MISSION

The simple fact is that poor diet is the number one cause of ill health and death. Sugars - particularly high fructose corn syrup from GMO corn - coupled with a lack of minerals, vitamins and good biology is creating a global health epidemic. The danger comes from hidden sugars - sugar in everyday products where we are unaware that sugar has been added. Hidden sugars make up fifty percent of our total sugar intake.

The prime reason is the greed for higher profits from the multi-national food companies although the medical profession must shoulder some responsibility with its early focus on the dangers of fats. More recent research now shows that sugar and gut biology play a crucial role particularly affecting the hormones which make us store sugars as fats.

We would hope that Governments role is to protect the population from the excesses and manipulation of the food industry but they seem unable to control the multi-nationals with their massive available cash. They have even failed on food labeling - why is it not mandatory to display how much sugar has been added to processed food?

Sugar is addictive and a far bigger evil than tobacco. In an unbalanced diet it leads to visceral fat around the vital organs which leads to obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes amongst other health problems. It is already the world’s biggest killer and is growing at an alarming rate as kids become addicted to sugar.

It should be classified as genocide and a crime against humanity - but it goes unchecked. What is the difference between some third world dictator killing his people in a mass genocide or the smart suited executives of a multi-national killing the population at large? Answer - the multi-national do it on a far bigger scale.

But we can't just blame the food industry - the story goes that McDonalds were opposed to the introduction of supersizing as they said there was to provide cheap food - however they were pressurized by the financial institutions to adopting it. The fact is that there are many players, the food, financial, pharmaceutical, slimming, medical and other industries all working in there isolated silos (see http://waterright.com.au/NutritionChain.htm).

Pension funds have trillions of dollars to invest and they see their role is to maximise earning for their mom and pop investors rather than fight diabetes.

You think I am emotional about this - you are dead right. My wife Xiulan - a healthy Chinese lady - developed diabetes when she came to Australia and started to eat this western style food. Her foot started to turn black and we feared she would have her foot amputated - fortunately we studied the effects of diet on health and were able to avoid this tragedy - but the anger has not gone away.

It is not my nature to be a protester, marketer or political activist. What I do know is that fruit and vegetables - grown in nutrient rich soil with an active soil biology - and eaten fresh can counter these harmful effects.

My pioneering work on Wicking Beds over twenty years ago means that people living in apartments and with little growing skills or time can have eat at least some healthy food while my Sponge Beds makes a simple but effective kitchen garden.

But above all it is the soil with the combination of minerals and an active biology which is the key to health.

I am trying to create a community action where people can benefit from healthy food and increase the awareness that living soils are key.

Living soils - which are based on recycling waste are sustainable - we have been destroying our soil that we are now approaching peak soil.

In general we know how to include the needed minerals into the soil. We know that there are many minerals that are essential for our health but are not needed by plants. We also know that soil biology needs additional minerals such as calcium which is needed by the beneficial fungi.

The critical issue is to spread the message about how easy it is to grow some of your own food using Wicking and Sponge Beds - in the creative commons information can be freely copied and distributed provided the original source in referenced. I urge you to tell your friend - real and on the internet.

I have put up a donation button for people who feel my work is valuable and may wish to support my work.

Colin Austin