Life on the Edge

Several years ago, while in Helsinki, I read a Finnish health magazine (English translation) that suggested five foods be eaten daily to promote maximum health and longevity. These were: Apples, Carrots, Garlic, Lemons and Broccoli. On Wednesday of this week, I felt proud like a father with his new born child as I picked the first ever broccoli grown here at Windgrove. And doesn’t it look most delectable and packed with goodness, especially after a lip moistening drizzle had given way to a bit of evening sun lightly dusting the broccoli floret with a touch of buttery yellow. So, eat your broccoli, all you Greens out there reading this. And stay healthy. We tree lovers might not have the luxury of expensive spin doctors to look after us, but we do have organic apples, carrots, garlic, lemons and broccoli available. To paraphrase my hero Edward Abby again, author of “The Monkey Wrench Gang”, we environmental activists, ultimately, may not be able to stop the grey suited, double chinned politicians and business men from bulldozing down our ancient rain forests in the Styx Valley and the Tarkine, but we can, by eating well, at least out live the bastards; those Faustian thieves of oily, fatty handshakes and greasy ethics. They have supped with the devil so long they carry a lifetime of largess within their tailored clothes. Only their minders and tongue hanging fawners tell them they look good. Transparency and full dis-clothes-ure in government and business is important. We should all be willing to bare our assets and stand cheek to cheek with anyone from the Labor/Liberal party, Forestry Tasmania or Gunns. My bet is that our bottoms’s line is pretty firm and not propped up with false ergonomics. Eat well, enjoy life, carry on the good work and stand tall for the trees.