it to the Queen Vic Markets, which are right near his apartment, and get a bratwurst.

These are not just any bratwurst – they’re thick, tasty and juicy, lathered in however many types of mustard you like, maybe a bit of cheese and then a field of sauerkraut balancing on top. These are a two-hand job. Nothing like this – way better:

Bratwurst!

I was dazed and it was Sunday – typically a day of decadence to make up for the previous night’s decadence. I figured I’d grab a bratwurst and then drink my hangover away.

I was ambling along, halfway to the market, content that I had planned my day, when I remembered that I was vegetarian – had been for all of about two weeks. The decision was made not in haste, but without any real preparation for the required lifestyle adjustments. Such as knowing where to get delicious comfort food off the cusp.

I wondered if it would really matter if I contradicted my recently developed consumption principles just this once – how much could my abstinence from meat really contribute positively to the welfare of the world’s animals and our environment?

I knew I could get some sushi to tide me over, but sushi isn’t bratwurst, and the main reason for my decision to give up meat was environmental concern. I couldn’t be sure that consuming rice grown in Australia was any better than eating the meat of flatulent, hoofed animals farmed on our arid land¹ . As with cotton, the water requirements are far greater than our arid lands can support, something something … rising freshwater salinity.

By the time I found two soggy sticks of blandness, I was feeling guilty. For potentially contributing to salinity, and for being ignorant. Because my choice to abstain from meat is informed by a broad interest in ethical consumerism and environmental conservation, rather than specifically animal rights, the requisite decisions are not as simple as trading animal rights for a diet of mung beans and tempeh.

In this series of sporadic articles, called Sans-bratwurst Blues, I will chronicle my research and decisions about ethical consumerism – lest I begin to alienate my friends with my self-righteous indignation. I will try to be equally sceptical of the CSIRO as I am of dubiously anonymous, blingin websites like The Main Meal.

This post is part of Blog Action Day.

Blog Action Day | 2009 | Climate Change

1. I have since figured out that rice might even be as flatulent as all those cows!