The Tertangala Issue Three, The Food Issue by The Tertangala

THE TERTANGALA THE F O O D I S S UE

I SSUE 03 V OL UME 52

S T E A L I N G F R O M S UP E R M A R KE TS

Chloe Higgins and Belinda Quinn discuss who is really affected by theft from Woolworths and Coles.

CH E A P CO O K S F O R BA D CO OK S

Kelsey Sutor provides a few recipes for all the hopeless and broke chefs out there.

T H E R E G UL A R S

News and Opinion, The Debate, Arts and Culture, a

Gig Guide, a Pull-out Recipe Poster and much more.

HOW TO PRONOUNCE TERTANGALA: It’s been 52 years and we’ve finally figured out how to pronounce the name of our own publication. So faithful readers, prepare to have your mind blown. Tertangala publication noun Tert-an-gah-lah Tertangala is a local indigenous word meaning ‘Smoke Signals’. Many people pronounce the middle of the word as “tang” as in the word “tangy”. However, if you want to avoid the confusion, it’s best to just call us “The Tert”.

As Hermione would say, ‘It’s Tert-an-gala, not Ter-tang-gala.’

CO-EDITORS

CONTRIBUTORS

Belinda Quinn Brittany Carter

Belinda Quinn

DESIGNER Jess Nesbitt COVER ART Jess Nesbitt POETRY COORDINATOR Joel Ephraims FICTION EDITOR Chloe Higgins SUB-EDITORS Brittany Carter

PHOTOGRAPHY

Gemma Mollenhauer Natalie McLaren Kelsey Sutor

Nat Zagaglia

Heather Wortes Donna Waters

Tyler Heycott

Callum Downes

Laura Polson

Ben Kohler

Sarlie Drakos

Rebecca Wiggins Alexandra Smith

Hayley Scrivenor

Andre Charadia

Callum Downes

Laura Polson

Jess Nesbitt

Bec Hurd

ILLUSTRATIONS & INFOGRAPHICS

Ryan Unwin

Elodie Gooden

Caitlin Morahan

Sarlie Drakos

Isabelle Chesher Lewis Aramayo

Chloe Higgins

Gemma Mollenhauer

Belinda Quinn

Milo Kelly

Jake Culpitt

Joel Ephriams

Mostfasa Azizpour

Peter Monoghan James Lidsey

Brittany Carter

thetert@gmail.com

Hannah Rivers

Jake Goetz

Nick Cooney

Stephanie Kinsler Jess Nesbitt

PRINTER Print & Mail

23-25 Meeks Road, Marrickville

NSW 2204 PH: (02) 9519 8268

twitter.com/Tertangala

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CONTENTS E D I TO R I A L S Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Notes

N E W S AN D O P I N I ON Improved Cycling Conditions

Fighting For Recognition

Palcohol, Powdered Alcohol

Fashion and Domestic Violence

Budget Breakdown 2014

UOW 101 Column

Your Opinion

The Debate

Feature Article

TH E FO O D I S S UE Cheap Cooks For Bad Cooks

Be A Global Citizen, Grow A Veggie Patch

Happy Greek Easter

Authentic Or Faux?

The Social Benefits Of Chewing Gum

Good Food, Mum

Pull-out Recipe Poster

So Called Superfoods

When Food Becomes The Enemy

Tasty Beats

Gluten-Free Living

The Art Of Procratsi-Baking

My Kitchen Drools

ART S AND C ULT URE Artist Profile: Bec Hurd

Cafe Review: White Rabbit

Film Review: Need For Speed

Gig Review: Mitch & Mike Gordon

Creative Writing

Poems

Gig Guide

DISCLOSURE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

DISCLAIMER

The content of this publication is made for and by the

Tertangala and WUSA acknowledge the traditional custodians

Responsibility for Tertangala is taken by the WUSA council.

are of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect

Dharawal people, and pay respect to their elders past, present

students of the University of Wollongong. Views expressed those of WUSA or the publisher.

of the land upon which we meet and work, that of the and future, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and the hopes for Indigenous Australia.

The University of Wollongong accepts no responsibility for this publication.

EDITOR’S NOTES

And so we meet again... The end of semester is always a stressful time for uni students. With exams looming you’ve got 99 things to do and procrastinate sure ain’t one. We feel your pain, and thought we’d provide you with some light reading that you can kick back with on your study break. Universally, food brings the world together. It brings family together for special occasions and provides friends with an excuse to catch up. It’s vital to all our lives with every single one of us thinking about it at least three times a day. Subsequently, the ‘Food’ Issue has been our contributor’s favourite theme so far. Our largest issue yet, some took it as a chance to speak up about the structure of the food industry and others just wanted to share their favourite recipes. In news, Gemma Mollenhauer keeps us up to date with the draft Wollongong bike path plans, Heather Wortes reports the details behind the UNSW Equity and Indigenous recognition brunch, and Andre Charadia outlines the new budget plans and explains how they might affect students. Peter Monoghan investigates the ‘Palcohol’ controversy, while Natalie Zagaglia discusses whether fashion can make an effective

EDITORIALS

political stand against men’s violence against women. Isabelle Chesher and James Lidsey go head to head, debating their pros and cons for organic and genetically modified food. Laura Polson explains the art of ‘Procrastibaking’ and gives us two deliciously distracting recipes to try and James Lidsey exposes the truth about superfoods. Sarlie Drakos treats us with a recount of her favourite parts of Greek Easter and Natalie McLaren may make you reconsider that glutenfree muffin next time you’re looking for a healthy snack. We’ve got a heap of arts and culture reading for you too, with our ‘local creative profile’ written by Chloe Higgins exploring the work of Rebecca Hurd’s performance-making art. Callum Downes Mitch & Mike Gig Review and two fiction pieces that will give you something to curl up with this winter break. We’d like to say our usual thanks to the amazing and enthusiastic contributors of this issue. It was great to see the creative and unique perspectives you took on such a generic theme. We hope you enjoy the delectable treats we’ve included in the issue and wish you all a safe and stress-free semester break! BELINDA QUINN & BRITTANY CARTER, CO-EDITORS

TERT NEWS

IMPROVED CYCLING CONDITIONS ON THE HORIZON FOR WOLLONGONG BY GEMMA MOLLENHAUER @GemmaMolle017

Whether you cycle to commute, for fitness, or leisure, the two wheeled option continues to increase in popularity in urban areas and cities, especially in our coastal town of Wollongong. According to statistics provided by the Australian Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics, the number of cyclist fatalities has risen from 33 deaths in 2013, to an astounding 55 deaths as of April 2014. This means that the number of cyclist deaths has increased an average 8.5% in the last five years. The national road toll however, has fallen over 8% Australia wide. The common “age-old” blame game between cyclists and drivers continues to develop as more individuals become taken with the two wheeled, cost effective solution. Wollongong Council has responded to cyclist’s call for safer roads and ergo minimisation of fatalities by drafting the City of Wollongong Bike Plan 2014-2018. The new plan aims to “increase participation in all types of cycling by creating a better connected and safer network of bicycle routes” and hopes

NEWS

to reduce the number of cyclist fatalities on Wollongong roads. But not only this, the Draft Bike Plan also states that it aims to “encourage safe behavior amongst cyclists and other road users, promote[s] cycling in the community, improve[s] cyclist skills and provide[s] better access to bicycle information”. The Draft Bike Plan incorporates a series of proposals including an extension of the existing cycling network through new cycling infrastructure as well as improving the existing infrastructure. This includes improving the signage, line marking and maintenance of bike paths as well as joining the existing paths together. A particular priority has also been put in place to improve and develop bike paths around the CBD city centre and the University of Wollongong. Local cycling commuter and Engineering student, Tom Evison states “almost all the bike racks at uni are full so obviously there is a need for bike paths… the main area that needs improving is the CBD”.

Politics and International Studies student, Laura Melhuish mutually agreed, admitting to having more than her fair share of road rage, “I think bikers should pay the taxes that cover [the bike plan], and they should actually use them when available,” she says. The local council will review the proposed Bike Plan and come to a decision in early June 2014. Community feedback is vital to the plan and will be taken into consideration during the decision making process with forms available at haveyoursaywollongong.com.au. In the mean time, education regarding the road rules for drivers and cyclists alike is imperative. If drivers remember that cyclists have a right to be on the road, and should be considered the same as a car, and if cyclists ensure they wear protective and visible gear while riding, the tension between drivers and cyclists will be reduced and there will be a decrease in the high level of cyclist fatalities.

TERT NEWS

FIGHTING FOR RECOGNITION BY HEATHER WORTES @HWortes

We like to think of Australia as a tolerant, fair country. Yet, according to one section of our constitution, states can ban people from voting in elections because of their race. Another section allows the government to make laws that openly discriminate against racial groups. On May 3 this year, the University of New South Wales Law Society held an Equity Breakfast. Law students from around the state came together at the university to discuss the importance of constitutional recognition of Australia’s indigenous peoples. Constitutional recognition will be achieved by removing these discriminatory sections and replacing them with sections that recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and ban racial discrimination by the Commonwealth. These recommendations came from a 2012 report by the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

both sides of government agreed to hold a referendum on constitutional recognition within the next two years. However, even with support from both of the major political parties, the public’s awareness of the issue remains low. Students at the Equity Breakfast were given the chance to speak to Davis in a Q & A session at the end of her speech. Charlee-Sue Frail who is a coordinator of Recognise This, the youth led movement for constitutional recognition, also featured on the Q&A panel. Frail and the team at Recognise This are working hard to engage Australia’s younger generation in this issue. “Essentially what we’re really trying to do is to get young people involved in the movement,” Frail said. “We make up 30% of the electorate and yet last year, 400 000 young Australians missed out on their opportunity to vote in the federal election. So we really do have a

big job in mobilising young people.” It’s these young voices, Frail said, that need to get involved and fight to get these changes to the constitution through. “Young people have a lot of passion for this and can see… what recognition can do.” Frail believes that, by using online platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, young advocates can engage large numbers of people in the campaign for constitutional recognition. “We are going to be the first referendum that goes to the Australian public with social media. That’s amazing.” To get involved in the movement for constitutional recognition you can ‘like’ Recognise and Recognise This on Facebook, sign up as a supporter on their website at www.recognise.org.au, and watch out for email updates about upcoming events.

The event’s keynote speaker, Professor Megan Davis, who was a member of the expert panel, explained that putting a non-discrimination clause in the constitution probably won’t stop interventions into Indigenous communities in the future. This is because “the government’s idea of development and welfare… might be different to what we think.” Davis is also an Expert Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous People and the Director of the Indigenous Law Centre. “What it does [do] is create a check and balance in the system. It disciplines the power of the Federal Parliament,” said Davis. In legislation passed early last year,

NEWS

TERT INVESTIGATION

PALCOHOL, POWDERED ALCOHOL: A HARMFUL NEW ALCOHOL PRODUCT BY PETER MONAGHAN @UOWEAC

ALCOHOL POWDER, MEDIA FRENY At the beginning of May, with headlines like ‘powered alcohol has arrived’, and ‘US approves ‘Palcohol’’, global news outlets reported on the US government’s decision to approve a powdered alcohol product for recreational use. The approval took place in early April, with the first stories only being published some weeks later. But the news media made up for lost time and reacted with unrestrained alarm. Indeed, the melodramatic headlines continued even after US regulators took back their approval of the product a few days after granting it.

WHY IS POWDERED ALCOHOL GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION? Mark Phillips, owner and manager of Lipsmark LLC, is the self-described inventor of Palcohol. Phillips built the Palcohol website, which describes the product as a convenience for plane travel, since bottles of booze might break or spill. He also mentions that it would be of use

INVESTIGATION

to hikers who would like to drink alcohol but only want to carry water. According to Professor Sandra Jones, Director for the Centre of Health Initiatives (CHI) at UOW, this is a “recipe for disaster” because it encourages “dehydrated people to consume alcohol, which further dehydrates them… when they are a long way from medical care.” The original website was more revealing. Phillips made changes to it after the media discovered his tactless descriptions of ways to use the alcohol powder. He spruiked Palcohol as a means for discretely bringing booze into places where liquor is either banned, not sold, or is too expensive (sports games, concerts, cinemas, public transport, even restaurants, bars or clubs). In another section, he wrote “Yes, you can snort it. And you’ll get drunk almost instantly because the alcohol will be absorbed so quickly in your nose.” According to Professor Jones, “Mr Phillips has been quite strategic in stirring up controversy about… Palcohol.

The coverage will serve to ensure that there are queues of customers eagerly awaiting the release of the product.” She added that US regulatory approval sends a message that the product is safe. “Many people will assume that the government wouldn’t have approved it if it was dangerous.”

THE DANGERS OF POWDERED ALCOHOL Making powdered alcohol involves stirring liquefied ethanol into a highly sorbent sugar like maltodextrin. The sugar soaks up the ethanol like a sponge, to produce a powder with up to 60% of ethanol concentration. Despite Phillips’ claims to have “worked with scientists”, he hasn’t named any, nor has he been willing to explain the production process of Palcohol in detail. Powdered alcohol is easy to transport, hide and consume in soft drinks, making them similar to alcopops, a common drink for teens. Therefore, according to Jones, powdered alcohol will have a particular

TERT INVESTIGATION

appeal to teenagers “with a propensity to engage in risky behaviours.” Of even greater concern to Jones is the potential for powdered alcohol to be used in drink spiking, where “additional alcohol [is put in] someone’s drink without their knowledge; a behaviour which is associated with sexual assault and other forms of deliberate harm.” Even if the powder was used as part of a joke or prank, Professor Jones says that there could still be significant health risks and consequences. Snorting powdered alcohol is also likely to be dangerous. Professor Oliver James, head of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Newcastle, says that a greater deal of alcohol will probably pass into the bloodstream if someone was to snort it compared to drinking. This increases the chance of overdose, which can cause loss of consciousness, respiratory depression, and death. In fact, Phillips’ site conveniently overlooks a number of problems related to

using Palcohol. He encourages consumers to “experiment” with using powdered alcohol on food, but fails to mention the dangers of combining highly flammable material like ethanol with a cooking flame. Similarly, Phillips ignores the likelihood that people will try to smoke powdered alcohol, like they do with heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. This is a disasterin-waiting: the flammable ethanol, inside the flammable starch powder, would burn quickly and perhaps even explosively.

THE FUTURE ALCOHOL

POWDERED

The Palcohol venture is hardly a new one: other companies have tried selling powdered alcohol, some with success, but most with failure. To get Palcohol approved, Phillips should have kept quiet, rather than telling the world how he envisioned customers using his product: to break the law, to avoid taxes, and to circumvent local statutes and business rules.

The attorneys at Lehrman Beverage Law believe Palcohol will eventually be approved in time. But they’re not bullish about its future, since they see it as a gimmick that will go the way of the alcohol inhalation devices. These inhalers had brief media exposure, but sold poorly, and eventually stop being made. Even if Palcohol is approved for sale, restrictions should be applied to its access. This is a product that is inherently dangerous. Selling Palcohol is selling a problem, not solving one.

Peter is a student representative for the Environmental Advisory Committee. Contact Peter if you have any ideas, comments, requests or problems related to UOW, and the environment, or if you want something addressed at the next EAC meeting at pfnm745@uowmail.edu.au

INVESTIGATION

TERT INVESTIGATION

CAN COUTURE TACKLE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE? BY NATALIE ZAGAGLIA

Trigger warning: This article deals with domestic violence and may be distressing for some readers. The recent April issue of Vogue Italia has decided to tackle the issue of domestic violence. The magazine features a ten-page photo shoot entitled ‘Horror Show’ by photographer Steven Meisel. It showcases graphic and confrontational images of designer dressed models screaming and hiding from men yielding guns and knives. In the accompanying editorial ‘Cinematic’ the features director, Carlo Ducci, stated that, “Saying NO to violence against women enables us to be, in our own way, useful… And those who follow us may feel stimulated to take action, condemn, and support women in trouble”. It appears, however, that the magazine’s aim to raise awareness and condemn

INVESTIGATION

violence against women has completely missed the mark. Critics have accused Vogue Italia of glamorising and trivialising domestic violence. They believe the publication has exploited the extremely serious topic for controversy and advertising profit. It’s no secret that domestic violence has been examined through a variety of media platforms before, but the issue is whether it can be discussed through the particular discourse of fashion. The magazine’s Editor-In-Chief, Franca Sozzani, insists that it can stating “If you use fashion in the right way, you can talk to everybody… fashion is not only about dresses, but about culture… it’s about social movement… it’s about everything”. Ducci even argues that the “assumed incompatibility” between fashion and politics makes us all “partners in crime” in ignoring serious issues.

Such incompatibility however may be there for a reason. This kind of fashion imagery that aims to communicate such a serious political message, including violence against women, at best echoes and at worst reinforces some of society’s most negative ideas about women and girls. The images are so highly manipulated and glamorized that they tarnish any realistic portrayal of violence against women the photographs were aiming for. The women’s reactions are submissive, stylised and so explicitly staged that it is difficult look at these images and find a true connection to reality. How could such didactic and unrealistic photographs possibly hold the power to raise awareness of something that is so brutally and painfully real to so many women across the globe? Statistically, around 35% of women worldwide

TERT INVESTIGATION

have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from their partner. In Australia alone this accounts for over one million women.

photographs? It seems, unfortunately, that times have not changed and the fashion industry has not learnt from its mistakes.

Yet Vogue Italia’s photo spread is not the only one of its kind. Fashion has a history of depicting and referencing violence against women. Photographers such as Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin were well known for their frequent depiction of female models bloodied, bruised or dead in an oftensexualised manner in the 1970s and 80s.

What cannot be ignored is that ultimately fashion is a commodity that aims to sell products, and doing so under the heading of domestic violence can be seen as highly problematic. The photo spread evidently uses shock value, and can be seen as an edgy and arty way to gain audience attention and thus, gain profit.

Even America’s Next Top Model imitated the ‘dead-girl’ look in 2007, the same year that Dolce & Gabbana released their controversial advertisement featuring a woman being held to the ground by a male model, with four other men surrounding her. Ironically this advertisement was banned in Italy. Yet is there any difference between that advertisement and the Vogue Italia’s

Expecting such backlash, Ducci insists “It doesn’t matter… if we are accused of exploiting pressing issues just to push our way in newsstands, [as long as] women suffering violence every day can feel our nearness… [and] see that [we] are on their side: by utterly and radically condemning all types of violence”. Yet the question remains – how can sexualised images of men

harming women, in effort to advertise luxury clothing, be seen as an act of condemning violence? Such criticism shows that the magazine’s efforts to reach out to affected members of their audience fell short. Instead a distance has been created between readers and the publication. The incident also raises larger questions about the media and its ethics. Does Vogue Italia have an ethical responsibility if victims of domestic violence feel they have been misrepresented? Or are good intentions simply enough? Maybe it’s not so much a question of what but of how. Could fashion have a place in the political sphere if, in the case of Vogue Italia, they simply altered their methods? Or will fashion and politics remain irreversibly separate?

INVESTIGATION

TERT NEWS

BUDGET BREAKDOWN 2014 BY ANDRE CHARADIA

The Abbott government has handed down its first budget, and it is shaping up to be one of the most austere budgets in decades, with $80 billion in cuts to education and health over ten years alone. The budget will introduce new taxes and charges, making tens of billions of dollars in cuts to education, health, welfare and Indigenous programs, among other areas, to resolve what Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described as a fiscal “fire”. “You see, we had a fire, and the budget is the fire brigade. And sure, sometimes the fire brigade knocks over a few fences in order to put out the fire. But if you’ve got a fire you’ve got to put it out,” ABC News reported him as telling ABC774 Melbourne host Jon Faine. Labor Opposition Bill Shorten said in his budget reply speech that Australians felt “ambushed and “betrayed”, and called it a “blueprint for a radically different, less fair Australia.” “This is a budget that would seek to demolish the pillars of Australian society universal Medicare, education for all, a fair pension, full employment,” he said. Alongside a 1.5% deficit tax on incomes over $180,000 and an increase to the

NEWS

fuel excise every six months, the budget includes a new $7 Bulk Billing co-payment for all visits to GP, including immunisations and sexual health checks. The budget cuts the increases in the Commonwealth’s share of health funding the Gillard and Rudd governments made. It also cuts a signature health program of the Gillard government, Medicare Locals. NSW Premier Mike Baird told media that the cuts would reduce the share of Commonwealth funding for health from around 40% to just 14%. “In simple terms, the cuts that have been put forward we cannot absorb. We can give no clearer message to Canberra: we cannot absorb these cuts; these cuts have an immediate impact – over a thousand hospital beds nationally are impacted by the decisions on health, and this cannot be allowed to proceed,” The Guardian reported Mr Baird as saying. Changes to welfare payments could mean that people under 30 will not receive the Newstart unemployment benefit for six months after graduating or losing their job, and will stop receiving it six months after the first payment. People under 26 will no longer be given the payment, and instead will receive the smaller youth allowance.

The Abbott government also plans to deregulate university fees, with contradicting reports as to when the current fee caps would be repealed and on who they would apply. Mr Abbott has said that the new fee scheme would apply to students enrolling in 2016, but the Department of Education’s website and university leaders say that the scheme will apply to all students after December 2015. A number of student groups, including the National Union of Students, have protested the fee changes and cuts. Some demonstrations have resulted in protestors clashing with police, and some government ministers being caught up in protests or cancelling campus visits. $534 million will also be taken from programs targeted at Indigenous Australians, and several major agencies, including the National Policy Commission on Indigenous Housing, which will be abolished. Despite the cuts rhetoric however, the budget also has several major spending increases planned. Among the major increases are $12 billion set aside for fifthgeneration fighter jets, a $243 million increase to school chaplaincy services, and a generous paid parental leave scheme, that was not explained in Treasurer Joe Hockey’s budget speech.

TERT COLUMN

STILL A BETTER LOVE STORY THAN TWILIGHT BY REBECCA WIGGINS @UOW101

Hi, I’m Bec and I have a debilitating love for coffee. I love coffee so much that I’ll plan my day around getting it and spend my nights craving it. I once had a dream about going to Paninzi the next morning and getting my coffee. And then I woke up and lived out that dream. However, coffee doesn’t always love me. Coffee is like a really bad boyfriend, the kind your friends all warn you to dump but you insist “no way, coffee is changing for me!”. Honey, no matter what Frozen may have convinced you of, you can’t ‘fix’ someone, not even coffee. Let it go. See, I don’t actually love coffee, I’m just addicted to caffeine. Coffee is the main caffine offender. A standard small sized cup contains a whopping 100-150mg of caffeine. That’s roughly double the amount of caffeine in tea, dark chocolate or cola drinks, and higher than the amount in energy drinks such as Red Bull or V. The long term effects of caffiene can also be pretty nasty including a

higher risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, heartburn, ulcers, severe insomnia and infertility. But, don’t worry people, its okay, you don’t have to live a coffee-free life! However, there are some steps you should take to avoid it’s nasty side. For instance, the time of day in which you consume caffeine actually plays a big part in your body’s reaction to it. When we first wake up in the morning, our body releases a chemical known as cortisol which helps us wake up naturally. If we ingest caffiene early in the morning, all the positive, energising effects of caffiene are subdued because we’re already being kept awake with cortisol, which peaks between 8-9am. You should actually aim to drink coffee between 9:30-11:30am in order to properly feel the effects and to reduce your suseptability to caffiene addiction. And that’s enough science for this Arts student today. You might also consider trying a coffee detox which is where you forgo coffee until you’ve broken your addiction and it’s all out of your system. Coffee can’t magically keep giving us the same

Rebecca Wiggins is in her 3rd year of a Bachelor of Communications and Media studies and Bachelor of Arts double degree. She majors in Journalism/Professional Writing & Sociology and enjoys spending most of her time blogging. She is co-founder and writer for the popular Uni themed blog UOW101, found at www.uow101.wordpress.com

quality hit of energy again and again, because coffee isn’t a hero; it’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector... a Dark Knight. Actually, it’s because our body’s caffiene tolerance increases, much as it would with the overconsumption of any drug. By going coffee free for a little while, you’ll find that in the long run you’ll need to drink less coffee to feel greater results and will therefore break out of that habit of overconsumption. It’s definitely sensible to keep an eye on your caffeine consumption. I know, coffee may be all sorts of delicious and you’d probably consider selling your second born for a taste (lets face it, you already sold your first born to Facebook when you agreed to the terms and conditions), but you possess willpower and concern for your general wellbeing; so, you don’t need that coffee. If you find you’re having problems with adiction of any kind you can always contact the free counselling services UOW offers and book an appointment on 02 4221 3445. Stay happy and healthy!

UOW 101

VOX POPS

WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST FOOD COMBINATION YOU’VE TRIED? YOUR OPINION

I like to put french-fries in my milkshakes!

I enjoy chicken, mayonnaise and tobacco sauce on a toastie.

I eat rice with sugar for breakfast sometimes, it’s delicious.

Aneliese Lauro – Finance

George Harriman – Law Commerce

Charlotte Murdoch – Commerce

YOUR OPINION

VOX POPS

Fish fingers and custard on pizza. Patrick Thompson – Creative Writing

My friend puts lemon juice all over her two minute noodles instead of cooking them, like a lemony-noodle soup, I always thought that was pretty innovative.

Danish cream cheese, jam and bacon in a bread roll. Saso Tololeski – Commerce

Ashley Henderson – Psychology

YOUR OPINION

THE DEBATE

PRO ORGANIC FOOD BY ISABELLE CHESHER @isabellechesher

This might surprise you, but the biggest benefit of organic food has little to do with the argument that it’s more nutritious than Genetically Modified (GM) food. Having said that, it’s probably true. A 2007 study from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom found that organic produce had around 40 per cent more vitamin C, zinc and iron than GM produce. In a 2003 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, organic berries and corn contained 58 per cent more antioxidants, and 52 per cent more vitamin C than GM berries and corn. These examples are just a small part of a vast body of research. Yes, some scientists feel that the nutritional difference between organic and GM food is too small to affect our overall health. But sceptics shouldn’t take this as an excuse to completely write off organics. Just because there are some unimpressive findings about organic food, doesn’t cancel out the many positive findings out there. The best reason to go organic is that it’s food you can trust. When you buy organically, you know that the produce has been grown using traditional methods. Some farmers do use natural pesticides, but these have been proved to leave almost no trace. Buying organic produce means that no one will have sprayed your groceries with mysterious toxic ingredients. The same cannot be said for GM products. In theory, chemical pesticide residues don’t exceed government levels. However, this does not reassure food researchers like Michael Pollan, who told Body and Soul that he became an organic advocate after visiting a potato farm in Idaho, in the United States. “What they were pumping onto the crops was so toxic that the farmers wouldn’t go into the fields for five days after spraying,” he said.

THE DEBATE

According to The Economist, studies from Europe and Russia used rats that died prematurely after eating GM food. In one controversial study, published in 2012 in Food and Chemical Toxicology, the rats suffered unusual rates of fatal tumours after feeding on GM maize. Whilst these findings have been highly disputed, they do set off alarm bells. Many crops are genetically modified using DNA from viruses and bacteria, or are designed to be resistant to antibiotics. Others products like soybeans contain traces of nuts, making them a potential danger for anyone with nut allergies. Some scientists are worried by the fact that, after eating any GM product, our body absorbs some of its genetic proteins, by turning them into bacteria that lives in our intestines. Indeed, eating certain GM foods could possibly create new allergies or diseases, or could increase our resistance to anti-biotics, which people often need to treat infections. Many of these ‘what if ’s’ aren’t conclusive, but they haven’t been disproved either. And according to a Victorian government website, it is “essential” to wash GM produce thoroughly, before eating it. We wouldn’t need to be warned if there were no health risks. I’m not claiming that Genetically Modified produce will harm you. I’m just saying that organic is generally a healthier and more reliable option. With the bonus that organic farming is more environmentally and animal friendly, you can eat your meals with a smile; knowing that you’re supporting local, ethical farming. That little extra cost to your shopping is definitely worth the peace of mind.

THE DEBATE

PRO GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD BY JAMES LIDSEY

The controversy surrounding Genetically Modified (GM) foods is rather interesting, as society has been swayed to consider them as abnormal or creepy. GM foods are created by inserting the specific genes of one organism into another. This is done so that favorable characteristics from one organism can be produced in a completely different organism, and is especially valued within the food production industry as it can reduce costs, our impact on the environment, and provide an overall healthier product. The idea that these unnatural or foreign genes are severely impacting our health in anyway is a complete over reaction. In our daily lives we are exposed to ‘unnatural genes’ all the time through bacteria, viruses and other microbes. As you have probably experienced, a lot of the world strives to create a clean and sanitised environment, and with seven billion people interacting with each other every day and passing on sicknesses and germs, that seems completely rational. But sometimes it can become too extreme to the point where people expect to be able to live comfortably in a completely microbe free world. This expectation is in fact quite impossible and could even be considered dangerous. The fact is, if you were to live in such a place you would struggle to survive, as these vast varieties of microbes play not only an essential role in the growth of our food, but also play some of the most important roles in digesting it for you.Yes that’s right, you are practically a walking host for bacteria and other microbes! For every human cell within your body, you would easily have at least ten bacteria cells. But don’t stress, these guys aren’t harmful, they are ‘good bacteria’, the ones you’ve heard about in probiotics and yoghurt. Another argument that comes up a lot of the time revolves around the fact that scientists are changing the ‘natural’ state of plants and animals by physically chopping and changing gene sequences, creating something that is ultimately unnatural.

To rebuttal this I have some arguments that provide food for thought (excuse the pun). Selective breeding of animals has been practiced in human culture for hundreds of years and the process by which it works may or may not be familiar to you. Essentially if I have a flock of sheep and half of them have incredibly soft wool that sells well, and the other half of my flock have quite rough and coarse wool that sells poorly, I will breed the softer wool producing sheep rather than the poor quality ones for profit. This is exactly what selective breeding is. Isn’t that selecting specific genes for specific attributes? Finally I would like to end my argument with the benefits that GM foods provide. Corn in America is grown in mass and requires serious amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides to reduce disease and pests; not to mention the thousands upon thousands of litres of water used daily to water these crops. GM corn is having a series of positive impacts on the food industry. The corn crops are disease and pest resistant, and use half the amount of water needed, as well as producing even higher yields of corn. And yet even though this budding industry offers a number of beneficial impacts on the environment and economies of the world, there is still a lack of understanding and an increased fear and superstition associated with the production of GM foods. This then leads to a wider lack of support for scientific developments, and thus decreases and limits the ability for the research and development of such projects with so much influential potential. I will leave you with something to think about.The current global population growth is around 1.1% per year, and with a population of over seven billion we are expected to have at least 9.3 billion people on Earth in 2050. If we already have around one billion people starving now, how are we going to feed an extra 2.3 billion?

THE DEBATE

WOOLWORTHS

INFORGRAPHIC: RYAN UNWIN

WESFARMERS

#OCCUPYTHEFOODMARKET BY CHLOE HIGGINS AND BELINDA QUINN

Earlier this year we were at a bar with a few students. The conversation quickly went from which beer brand is the most bitter to how easy it is to steal from Woolworths and Coles. One of us was gob-smacked by the casual confessions of theft. The other smiled in agreement. Some students might say stealing from Woolworths and Coles is a tactic against the Australian grocery industry duopoly, and more broadly against our capitalist system. Our conversation quickly became a round table discussion of the best techniques people use to scam the self-checkout. ‘Forget’ to scan a couple of items. Process avocados as apples. Hold the item up when you scan it so the scale doesn’t register its full weight. After all, the desire to stick a fuck-you finger up at corporations that unfairly benefit from our lack of choice was a desire we all shared. Not long after our conversation we sent out a survey on Facebook asking people to share their experiences of theft from Woolworths and Coles, their thoughts on the industry, who suffers and the broader implications. Within 72 hours 48 people responded, 54.35% of which have intentionally left Woolworths

or Coles without paying for an item. Of these people, 81.25% were students. Justifications for stealing included claims that items are overpriced and survey respondents are too poor to pay for the products. Others, who opposed theft, described theft as an immoral act. But perhaps what is more interesting are the respondents who claimed their behaviour was a reaction against the corporations’ ethics. One respondent wrote, “I know its [sic] wrong. But I don’t agree with the ethics of the corporation, and so I make a new set of my own ethics just for them. I never steal anywhere else.” Of the 48 respondents in the survey, 38% believed that it was the CEOs that suffered as a result of theft. At first glance Woolworths and Coles’ profit margins and unethical practices seem like justification for bending the rules. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, for the first half of the 2013-14 financial year, Woolworths made a profit of $1.32 billion (up 6% for the period). Coles, the other brand in the duopoly dominating the Australian grocery industry, took out $836 million (up 10.7%).

FEATURE ARTICLE

54% OF SURVEYORS HAVE

INTENTIONALLY TAKEN AN ITEM FROM COLES OR WOOLWORTHS

WITHOUT PAYING

Woolworths’ website claims 96% of their fruit and veg and 100% of their meat comes from Australian farmers. However, this doesn’t say much about the Australian farmers’ profits and there is anecdotal evidence of the duopoly’s mistreatment of their suppliers. According to The National Farmers’ Federation in November 2013, farmers receive less than 5% of what the consumer pays. Business Spectator’s Associate Editor Robert Gottliebsen said “the practice of squeezing local farmers out of business will become one of the greatest scandals ever seen in this country.” The endless competition between Coles and Woolworths not only amplifies the price war, but also passes the negative consequences on to farmers, the $1 milk scandal being a well-known example. The Australian Dairy Famers (ADF) lobby group said the “lack of competition within the supermarket industry and Coles’ subsequent purchasing power, means $1 dollar milk continues to hurt farmer and processor profits.” Farmers receive approximately 13 cents per litre of the milk they sell —the farmer is affected because they are on the end of a supply chain that they have no control over. Their low profits are just one problem that has arisen from the duopoly’s power. Farmer dependence on Woolworths and Coles is also a significant issue. Farmers might begin with multiple clients, with Woolworths or Coles just being one of them. Over

INFOGRAPHICS: JESS NESBITT / NICK COONEY

time, with the duopoly’s large market share, farmers can often find themselves selling to fewer clients, until they have only Woolworths or Coles left. Barry Clarke, a South Australian dairy farmer, told ABC, “The big supermarkets take more and more of your product until you’re producing most of your product out of your factory to go to them. And once that happens and you lost the rest of your market, than [sic] they can tell you that they will pay you whatever they like, and that leaves you with nowhere else to go.” The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is now suing Coles for abusing its market power by extracting approximately $16 million a year from 200 small suppliers. Farmers aren’t the only people affected by theft. Ashlee Kelly, a Coles employee said, “there’s a very popular opinion out there that ‘I can steal from these chain supermarkets because it doesn’t affect them’ and that’s right to some extent. It probably doesn’t affect the ‘big wigs’... It actually affects the low-line employees. We get less hours. We cop the consequences because we weren’t looking out enough. We’re the first to go when there’s massive stock loss.” Theft doesn’t go unnoticed by the grocery giants’ upper management. But the responsibility is often put onto the staff.

12%

15%

16%

20%

37%

OT HER

C O N S UM E R S

F ARME RS

STAF F

C OMPANIE S

BELIEVE

ARE AFFECTED

BELIEVE

ARE AFFECTED

BELIEVE

ARE AFFECTED

“We’re told in Coles to ‘say hi’ to everyone in the beauty aisle because that’s the aisle that gets stolen from most. So we’re meant to manage theft, and we can’t really do much because asking people to ‘check their bags’ doesn’t really work. Neither does ‘have you stolen anything?’ – if anything, that just puts us in potentially dangerous situations from defensive people who are stealing,” said Kelly. James Lidsey, a Woolworths employee agreed with Ashlee. “If [Woolworth’s] happen to have high levels of theft, they easily can adjust [the figures] by slashing shifts people across the department’s [sic],” Lidsey said. It’s time to take what Professor of Economics Stephan King calls ‘a look in the mirror’ at ourselves as consumers. King claims if consumers want change, they need to change where they shop. Leisure Coast Fruit and Deli and Wollongong’s Friday markets in the mall provide good alternatives. Items are usually locallysourced and sold by small, family-run businesses meaning their customers aren’t supporting Woolworths and Coles’ market domination.

BELIEVE

ARE AFFECTED

BELIEVE

ARE AFFECTED

Australia’s grocery market. This trumps the UK’s two biggest chains that share 47% of their market, and the US’s which own just 20%. Australia currently has the biggest duopoly over the food industry in the world. However, we do not believe theft is as simple as ‘the CEO suffers when you steal’ like a surprising amount of people in the survey suggested. We do not believe this is an effective fuckyou to the system. Theft could negatively affect the staff, the suppliers or even us, the consumers. Instead, we’d suggest avoiding companies altogether by shopping at places that are cheap and locally produced.You can pressure the duopoly to make ethical choices by using your voice and spreading awareness. And you can push for policy that regulates the duopoly and allows for more competition within the market. You can share your own opinion via the hashtag #occupythefoodmarket

Perhaps policy should be implemented to cap Woolworths and Coles market share. According to ABC’s Fact Check, if you include fresh food like fruit and vegetables, the best estimate is that Coles and Woolworths control between 55-60% of

FEATURE ARTICLE

PHOTOGRAPHY: JESS NESBITT

CHEAP COOKS FOR BAD COOKS BY KELSEY SUTOR @KelseySutor

Nine weeks ago, I couldn’t cook. Kitchens were out of bounds for me. If I ever did feel the urge to make something scrumptious, I would often do so to the sounds of a smoke alarm. Despite her numerous attempts, my mother could not turn me into a mini Masterchef. She eventually gave up and realised that cooking to me meant making sure my toast didn’t burn.

EASY VEGGIE PASTA

Serves 1, approx. 20 minutes. Y’all will have to: 1.Cut up the cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato (cut into chunks) and zucchini and then place it in a saucepan and bring to boil. 2.Allow all of the vegetables to simmer. 3.Put the pasta in a saucepan and bring it to boil. 4.Once the pasta is cooked (this should take less than 10 minutes), drain and pour in a small amount of the cooking cream. Stir it all together and then put it into a bowl. 5.Place the vegetables on top of the pasta and stir. 6.Sprinkle with cheese to serve.

UNI STUDENT SANGRIA* Serves 4, approx. 5 minutes. Y’all have to: 1.Peel and slice the apples, kiwi fruit, lemon and orange and put some of it into the bucket. This will ensure the slices of fruit are nice and fermented.

When I moved out at the beginning of the year, I had about as much experience as I did cash, and I know I’m not the only university student who faces this dilemma. Anyone who knows me would laugh when they see this article and remind me that I have no authority writing recipes. But after fending for myself for a few months and gaining more experience in the kitchen, I figured I might share a few delicious meals I’ve come across that are super easy and cheap too.

I know, mi-goreng is less than a dollar and it’s mighty tasty. Trust me, I know dem feels all too well. The struggle to eat well at university is all too real, but if you think vegetables are too expensive, you haven’t met our good friends at Leisure Coast in Fairy Meadow. Head down there, grab some greens and try making this healthy yet tasty pasta dish. Y’all will need: •

Cup of pasta (I just use Home brand’s shell pasta)

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Light cooking cream

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A cup of cauliflower

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A cup of broccoli

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½ sweet potato

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½ zucchini

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A handful of shredded cheese

If you’re anything like me, sometimes goon is just not good enough. That’s where sangria comes in. A traditional fruity Mexican punch with a uni student twist. This was created by the members of my household and it has been our go-to drink ever since.

Y’all will need: •

The cheapest, nastiest, red wine you can get your filthy hands on. I highly recommend the brand Hidden Gem, which you can get for $3 a bottle at First Choice liquor.

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A punch bowl/a clean common variety garden bucket (nobody said this was going to be classy).

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2 x 89c lemonade

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Two apples

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A kiwi fruit

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A lemon

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An orange

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A ladle

2.Pour the wine in the bucket. 3.Pour at least ¾ of the bottle of lemonade into the bucket. If you aren’t big on red wine, you can add more lemonade as it takes the edge off the taste. 4.Put the rest of the fruit in. 5.Use the ladle to stir and serve. 6.When you run out, repeat! *This drink is FOR SHARING.

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MASS NACHOS

It’s a scientific fact that there is nothing better to prepare yourself for a big night than with mass amounts of Mexican food. Okay maybe it’s not a scientific fact, but it is considered common knowledge amongst uni students. Of course, I believe the best Mexican food isn’t found in Australia. It’s found in places around the USA with multiple health code violations and four broken plasma TVs that play awful Spanish soap operas.

Serves 4, approx. 20 minutes. Y’all will have to:

1 .Spray some oil in a fry pan and set the heat to low. 2.Peel and chop up the onion. (Be careful not to get any in your eye because take it from me, it fucking hurts.)

But there’s nothing stopping you from having a go at home. Eat your heart out Amigos!

3.Chuck the onion and the corn into the pan. Turn up the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the onion browns. 4.Place the mince on top of the corn and onion in the pan.

Y’all will need:

5.Chop that mince up with the wooden spoon.You don’t want to serve the meat up in big chunks. Let it cook till it browns.

•

2 packets of Doritos (whatever flavour rocks your world)

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A jar of salsa

7.Give it five minutes or so to simmer. By now your kitchen will smell absolutely delicious.

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Beef mince (unless your vegetarian)

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Guacamole

8.Get your jar of salsa and pour it all over the mince. Stir and let it simmer for another five minutes.

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Sour cream

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Shredded cheese

9.Chuck a hand-full of Doritos in a bowl (or more, I’m not the boss of you).

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A brown onion

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Corn kernels

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Taco mix

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Canola oil spray

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¾ cup of water or so

6.While that’s cooking away, combine the Taco mix with a 3/4 cup of water. When the mince is completely brown, pour it in.

10.When the mince is ready, heap it on top of the Doritos. Serve with sour cream, cheese and guacamole. If you want, sprinkle some cheese on top and zap it in the microwave for a minute or so til it melts.

PIZZA, DOUBLE CHEEZA!

Serves 1-2, approx. 20 minutes. Y’all have to:

1.Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. 2.Heat a small pan and brown the mince. 3.Cut the cauliflower and broccoli up in small florets and put it into a pot to boil. Regardless of what vegetables you use, you don’t want to overcook them. Make sure you turn the stove off when it comes to the boil and cut the vegetables into small pieces. 4.After the mince has cooked, set it aside and cook the bacon pieces in a frying pan on a low setting. 5.While that’s happening, lightly spread your choice of sauce over the Lebanese bread with a spoon. 6.Sprinkle a fair amount of cheese over the top of the sauce.

This dish will appeal to your creativity. We all like different things on our pizzas, and I’m not about to tell you how to live your life.

Y’all will need:

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Shredded mozzarella cheese and lots of it. Lebanese bread. There are plenty of different varieties in supermarkets and it’s better than those pre-made pizza bases

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Pizza base sauce OR BBQ sauce

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Random vegetables or meat. For this recipe, I’ll use a small amount of beef mince, broccoli, cauliflower and bacon bits, but you can include whatever you want. This dish is perfect for using any leftovers you might have. (Again, I highly recommend Leisure Coast in Fairy Meadow for all of your fruit and vegetable needs.)

7.Drain the cauliflower and broccoli and set it aside. Then put the mince on top of the cheese, as well as the cauliflower, broccoli and bacon bits. 8.Top with MORE CHEESE! 9.Put the pizza onto a baking tray and place it in the oven to cook for around 20 minutes. 10.When the bread starts to go a light brown, the toppings should be cooked and the pizza will be ready to serve.

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BE A GLOBAL CITIZEN, GROW A VEGGIE PATCH BY HANNAH RIVERS

Growing a veggie patch would definitely be the easiest way to make a difference in this world. A vegetable patch is an investment. An earthy, at times frustrating, but ultimately sustainable investment that will result in food comas, social dinners and you swapping the TV to pot around in dirt in your free time.Vegetable patches, like volunteering, give back to you, and its products are usually more delicious than their bulked up supermarket distant cousins. They equate with global activism. You may be wondering how a humble veggie patch makes you a better global citizen. Well you’re about to find out.

responsibility to make choices and to remember to consider what consequences these choices will have on others. It’s about being aware that problems aren’t going to disappear overnight and that we have an obligation to act.

Googling ‘global citizen’ rewarded me with a plethora of definitions. Even after asking friends and family, the definitions were vast. However, I decided that firstly, it is a subjective definition, and secondly, it is completely dependent on context and cultural influences.

VEGETABLE GARDENS ARE A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION

The following definition from The Global Citizenship Initiative Organisation says that a global citizen possesses and strives for: “a commitment to basic human rights; religious pluralism; participatory governance; protection of the earth’s environment; sustainable world-wide economic growth; poverty alleviation; humanitarian assistance; elimination of weapons of mass destruction; cessation and prevention of conflicts between countries; and attempts to preserve cultural diversity.” Being a better global citizen begins with the act of being someone who is simply aware. Aware that there is a

THE FOOD ISSUE

This leads me to think about veggie patches.Vegetable gardens and herb boxes are a cheap and effective way of implementing Paul McCartney’s philosophy “think globally, act locally”, a hands on approach to sustainability and the importance of increasing awareness about food distribution and growing one’s inner sense of happiness.

Ideally, once a veggie patch has matured, the surplus of vegetables that flow from patch to table would help to reduce environmental impact. However, one of the best ways to reduce your environmental impact is to compost. Invest in a worm farm and feed it left over produce that you have grown! According to Oz Harvest, Australia wastes 3.28 million tonnes of food per year, producing the second largest source of methane gas, which is a prominent greenhouse gas, in landfill. Growing your own vegetable garden and cutting down on food wastage can help lower this statistic. Another way in which a vegetable patch is sustainable is the reduction in unnecessary plastics and packaging. Supermarkets tend to overuse plastic packaging when selling pre-prepared

vegetables and according to Clean Up Australia, Australians use 1.3 million tonnes of plastic per year. Growing your own vegetables means you can control pesticide use, if any. Knowing that your vegetables and herbs are safe from pesticides is better for taste, health and the environment alike.

GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD MAKES YOU AWARE Knowing where your vegetables come from, how they grow, what their true colours are and what season they flourish, helps to create awareness about food sustainability. The flashing, fluorescent advertising in our capitalist society is shouting ‘buy now and buy cheap’ - a mentality that is tempting, especially to cheapskate university students.Yet, as food sustainability and distribution is becoming more of a forefront issue, this short term, fast food fix harms not only our bodies but the environment too. Non-government organisations such as Oxfam have conjured the GROW campaign, that seeks to raise awareness about global poverty and the injustices within the food distribution system. Growing your own vegetables also gives insight into the effort required to produce food.

‘PLANT A GARDEN, PLANT HAPPINESS’CHINESE PROVERB

induces a happy disposition. Growing food is about connection. Connecting with the seasons, the earth, and with the food on your plate. The more connected you become, the more of a global citizen you will grow to be. Think about engaging in community gardens, as well as swapping produce with your friends. The aroma of fresh tomato and basil pasta simmering away or the crunch of sweet crisp of a cucumber causes the palate to dance, as it knows the vegetables were picked that morning. Delicious carrots, thyme and beans with the added bonus of knowing they were grown on the back veranda result in a sense of achievement. Pulling out the odd weed in itself is therapeutic; it encourages you to be active and get outside. Taking time-out to slow down from the rapid pace of our modern lifestyle also helps to connect us with the earth, something that is easily taken for granted. I am aware of the busy lifestyle that university affords us and even more aware of the financial difficulties many of us find ourselves in.Yet creating a small sanctuary of herbs and vegetables really does put ‘thinking global, acting local’ into practice. Do your research and find out what grows best in your home conditions. Then you can start growing your awareness and happiness.

Getting your hands dirty to create a vegetable garden inevitably

ILLUSTRATION: MILO KELLY

HAPPY GREEK EASTER BY SARLIE DRAKOS @sarlie14

Growing up, my grandmother often told me “while some people eat to live, we live to eat”. This saying has always stuck with me; probably because it so accurately sums up what life is like for a Greek. For us, food is more than just something to satisfy hunger. It is an excuse to catch up with loved ones and show them that we care, as well as a method of passing on tradition from one generation to the next. It is the way we mourn, the way we celebrate, and everything else in between. The perception that Greeks are massive food-lovers does not even begin to scrape the surface. It seems as though every one of my family memories revolves around food; whether it be making pasta from scratch with my Yia Yia (grandmother), being taught how to tenderise and cook an octopus with my father and uncle, or just lazing around the kitchen with my cousins. However, I only realised the importance of food in Greek culture after visiting the Greek Islands, where I was fully immersed in the culture. While I was staying with my family in Leros, there only seemed to be one topic of conversation: what we were going to eat next. At dinner we would plan breakfast, at breakfast we would go over the plan for lunch, and so forth. This pattern continued until each meal was no longer distinguishable from the next, but one big haze of meat, vegetables and desserts. When ordinary days are hinged around preparing and eating food, it is no surprise that special occasions are transformed into

THE FOOD ISSUE

an eating frenzy, with some of the most spectacular and obscure cuisine imaginable. One such occasion (which is actually the biggest event of year in Greek culture) is Easter. Unlike the Easter celebrated by most Australians, Greek Orthodox Easter is based around the Julian calendar, and occurs on the first full moon following the spring equinox. This means that Greek Easter is celebrated on a different day every year, usually after the Roman Catholic Easter. This year, it actually fell on the same date that most people celebrate their Easter in Australia, making it an even bigger festivity for many GreekAustralians. Like the Roman Catholic Church, Greeks typically engage in lent for forty days prior to Easter Sunday, in which they abstain from eating meat or diary. There are a few mass services held at Greek Orthodox churches for Easter, with the main ones usually being held late at night on Easter Friday and Saturday. On the Saturday night mass will begin around 11pm. About forty-five minutes later, the lights in the church are turned off and slowly the candles everyone has held throughout the service become ignited. The priest then walks outside to the front of the church and will begin to sing the Easter Hymn. After the Hymn, at 12.00am on Sunday morning, Easter is welcomed by saying “Christos Anesti” (Christ has risen) as loud fireworks shake the church walls and the bells chime. The service then continues until 1.30 am where some of the church-

goers stay to receive communion. However, nowadays most people opt to go back to their homes or the home of a relative to begin their Easter feast. After this church service lent is broken. It is customary to serve a soup made out of offal called magiritsa (as hard as it may be to believe, it actually doesn’t taste as bad as it sounds!). Then lamb is served which is usually cooked on a spit. Greek Easter also involves receiving and eating eggs. However, these eggs are not made out of chocolate. Instead, chicken’s eggs are hardboiled and dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus. During the celebration, each person takes turns to crack their egg against another person’s egg. It is believed that whoever’s egg remains intact will have good luck for the rest of the year! Greek Easter is celebrated by people all over Australia, especially by the large Greek communities in Canberra and Melbourne. However, the Greek Orthodox Church in Wollongong also holds Easter services, including the midnight mass. The Hellenic Church in West Wollongong is also an ideal place to get a snapshot of Greek culture and cuisine with traditional Greek music being played on the last Friday of each month, and an all-youcan-eat buffet.

different country. Most people come wearing black, start speaking a foreign language, and participate in the various religious ceremonies. It begins to feel even more surreal when the church and car park fills with the yellow glow of people’s candles, and smoke from the fireworks lingers over the roof of the church. The funny thing is that even though it may feel as though you are experiencing something completely unique, Greek Easter is almost exactly the same no matter what Greek family you talk to or church you attend. The true beauty of Greek Easter is that it brings people together. It is an excuse for family members to travel long distances to be with one another, even if it is just for a short period of time. Despite the huge amount of preparation that goes into the occasion, my family always appear to be in good spirits. It is a special time where everything else gets left behind. It provides an excuse to indulge and feels a lot less reserved than a lot of other events. True to Greek stereotypes, everyone is loud and over-the-top and just a whole lot of fun to be around. Everything that makes the Greek culture so amazing is brought to light after spending Greek Easter with family and friends.

One of the main reasons why I love Greek Easter is the fact that it is so different to anything that you can experience in Australian culture. After arriving at the church service just before midnight, it feels as though you’re in a completely

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AUTHENTIC OR FAUX? WHY DOES WESTERN CUISINE TASTE SO DIFFERENT TO ITS AUTHENTIC VERSION? BY CAITLIN MORAHAN

I’m sitting in an Italian restaurant and I’m confused. The Prosecco in my wine glass may as well be goon and the “authentic Napoleton” margarita pizza may as well be from the Dominos down the street. Whilst I am thoroughly unimpressed and sit here with a look akin to royalty being served club sandwiches, the rest of my party expresses no such concern. Recently returned from Europe, I have become a selfproclaimed wine and food connoisseur. Whilst pre-Europe Caitlin was satisfied with any dish with a side of fries, postEurope Caitlin is horrified when bruschetta isn’t drizzled with authentic olive oil made from olives grown in the Campania region of Southern Italy. So why don’t foreign dishes taste the same here as they do in their country of origin? Every second sign boasts authenticity, but still we sit unsatisfied as a pre-pubescent waiter plonks a dish in front of us that looks nothing like it should. I’ve come to terms with the fact that in Australia, three dollars doesn’t buy quite as good a standard of wine as it does in France (Fruity Lexia, anyone?). But I simply won’t attain for the fact that when I recently ate at a Moroccan restaurant, my seven vegetable couscous arrived only with carrots and a limp green bean. Hien, a chef at Wollongong’s popular Vietnamese Mylan, says that since emigrating from Southern Vietnam, his families’ recipes have been altered to adjust to the generic Western palette.Vietnamese cooking is well-known for its balance of five elements – spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water), and sweet (earth). These five elements also appeal to different parts of our bodies, such as ‘spicy’ with the large intestine and ‘sweet’ with the stomach. The principle of yin and yang is applied in most Vietnamese kitchens – especially in larger cities like Hanoi, as it provides a ‘balanced’ dish. However, in Australian kitchens, Hien says the ‘yin and yang’ concept is altered to appeal to Australian tastes, because the

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stronger flavours simply wouldn’t sell. “We use more sweet than any other element in our cooking. Any more sour or bitter and the taste just wouldn’t be well received.” Western Chinese cuisine is perhaps the worst offender. It seems like every town in Australia has two types of establishments without fail: an Irish pub and a Chinese restaurant, usually fullblown affairs with oriental music and decorations evoking the Far East. However, the menus rarely stray far from one another. So how does this match authentic Chinese food in China? UTS student Siobhan Parnell recently had a mixed experience at a food market in Beijing. Whilst no stall boasted what we would call the typical mi goreng or sweet and sour pork, she was fortunate enough to sample scorpions, tarantulas, snakes, starfish, centipedes, cockroaches – all fried up and served on skewers before her eyes. Imagine centipedes and scorpions on a menu in Australia, right alongside the spring rolls and wontons. Not only would they remain untouched, but we would view it as a disgusting novelty and use it to ridicule their culture. So how can we blame them? Perhaps it’s just common of Western culture to be satisfied with the familiar, and not open to change. Authentic Chinese food isn’t impossible to find in Australia, but you’ll need to travel to Chinatown in order to find it. However, it’s still hard to buy for the wide variety of genuine Chinese dishes, since regional specialties and ingredients often vary from village to village. When it’s so difficult to source the real thing and the majority of Australians looking to sit down with some familiar comfort food on takeaway night, it’s no wonder that Chinese menus lack variety. So if you return from India one day and raise an eyebrow at the butter sauce served up at an Australian restaurant, just remember: there’s a high chance the turmeric is from Woolworths, and many of the customers around you probably couldn’t handle the real thing.

THE SOCIAL BENEFITS OF CHEWING GUM BY LEWIS ARAMAYO

The University of Wollongong is a social hub for students of varying nationalities, personalities and appearances. From first year students to aging professors, there’s always something each of us could do to improve our social interactions with one another. What if the answer lied in something as simple as a piece of chewing gum? Whether you’re sitting next to a stranger on the long bus ride home, or have been coaxed by your friends to strike up a conversation with a girl at the Uni bar, the act of offering chewing gum is an easy way to instigate conversation without seeming too forward. Offering a piece of gum is not only an inexpensive way to break the ice, but also an act of modest generosity that is effective in creating a good first impression. According to a team of psychologists from St. Lawrence University in New York, chewing gum is also an effective way to boost your mental performance. The study tested 159 students, asking each to take part in six different cognitive tests. The tests incorporated difficult puzzles, and required students to complete tasks such as repeating numbers backwards. Results concluded that the students chewing gum were five from six tests more successful than nonchewers because of the mental stimulation that chewing gum provided. The same psychologists also believe that in the first 20 minutes of chewing, gum is a better mental aid than caffeine. Perhaps you could chew gum instead of spending money on addictive energy

drinks and your regular morning coffee. Academically, a sharper mind will help you communicate more effectively with fellow students, and will keep you awake in those early morning tutorials and lectures. Ash Boland, Student Brand Manager of Red bull at UOW, can vouch for the advantages of chewing gum. Ash finds that chewing gum before meetings and events not only keeps him focused, but calms him down. “Whilst sitting down with team members I will chew gum to help stimulate my thoughts and creativity. The process of chewing also seems to relax me so I can focus all my attention on the task at hand,” he says. Additionally, psychologists from the University of Liverpool recently undertook a study which showed that chewing gum before snacking helped reduce hunger and diminish cravings for sweets. And if that’s not enough, chewing sugar-free gum maintains healthy teeth through the production of saliva, neutralizing plaque acid, washing away food debris and re-mineralizing tooth enamel to help strengthen teeth. This will not only give you a more confident smile, but also limit the chance of an embarrassing badbreath encounter. So, next time you’re packing your bag for Uni, remember you books, pens and chewy.

ILLUSTRATION: MILO KELLY

GOOD FOOD, MUM BY GEMMA MOLLENHAUER @GemmaMolle017

With their delicious nutlike taste, somewhat buttery texture and the versatility of salt and pepper, chickpeas (also known as garbanzos) may have the power to cure world hunger. Most commonly incorporated in many Middle Eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafels and curries, journalist Michael Kuehler believes that the “ tiny bean has become a superhero, providing relief to hungry people”. But how exactly does this unassuming legume have the potential to cure world hunger? With experts predicting that the production of food for the global community, must double between now and 2050 on a global scale in order to feed the world’s rapidly growing population, it’s no wonder chickpeas are an appealing and ideal solution. Firstly, their nutritional value is higher than other ‘staple’ foods such as wheat, maize and rice. Chickpeas also contain extremely high protein levels (22-24%) and almost 2-3 more iron and zinc than the same amount of wheat. Two cups of chickpeas contain our daily fibre intake, provide valuable digestive tract support and lower the risk of colon cancer. Other health benefits include a unique supply of antioxidants including vitamin c, vitamin b and beta-carotene, as well as a decreased chance of developing cardiovascular disease. But that’s not all; chickpeas have a natural ability to increase soil fertility, and thereby increase crop yield, income for farmers, and food security; as well as the ability to provide valuable nutrition to poor families. With new research effort, appropriately named the ‘Feed Our Future’ initiative, the University of California along with funding from the US government aims to “improve the yield, climate resilience, nutritional value and nitrogen-fixing properties of chickpeas by expanding the range of genetic adaptations available to breeders”. Already the humble chickpea has proved to reduce famine via the United Nations, World Food Program (WFP). In 2009, the WFP responded to the famine in Pakistan by working with local businesses to produce a ‘ready-to-eat’ substance derived from locally grown chickpeas. Only 50 grams of the product, commonly known as Wawa Mum (translation: ‘Good food, Mum’) is needed to give a child enough nutrients to last a whole day! Not only do they have the potential to cure world hunger, they’ve also got the potential to cure university student hunger. Chickpeas are cheap, long lasting and the perfect addition to almost every meal, from salads to curries, to frittata and taco fillings. I’ve incorporated a few of my favorite chickpea recipes for you to make at home. All are under $10, all have leftovers and all have the nutritional value so many university students lack.

CHICKPEA, PUMPKIN AND SUNDRIED TOMATO SALAD Ingredients Two (400g) tins of chickpeas, drained One small butternut pumpkin ½ cup of sundried tomatoes.

Method 1.Roast pumpkin with every herb under the sun, such as Rosemary or Coriander, until soft. 2.Blend ingredients together in mixing bowl. 3.Enjoy.

CHICKPEA CURRY Ingredients Two tablespoons of vegetable oil Two onions, minced Two cloves garlic, minced Knob root ginger, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 2 (400g) tins chickpeas, undrained Handful chopped fresh coriander

Method 1.Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry onions and stir in garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne and turmeric. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. 2.Mix in chickpeas (including liquid). Continue to cook and stir until all ingredients are blended and heated thoroughly. 3.Remove from heat. Stir in coriander before serving.

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MY KITCHEN DROOLS BY CALLUM DOWNES @penniless www.pennilessblog.com

A wise unemployed man once said to me, “you know you’ve wasted the day when ‘Ready Steady Cook’ comes on TV”. He was right, and sadly enough I’d need a few extra phalanges to count the amount of times I’ve experienced, and even looked forward to this degrading scenario over the last summer break. Tallying tomatoes and capsicums became my heart’s most fervent desire. Yet a more wasteful pursuit exists, which serves only to destroy brain cells with mind numbing material. That is, following reality cooking shows. Through a cheesy combination of dramatic montages, a generous smattering of pointless interviews, a thick slice of ad breaks stewed in repetitive recaps, and topped off with a dash of actual cooking, the producers of such shows as My Kitchen Rules (MKR) and MasterChef, have created an addictive recipe. A recipe driven by overdramatic music and a few internationally famous cooks that act as judges. The effectiveness of such a formula is demonstrated by the MKR ‘supermarket challenge’. With the clock ticking and the pressure building, each contestant bursts into Coles in an unashamedly obvious onslaught of product placement, veiled as an intense scramble for the required ingredients. Triumphant crescendos signify that a contestant has attained the diced tomatoes they so desperately need, and bass drops keep the audience’s chests thumping as the competitors navigate through the produce aisle. All the while, Manu’s heavy French accent incoherently commentates the action as it unfolds. But that’s the genius behind reality television. It’s unrealistic. The evidence behind such a controversial statement is revealed when I attempt to recreate the culinary masterpieces showed on MKR. Overcooked and flavourless, my attempts are often futile. Utterly defeated, I’ve given up on the whole idea, and usually

end up resorting to a Himalayan mountain of Mi goreng, washed down with a glass of Sunnyvale Fruity Lexia. Arguably, such failure is due to the vague demonstrations presented by the show. Or maybe it’s the strict time restraints often experienced in student life; like getting to happy hour on time, catching an entire season of Game of Thrones before attempting an assignment, or leaving home three hours early for class, just so you can score free parking in the suburbs. These scenarios could set the foundations for a new, ground breaking reality cooking show entitled, ‘My College Kitchen Rules’, where the most talented student chefs from each major university in NSW clash spatulas in a budget cook off. Just like the contestants of MKR and MasterChef, the students would almost certainly create meals that live up to certain stereotypes. Staying true to the reality cooking genre, the program would undoubtedly include dramatic music but would also include a collection of indie rock and punk tracks produced by bands nobody has ever heard of. It would feature a panel of expert judges too, although less like MasterChef ’s Matt Preston and more like ‘Doc’ Brown from Back to The Future. Sporting lab coats and frizzy hairstyles, the panel might include a chemistry professor, who tests the pH and safety of the ingredients; a nutrition and dietetics professor, who compares the healthiness of each dish; and an economics professor, who ensures the meals are realistically affordable for the average university student, funded by Centrelink. Such a show would send ratings through the roof! In the meantime, however, we’ll all continue to watch the sad reality narratives of MKR and MasterChef whilst cooking up dinners that make raw placenta seem like a desirable alternative.

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ILLUSTRATION: STEPHANIE KINSLER / JESS NESBITT

WHEN FOOD BECOMES THE ENEMY BY ELODIE GOODEN @elodiemay

Trigger warning:This article deals with eating disorders and depression and may be distressing for some readers. I had a ‘mild’ eating disorder during high school. I say mild because I was shown love and support through an intense period of control, self-punishment and a warped relationship with the mirror.Yet even today, three years later, I sometimes count the things I’ve eaten during the day, or hear a little voice, reminding me of all the diet and nutritional information I’ve soaked up. My relationship with food and exercise is still liable to be motivated by my body image issues, and I’m not sure that’s ever going to go away. But I’m not the only one who has that voice in their head. I see it in women of all ages. I remember the horror and helplessness I felt when I saw my mum emerge from a department store change-room and burst into tears. I was fourteen, I thought she was beautiful, and I’d insisted she try on that swimsuit. I see it too, in my male friends, worried about wearing tight t-shirts and making self-deprecating remarks about their arms and stomachs. The National Eating Disorders Collaboration estimates that 9% of Australians are affected by eating disorders, but personally, I think we all have suffered from society’s incursions into our relationship with food. I got in contact with twenty-seven-year-old Kim. She was first diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2009, but she says she didn’t really come to terms with the fact that she was struggling with a mental illness until her fifth hospitalisation in 2012. She was diagnosed with a range of eating disorders and other mental health issues as time went on; first a few types of Anorexia Nervosa, then an ‘Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified’ (EDNOS), and Bulimia Nervosa. EDNOS includes the Binge Eating Disorder, and makes up the majority of eating disorders in Australia. But don’t we usually only hear about anorexia and bulimia? The stereotypes we have about eating disorders hurt the chances of diagnosis, and that’s something that needs to change. For the women reading this, we probably learnt about eating disorders in an article in Dolly magazine, or a scary video in our year nine health class about a girl vomiting in jars and hiding them in her cupboard. (Yes, this actually happened to me.) For guys it is seen as a ‘girl’s problem’, and there’s a masculine stigma around dieting or expressing body dissatisfaction.Yet

there is an ever-growing pressure for men to exercise with weights and control their diet with protein drinks and powders. Tellingly, I couldn’t find a man who would comment on this issue. Kim speaks candidly about the lack of understanding she experienced from those around her during her illnesses. She recalls rumours, friends who didn’t understand why she wasn’t ‘fixed’ after one treatment, and those who simply said it was too hard to “watch her slowly die”. Our stigmas around eating disorders often blur a life-threatening mental illness with a lifestyle choice. Comedians and online trolls cry ‘narcissism!’ at women and girls who obsess over new beauty standards like thigh gaps, or at people who turn to plastic surgery or Photoshop, but the truth is these practices are becoming more and more common. “A lot of people think it is vanity” Kim says. “They don’t realise the majority of the time it is a coping mechanism due to trauma. It is a form of self harm and suicide… It’s [not something] to be glamorised.” And as eating disorders are usually related to other mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or substance abuse, it should come as no surprise that they are highly associated with suicide or an otherwise early death. Today, Kim is in recovery and her second year of marriage. She’s also the mother of a nine-month old “miracle” son. She admits however, that she is struggling with her doctors’ recommendations to gain weight. Eating disorders tend to stick around even when you’ve worked through them, because there’s still the mirror and food and the voices that were there before, and you still have to face them every day. The Kim I know today seems more confident and upbeat than the girl in her stories of hospitals and fear, but she’s aware of what lies ahead. “The mental battle still continues,” she says, “and the battle constantly changes.” For more information on Eating Disorders in Australia, visit http://www.nedc.com.au/. If you think you may have an eating disorder you can book a UOW counsellor at Level 3, Building 11 or phone the Butterfly National Support Line at 1800 33 4673.

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TASTY BEATS BY TYLER HEYCOTT @THeycott

We all need food in order to live our lives, so it makes sense that is has been a central theme in the arts for centuries. The focal object of many Still Life paintings is usually fruit. Andy Warhol’s (arguably) most famous creations were his mass produced stencil artworks of Heinz soup cans. What was The Last Supper about again? Oh wait. Think also of the key moments in films that relate to food: the diner scene in Pulp Fiction, the spaghetti scene in The Lady and

the Tramp. Some movies are entirely based around it: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, My Dinner with Andre, Ratatouille to name a few. It’s only fitting that this extends to the music world too. Here are five classic albums that all use the culinary arts as their main inspiring force.

MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD When it came to naming their second album, the members of Talking Heads were stumped. That was until bassist Tina Weymouth exclaimed, “What are we gonna call an album that’s just about buildings and food?” The staunchly wry title best exemplifies the music the band was making at the time.

MMM FOOD With various food references throughout his discography, his chubby physique and the fact that he named an entire instrumental series after different herbs, it’s not hard to see that seasoned rapper MF Doom loves food. This album in particular, considered by most to be some of his finest work, is no doubt his masterpiece on food.

MILK MAN Deerhoof have never been known as conventional song smiths and it certainly shows here. This concept album tells the story of a milk man who kidnaps children and hides them in clouds; and with its fragmented experimental pop tunes, it fits the subject material perfectly. It was even adapted as a ballet for children in 2006, and if you can find the clips on YouTube, it’s well worth a watch.

DONUTS The last album by legendary hip hop producer J Dilla before his untimely passing is now legendary. It is brimming with so many deft samples, innovative techniques, and history that it has now become a touchstone for all manner of Hip Hop producers. The titular dessert is featured throughout the albums song titles and the reason why is very simple. When the album came out, his record label, Stones Throw remarked, “Easy explanation. Dilla likes donuts.”

STRAWBERRY JAM As the story goes, the inspiration for the entire sound and aesthetic of their seventh album came to Animal Collective member Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) whilst touring. He had just received his in-flight meal and was inspired by a single serve container of strawberry jam. He found its zany yet candy coloured look so powerful that he wanted to craft music that sounded the same. With its bubbling electronics, blissfully blistering harmonies, and overall sweet synthetic sound, the album captures the strawberry jam idea perfectly.

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GLUTEN-FREE LIVING; THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TREND BY NATALIE MCLAREN @nmae22

“Hey man, I heard this new café down the old side alley has gluten free friands!” The phrase gluten-free can attract hipsters from miles away. It seems to be trending in the worlds of trash magazines and Instagram, but what is it exactly that gluten-free foods offer consumers? Gluten is a type of protein present mainly in wheat, rye and barley, and gives food products, like dough elasticity. It is responsible for holding bread, cakes and most other baked goods together. Gluten is such a common product in many of our diets; however most of us never even knew it existed before gluten-free foods emerged in the health aisles of our supermarkets. Body and Soul estimate that the gluten-free food industry will be worth $94 million in Australia by next year. This rapid increase in the market is due to food companies becoming increasingly aware of the needs of gluten intolerant people, and the trend in people cutting wheat and grains from their diets as a lifestyle choice. Time magazine named the movement second on its list of top 10 food trends for 2012.

Transformation challenge. According to the website, gluten is an important source of protein and fibre that can be found in many whole foods. Bridges also advises that eating a gluten-free diet does not mean you must eliminate all ‘carbs’. Some carbohydrates such as rice and millet, and all corn/maize based products do not contain gluten and therefore are a suitable and healthy option. Removing gluten from a diet when one is not sensitive to it means that the body is missing out on essential vitamins such as vitamin B and nutrients that are found in gluten whole foods. Whole grain foods can in fact help prevent or lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer. Dietary guidelines released in the US in 2010 therefore recommend that people who are not gluten intolerant should try to consume whole grain products as at least half of their carbohydrate intake. Changing to a gluten-free diet does not only mean that breads, pasta and cereals are removed. It means that an entire diet overhaul must take place, as gluten is present in many processed products such as chocolate, sauces and gravy, many desserts like ice cream, and various toppings including maple syrup.

Gluten-free products are manufactured to accommodate the dietary needs of gluten intolerant people, and people who have been diagnosed with celiac disease. Celiac disease is the condition in which the small intestine reacts badly to the gluten in consumed foods and is unable to break it down and absorb it properly. Celiac sufferers who do happen to eat gluten become physically ill almost immediately.

Peter Green from the American Dietetic Association warns that “any time you eliminate categories of food you’ve been used to eating, you run the risk of nutritional deficiencies.” Switching to a gluten free diet when you are not intolerant actually increases the risk that you might develop an intolerance, as once you cut out gluten it can become very difficult for your body to process it if you start eating it again.

This is why gluten-free products are so important to have on the market. People who are intolerant to gluten and are forced to cut it out of their diet, tend to see major health improvements. In fact because the diet essentially eliminates a large number of carbohydrates, it can lead to weight loss.

So next time you think about jumping on the band wagon ask yourself this. Do you really want to cut out gluten from your life - all for a fad diet? A person living with gluten intolerance needs to check the list of ingredients of everything they put in their mouth, in order to avoid excessive vomiting and diarrhoea. Surely this isn’t something that anyone would want to inflict on themselves!

The idea that eliminating gluten from your lifestyle will help you lose weight and become healthier has spread through magazines as a ‘weight loss secret’ and/or the best way to cleanse your body. Body and Soul claim that the public’s confusion over the properties gluten has to offer created the trend. However, carbohydrates are an essential part of every diet, and what’s worse is that eating gluten free products when you’re not intolerant can have severe health consequences. Issues surrounding gluten-free living have been raised through popular lifestyle programs such as the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body

We need gluten and grains in our diet. An intolerance or disease shouldn’t be a window for a new health trend to emerge. Perhaps if society focused more on being fit and healthy rather than losing weight quickly, we would see a much better transformation not only in our health related statistics, but in our quality of life as well.

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THE ART OF PROCRATSI-BAKING BY LAURA POLSON @laura_polson

Procrastinate-bake verb delay or postpone action; put off doing something. The art of baking delicious and delectable treats rather than completing study/homework or work/cleaning. – Urban Dictionary 2010 1. “the temptation will be to procrastinate until the power struggle plays itself out” “I HAVE 3 MILLION THINGS TO DO FOR UNI SO I’M GOING TO BAKE A CAKE!”

I’m not sure what I suspected to find when googling ‘procrastibaking’. Perhaps a psychological study detailing all the incredible health benefits? Unfortunately not. What I did find was related blogs and lots of them, all written by students stressed by deadlines and exams. Instead of eating their feelings, they bake them… And then eat them. For an insight into the mind of a procrasti-baker, I turned to two baking enthusiasts. English exchange student Ruth, brought her passion for baking to the UOW residential college, Marketview. The college already had a tea appreciation society, but Ruth saw an opportunity to add baking to the mix. The Marketview Tea and Baking Appreciation Society (MTBAS) was born. As Ruth was on exchange, Lauren Miller was made the head of the society. Below the two discuss the MTBAS and their thoughts surrounding the art of procrastibaking. How does the society work? Ruth: We started off with two society launches in Tea’se me, there were too many of us to fit all at once! We baked every two weeks, students signed up at the college office for $2 and all the recipes, equipment and ingredients were provided. After the bake was done we drank tea and ate it. Tea was (and still is) provided free every week.

What is your favourite part about being involved with the MTBAS? Lauren: My favourite baking society event was when we hosted our own ‘high tea’ at my university residence. We went op-shopping for decorations and cute tea sets, and got people to bring along their own baked goods to share. It was such a fun afternoon sharing delicious food, and we were able to raise money for charity at the same time. Ruth: We held a charity bake off for The Cancer Council. It was great to involve everyone from the college. Even those who didn’t get to bake got to eat the goodies! Do you still procrasti-bake? Ruth: Absolutely-I made sticky toffee cake last night! Lauren: I usually make time to bake. I see it as more of a hobby than a procrastination tool, and I think it’s important to make time for hobbies. Having said that, I have been known to procrasti-bake occasionally!

Does procrasti-baking help you with your studies? Lauren: I think setting time aside to chill out and do something you enjoy is important. Baking is awesome because you get to eat all the goodies afterwards! I think it does help others as well. People seem to really enjoy and appreciate home-made goodies. I have been known to use baked goods as an incentive for people to attend study sessions (which is usually effective), and I love that something as simple as a home-baked chocolate chip slice can bring people together. I also love sharing my baked goodies on a study break or with friends after a long day (complete with tea of course!). Where would you like to see the concepts behind the MTBAS go? Ruth: It would be great to see the idea move onto other colleges and campus wide. It’s a delicious way to pass the time!

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LAUREN’S PROCRASTI-BAKING TIPS

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Keep it simple. Simple recipes are less timeconsuming (unfortunately we have to do uni work at some point), won’t break the budget, and are quite often just as delicious as complex recipes.

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Ask your mum for recipes. I love going home and reading through my mum’s old recipe books. If your mum is like mine, chances are she’s already highlighted the best recipes and can probably give you some tips so that you get the best result every time!

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Keep a stock of basic ingredients. Ingredients such as sugar, flour and butter are used in most recipes. I like to keep these ingredients on hand so that when I feel like baking, I don’t have to spend a considerable amount of money all at once. I just buy the few ingredients I need to complement the basics.

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Involve your friends. Whether you bake with them or simply share the end result with them. Baking is always better with friends!

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If in doubt about what to bake, bake a slice. Slices are usually simple, cost-effective and easy to serve. Also, you only have to buy one baking tray to use for a variety of recipes..

LAUREN’S CHOCOLATE CHIP SLICE “I think my favourite recipe would have to be my mum’s chocolate chip slice. This recipe is very quick and easy, its cost-effective because it uses few ingredients, results in little washing up, makes the kitchen smell amazing, and, most importantly, is delicious!” – Lauren Ingredients 1 cup self-raising flour ½ cup desiccated coconut ½ cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 125g butter, melted 395g can of condensed milk 250g milk chocolate chips Icing sugar, to decorate Method 1.Combine flour, coconut, sugar, cocoa powder, butter, condensed milk and half the choc chips and mix well. 2.Pour mixture into a greased slice tray. Spread the remaining choc chips over the top and gently press them into the slice. 3.Bake at 180°C for 30mins. Allow to cool in pan. 4.Cut into squares and decorate with sifted icing sugar.

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RUTH’S BROOKIES “They’re cookies, they’re brownies - they’re brookies! Whatever you want to call them they’re good. Super easy, something a bit different and delicious!” – Ruth Ingredients 175g plain flour 1¼ teaspoons of baking powder A pinch of salt 75g butter (softened) 225g of light brown sugar 1 ½ eggs ½ teaspoon vanilla essence 125g of chocolate chips (This recipe can also be customised with butterscotch chips, adding cocoa powder, M&Ms, nuts, shredded coconut or topped with salted caramel drizzle etc.) Method 1.Weigh flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. 2.Stir brown sugar into butter in another large bowl until the butter disappears.You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together. 3.Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg. 4.Add vanilla essence and chocolate chips. Mix well. 5.Add dry flour mixture slowly and stir until well combined. 6.Grease a baking tray with non-stick spray. 7.Spread batter evenly into dish and bake at 180˚C for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. (Make sure you don’t over bake and remember if you are sticking a knife in to check it’s done it won’t be totally clean because of all the chocolate chips!!) 8.Enjoy!

SO CALLED SUPERFOODS MAY NOT BE SO SUPER AFTER ALL BY JAMES LIDSEY

I would like to offer you two options. First I would like to offer you a berry, which is small, red and grown in remote areas of Tibet and Mongolia. They have been eaten by locals for almost 2000 years for their delicious taste and powerful nutritional properties. This berry is handpicked, dried from the natural rays of the sun and packaged with organic labels for you to consume from your local health food store. Your second option is another type of berry grown in large plantations totaling around 200,000 acres of tightly packed fruit trees. They are constantly sprayed with ample pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers, for maximum growth and harvest. These plantations are then mass harvested and mechanically dehydrated before they’re factory packaged and sent off in bulk to thousands of western health food stores for you, the consumer, to buy. Funnily enough both berries are the popular superfood the Goji berry and that is a short example of the power that advertising has. The term superfood is easily one of the most popular terms used in the western world’s health food industry at the moment. I’m sure you’ve heard about the magical chia seed, the miraculous kale, or the marvelous goji berry. Now, before I go any further with this, I want to set some things straight: I’m not denying that these foods are good for you or trying to patronise anyone who enjoys superfoods. I’m simply providing an explanation as to why they have become so popular and maybe why they shouldn’t be held so highly.

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The food industry of the western world are advertising kings; when a product decreases in sales, it is quickly replaced with something new and improved. Health food stores and companies are no exception. The term superfood appeared out of nowhere during the 1990’s and soon found its way to the arms of large corporations trying to increase their yearly profits. From this point onwards a multitude of products were deemed to be superfoods. The popularity of superfoods became so intense so quickly, that the European Union in June 2007 announced a ban on all products claiming to be superfoods without proper reliable scientific evidence. If I was to advertise to you that my product was organic, healthy, ‘antioxidant rich’ or claim that it ‘detoxes your body’, you would be more likely to buy it before conducting any research. If you did so, you would find that most of the time these products are actually grown much like the vast majority of agriculturally produced foods. The idea that super foods are so packed with nutrients that there are no other options is easily debunked. For example, goji berries are said to have a number of amazing characteristics including high antioxidants. This is in fact true, but it is also true that the majority of other berries are high in antioxidants as well as being less than half the price to buy. Kale is another example of a superfood that is not alone, advertised with high levels of vitamins as well as fibre, calcium and other minerals, you’d think

that it is miles in front of any other produce available; alas most dark leafy green vegetables, including everything from spinach to broccoli are high in all these same vitamins and minerals.

for superfood studies across journals and the internet you’d be lucky to find one that isn’t funded by the very same companies selling the product.

The entire concept behind superfoods is just a massive cash cow for health food companies, and it’s reached the point where the term ‘superfood’ is only really used by these companies and not by scientists studying the products. The fact that many similar fruits and vegetables have the same nutrients and sell for half the price should have tipped you off… but wait, there’s more.

Legitimate research into the validity of super foods undertaken by a number of universities and non-profit organisations can be found in a study conducted by the University of Basal in Switzerland in 2010 that examined the effectiveness of goji berries. They found “No scientific evidences to sustain the claims made for Goji juice as a ‘cure-all’ or a miraculous drink for well-being and longevity”. The Journal of Nutrition Research also released a study in 2009 titled ‘Chia seed does not promote weight loss or alter disease risk factors in overweight adults’. This revealed similar results.

Ever heard of the endless claims that superfoods can help you lose weight, fight depression and fatigue, help develop every organ in your body and even extend your life!? Well sorry to be the bringer of bad news but the large majority of these claims turn out to be completely illegitimate with poor quality research supporting it. If a company places a product on the market and claims that I will cure cancer or help with weight loss, you’d expect a certain amount of skepticism. But again superfoods somehow move past these doubts with the help of endorsements from celebrities and powerful companies such as Oprah and Whole Foods Market Inc. Who somehow are able to blatantly lie about their so called ‘research’. Scientific studies into nutrition and similar areas, require extensive amounts of data, conducted with large samples of people. This ensures the research is more reliable. If you search

As the world has become more efficient and technologically advanced, the general public have become quite impatient with a number of aspects of our life. This is why you see so many products and diets across the media claiming to be the quick fix in terms of weight loss and overall health. I’m not saying that health food companies suggest this but they do push many of their products to the line between ‘a healthy food’ and ‘a disease curing superfood’. Overall though I hope after reading this you can take the initiative to research the claims made about a so called ‘superfood’ to see if it really does benefit you or if it’s really just layers and layers of clever advertisement and bogus research.

ILLUSTRATION: STEPHANIE KINSLER

PERFORMANCE ARTIST BEC HURD

ARTS & CULTURE

ARTIST PROFILE: BEC HURD BY CHLOE HIGGINS @Chlo_Higgs

One night in March 2014, four girls gather at Bec Hurd’s house in Wollongong. Arriving in jeans, shirts and flats they spend nearly two hours covering their faces in foundation, mascara, blush and eyeliner before changing into tight dresses and strappy heels. While this might seem like a snapshot of a normal weekend for many young women, something much deeper is actually going on. Bec is a producer, consultant, technician and UOW performance student. She has designed, shot and edited video works, acted as a stage manager, actress and director, and wrote an adapted script (Hamlet: A History). Her true love, however, is performance making. And performance making is very different from acting, she says. Acting, Bec says, is text-based. “You have a text or a script and you read it, take it away, interpret it and then take your interpretation of that text and embody it on stage.” Performance making, however, is not. “You’re not just looking at text.You’re looking at images, you’re looking at space and time and it’s kind of a broader, different set of skills because you’re making a performance rather than interpreting someone’s writing.” Taking performance out of the theatre is an equally important aspect of what she does. “Theatre is, for me, a problematic term because theatre suggests you walk into a space, you sit down on a seat and you watch something in front of you,” she says. Instead, her work is increasingly being displayed in places outside conventional performances spaces—galleries, streets, hallways—where the audience are not merely passive observers, but become an aspect of the work that the performances respond to. Bec’s performance making is based on ‘social experiments’. She starts with an idea she wants to explore and then narrows the area down. “As a woman, I am not happy with how women are

treated. So I looked at the statistics and research from a lot of scientists, a lot of psychologists,” she says, referring to the leadup to their night out. As they leave the house, the girls continue their conversations about which bars they will visit and what role they will take on. They will visit Café on Legs (although never go inside), Industry, The Illawarra and the local kebab shop. During their night out, Hollie-Sheree Blake will play a caricature of silliness, Isabella Jacobs will be the dance-obsessed party girl and Laryssa Sutherton will be reluctantly dragged along. Bec will be the designated driver and observer, taking mental notes on everything that happens. “Specifically, [I wanted to explore the idea] that women are expected to look hot all the time,” Bec says. She then invited several actresses to dress up, take on a specific role, and clubhop around Wollongong to see how men react to each of them. “Once we run a series of experiments and research I look at it and I go ok, where are the gaps? What is my question? What do I really want to address?” Bec explains. She will then use this research to create a piece of performance work. Despite such a relatively unusual approach to producing performance, the story of how she was first drawn to the art form is one echoed by many actresses. “My grandfather took me to plays. Gilbert and Sullivan’s every year … a Shakespeare every year, and the big musicals. I used to sit in the audience and look up at the stage and think I want to be there, I want to be on the stage,” she says. But the divergence from acting to performance making didn’t come until much later, when Bec was in her final year of high school. “I saw Ostermeier’s Hamlet… and for me it was a huge shift,” she says. “It was no longer about the words, it was about the images. People eating dirt. People smashing beer cans, people throwing food. Huge projections… on this giant screen,” she says.

ARTIST PROFILE

“

Young women stagger along, high heels and tight pants and made-up faces smiling as they snake quickly between the boys’ bodies.

“

Back on that hot March evening, the streets of Wollongong are full.Young men dressed in tight fitting jeans and button up shirts line the footpaths, spilling out onto the curbs, only to be shoved back up when a taxi pulls into the curb.Young women stagger along, high heels and tight pants and made-up faces smiling as they snake quickly between the boys’ bodies. The research begins outside the first bar, The Illawarra. As they enter, they observe the people inside. Bec watches “drunkards falling over and… women grinding up on guys”. As the girls stand back and watch for a while, Bec observes a pattern. Guys, usually in small groups, move around the women, circling them, like sharks, checking out who they think is the easiest. When asked why she creates such extravagant experiments, a strong desire to engage with both science and social issues comes through. “Critical thought, and science and research are really important to my practice,” she says. “I don’t want to create a response to something without at least attempting to fully understand it. And throughout that attempt you come up with a series of research questions.” “I love the structure of hypothesis, experiment, conclusion, results. And… I like to tear apart what I’m experiencing. If I go to a bar and someone hits on me, what is that? How do I feel about that?” Bec says.

you can barely talk in this place. He begins shouting at the second woman to be heard above the music, his head turned away from Bec’s cast member. At the same time, his body still faces Isabella’s, pulsing, gyrating in time to the music, still trying to dance with her. Bec’s work is ingrained in the social fabric around her. “I see art in a very broad sense as a communicator. I struggle with art for art’s sake or just for an aesthetic. For me the world is interesting and the issues we experience everyday are interesting. I have got to a point in my life where I can no longer just sit back and let the world go on around me.” “There are a few issues I feel passionate about, feminism being one of them, so I guess my practice is really interested in how can we effectively communicate social issues and maybe social solutions to an audience?” she says. “My whole practice is constantly being reformed - how do we communicate?” Ready to leave The Illawarra to grab some kebabs before deciding on their next move, Bec lines up at the bar to find some water for her cast. Suddenly she feels a hand push onto her hip, moving lower and acting much too familiar. Surprised due to the lack of attention she’s received all night, she turns to see who it is. Following the crane of her neck, her body turns and the hand frantically slips away and onto the crotch of the girl next to her.

Later in the night, during the girls’ bar tramp around Wollongong, a man gets ready to approach one of Bec’s cast members, Isabella. Around him, a remix of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’ (it’s retro night) is blaring through the speakers, the bar hidden behind a three-person-thick line. The floor is sticky with spilt Vodka, Tooheys and Coke and the air is drenched in sweat, cigarette smoke and bad breath. The man continues to approach her, slowly edging up, eventually bringing his body close enough to dance.

Bec attempts to look into the man’s eyes but the pair have already locked lips, hands groping at sticky skin underneath their clothing, and too drunk to realise the people they’re bumping into. Continuing towards the bar, Bec continues to cop the occasional misplaced hand. She notes how she would have usually been annoyed, but after analysing the whole event, cannot help but laugh hysterically while pointing the couple out to the rest of the cast. It’s exactly what they came for.

As he’s performing this ritual, another woman walks through the crowd. He begins dancing behind Isabella just as a second woman opens a conversation with him. As he begins to engage in the conversation, Bec laughs to herself. The music is so loud

Bec is currently working on a project involving video games and needs several gamers to play and discuss their favourites. Please email her at b.hurd.now@gmail.com if you’re interested.You can view her work at www.rebeccahurd.com.au

ARTIST PROFILE

CAFE REVIEW: HOP INTO THE WHITE RABBIT BY JAKE CUPITT @JakeCupitt

Just a stones throw from Gipps road on 2/50 Grey Street lies The White Rabbit. Arriving just after its seven am opening, I find a seat outside in the crisp morning air. Sunshine falls from the sky as I bask in the relaxed atmosphere of this quiet little spot.

There’s a huge selection of food on the menu too.You can pick from a selection of classic breakfasts or something special on their current and reasonably priced autumn menu. The waiter’s choice of the day was Eggs Benne bacon style with creamy Hollandaise.

As I sit in the morning sun, sipping on the smoothest coffee I’ve tasted in a long time, I wonder why this place isn’t a hot spot. It comes to me that it has to be a hot spot in the making. The White Rabbit is not very well known about yet, which is certainly no fault of its own.

Ahhh, bacon style, this man was after my heart. I decided on something more traditional; poached eggs on toast with crispy bacon and maple syrup. Why maple syrup you ask? If you have to ask, you haven’t tried it.

Having recently opened its doors it has had little publicity and is slowly growing a base of loyal customers. But like a train pulling out of the station, the quaint café is definitely generating momentum. When you decide to venture out from your usual Sunday brekky place what’s the first thing you hope will be worth your change in habit? The coffee! And I can tell you now that The White Rabbit is worth it. In no time at all, three flat whites were placed on the table in front of us and were gone in about four minutes. Maybe that’s their plan: get you hooked on the delicious coffee, and then lure you in so you want another with your poached eggs. Of course I gave in!

The customer service was excellent. Our waiter was so attentive he even picked up on my request for ‘crispy’ bacon. Attention to detail truly sets The White Rabbit apart from any café I’ve been to lately. Adding a personal touch, the chef himself cleared our plates. When he asked how the food was, I simply couldn’t speak. The onset of a heavy food coma had already begun. After I’d finished, there wasn’t much that could be said that hadn’t already been mumbled through mouthfuls of food during the meal. Visiting The White Rabbit this morning was definitely the right choice. So if you find yourself in the lazy morning streets of Keiraville any day of the week, and in need of a great coffee and meal, come down to 2/50 Grey Street. Support this up and coming hot spot and hop into The White Rabbit. If you need to book a reservation call 0401549094. I can guarantee it’s a decision you won’t regret.

CAFE REVIEW

FILM REVIEW: NEED FOR SPEED BY BEN KOHLER

RATING: 7/10

Need for Speed (directed by Scott Waugh) will keep car movie fans happy until Fast and Furious 7 comes out. The film however, is pretty cool in its own right. Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul, AKA Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad) plays a street racer who runs his late father’s auto shop. Famous racer and Marshall’s old rival Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), arrives one day to get him to fix a Ford Shelby Mustang. Shelby himself was working on it before he died and when it’s finished, will be the highest-performing Shelby Mustang in the world. Brewster later gets a friend of Marshall’s killed in a race. Marshall gets the blame and is sent to prison for two years. Upon getting out, he plans to get revenge and borrows the Mustang from the wealthy man who bought it. A condition of his borrowing it however, is that Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots), a young British woman who hooks up the wealthy with highend performance cars, must go with him across the country to the race Marshall plans to compete in. Many critics reviewed the film negatively, but many of these criticisms seem to me to be wrongheaded. If you watch the film expecting a heavily character driven car film like Vanishing Point, you will be fairly disappointed.

FILM REVIEW

However it manages to offer what movies like The Fast and Furious do not, with quite developed, interesting characters that are actually distinguishable from each other. The performances of Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots are fantastic and the pair have great on-screen chemistry (a chemistry Bryan Cranston would of course want us to respect!). The plot is a bit slow to develop and as the film continues it seems to fall in importance. But with a car movie based on a video game where only the most recent instalments have any semblance of a narrative, how important is the plot really? What we want out of these movies primarily is cool action and awesome car races, and Need for Speed definitely delivers here. The film’s directing and cinematography are done well, especially compared to the Fast and Furious instalments. The Fast films have become very formulaic and have obviously totally embraced their own absurdity; although the action sequences are more entertaining because of this. Need for Speed offers more skilfully crafted action and gives the viewer some very memorable awesome stunts and sequences. Need for Speed is by far one of the best video game movies made thus far. Its characters are entertaining enough but do not interrupt what we really want out of it, awesome car stuff! It is a fun movie to watch if not taken too seriously and is a must-see for Breaking Bad fans and lovers of car cinema.

GIG REVIEW: MITCH & MIKE GORDON BY CALLUM DOWNES @penniless www.pennilessblog.com

MITCH & MIKE GORDON LAUNCH THEIR EP AT THE HOWLIN’ WOLF

Set like manikin dolls behind the shopfront window of the Howlin’ Wolf, the bow-tied duo hoisted their acoustic guitars beneath the admiring gaze of a young Elvis hanging in a photo frame on the wall. The rowdy window shoppers, shuffled in the door for a groovin’ night to the unique sounds of Mitch & Mike Gordon’s latest EP. Crammed in amongst a maze of lounges, stools and wine barrels, the audience were duly treated to a feast of musical excellence, kicked off by the EP’s funk filled opening track, “Biochemistry”. Driven by unusual, jazz inspired chord progressions, the energetic rendition had the crowd up on their feet in an instant, reacting to the smooth vocals and feel-good guitar hooks. The stage was now set for the two brothers to display their renowned combination of harmonies, rhythms and guitar solos that please the soul. It’s a recipe that their fans have come to cherish during the Howlin’ Wolf ’s infamous open mic nights, where Mitch & Mike have become the backbone of the resident band that take to the stage every Thursday night. Their performance tonight raised that bar ever higher, as lead vocalist Mike showed incredibly skilful melodies, perfectly

complimenting the flicker of candlelight. After a few of their fun-loving, seductive tunes, the pair gave their heartfelt performance of ‘Requiem For An Angel II’. Silhouetted against the lights of a projection screen, displaying a beautiful collection of family photographs (in tribute to their late Mother), the pair captivated the hearts and minds of onlookers, fighting tears throughout their performance. Afterwards the boys brightened things up again with a banging take on some Justin Timberlake tunes. Most of the crowd screaming along at the top of their lungs, reminiscing over awkward high school discos... Minus the sloppy hook-ups and condemning parental supervision. The crowd demanded an encore and the boys eventually gave in. They busted out a selection of Michael Jackson and other pop classics, much to the delight of the audience, who almost took over the stage with their mediocre impressions of the moon walk. With the added blessing of a free drink with the purchase of their EP, Mitch & Mike’s show will surely go down in the Howlin’ Wolf history books. Check out “Mitch and Mike Gordon” on Facebook for tour dates and download their brand new EP on ITunes if you like what you hear https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/mitch-and-mikegordon-ep/id830379987

GIG REVIEW

COOK ‘TILL GOLDEN BY HAYLEY SCRIVENOR

As I pull ingredients from the nondescript white plastic shopping bags—shamefully I have forgotten the green bags again—that crowd our kitchen’s tiny bench top, I imagine myself transported to medieval Europe. Clad in furs, a single ruby-encrusted amulet hanging around my neck, I gently assemble the ingredients I will need in my attempt to forge a noble meal from common, everyday items. Today I begin with a large Kent pumpkin; a slab of ricotta in a plastic container, tenderly packaged an hour ago by a lady in the deli with a white line where her wedding ring used to be; a pungent wedge of parmesan; a bag of white flour; a gorgonzola, flecks of blue mould showing in the window in the black packaging. All this will soon be transformed from its individual elements into a composite much more than the sum of its parts. As I put the cold ingredients in the fridge I note with satisfaction we already have cream in the fridge. The two minutes spent dithering in front of the dairy section before deciding we definitely had some were not wasted. I cut the large pumpkin into three pieces. Cutting the skin from the flesh I feel the waxy, drying secretion, which brings to mind how an unripe banana makes the inside of your mouth feel. I can never get it off my hands. The supermarket sells pre-cut pumpkin, but I can’t bring myself to justify the cost. Maybe if I wore rubber gloves it would be better? Or is that a waste of a pair of gloves? Who cuts up the pumpkin if I don’t do it? Has technology advanced to the point where a machine can take a pumpkin and cut off only the excess skin? What does that technology cost compared to a pair of hands, I wonder? These questions pass the time until my least favourite task of pumpkin cutting is over. I pull out the ricotta, parmesan, blue cheese and cream from the fridge. One of the housemates has been into the cream. I should have bought more after all. I weigh the container in my palm, deciding there should be just enough for my needs. I take the pan from where we store it in the oven, remembering for once to turn the oven on so it can preheat. I throw the pumpkin onto a blackened tray—hundreds of incomplete cleanings have left it charred, so it’s hard to know where the tray begins and the marks of cooking end. I splash in oil from a large tin we keep under the sink. The Spanish dancing lady, frozen mid-step, watches passively as I strew rosemary and salt. I place the pumpkin and turn the pieces with my fingers, making sure they all get a slick coating of oil. A little more salt, and the tray goes back into the oven. I rub my hands together. The oil and salt make them feel soft and go some way to removing the sticky, drying liquid left over from the pumpkin. I rinse my hands and pull out the largest glass bowl from the cupboard. I mix the remaining ingredients to make dough for

the gnocchi. The ricotta is cold and makes my fingers ache. I add flour in inexact amounts, in flagrant disregard for an alchemist’s exacting methods, my hands covering everything I touch in sticky dough. Lastly, I add parmesan and salt; they give the gnocchi a salty kick you can taste through all that cheese and cream. Nutmeg, my secret ingredient, goes in last. Once the dough is done I throw it back in the fridge, in a ball ready to be divided into gnocchi. If it were a movie, we would be shown a clock ticking over an hour in thirty seconds while I look on expectantly. Instead, I potter around the house—pay an electricity bill and waste the rest of the time on YouTube—until the ancient buzzer on the oven announces shrilly that the pumpkin is done. I put a pot of water on to boil and salt it well. Taking the gnocchi dough and rolling it into uniform sausages the length of the chopping board is a job I enjoy. When they are all done, I have six rolls of dough ready to be cut into even little parcels. I press them gently with a fork—they are going to be smothered in cream and pumpkin anyway—but they taste better when there is an identical groove in each one. I cook them in batches, placing them in a solid glass tray that refracts the overhead light into its own Saturn-like ring on the bench top until the gnocchi piles high enough to block any light escaping. I add the roasted pumpkin, pour over cream and crumble the blue cheese on top. I cover it with foil and put it back in for twenty minutes. The smell draws my housemates from their rooms and we open a bottle of 2010 Glauber Riesling. We talk about our day and lean against the kitchen cabinets. I take the foil off for the last five minutes. The oven’s shrill buzzer announces itself and there is a bustle of activity as we clear the battered dining table and place chipped plates and mismatched cutlery. The glass tray gives a clear view of my creation, golden and bubbling. There is a brief pause as ladlefuls of gnocchi and cheese and cream are assigned to individual plates. I notice the five of us are arranged in an uneven star around the table. Too quickly, the food is gone. All the plants and animals and people who came together to make this everyday miracle are barely thought of before the food is in our bellies. No one cares about the newly single woman who packaged my ricotta for me. They can’t even imagine her. The food is gone and our troubles are gone. Maybe it’s just the wine, but I feel warm and full and in love with the world. The housemate across from me sighs with pleasure as she rubs her belly. The housemate to my right smiles at me as he uses his finger to get the last smear of sauce from his plate. He closes his eyes, an expression of ecstasy on his face as he places the finger in his mouth. “Magic!” he says. I smile. This alchemist’s work is done for the evening.

CREATIVE WRITING

ILLUSTRATIONS: MILO KELLY

AND IT’S NOT REALLY ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS ANYWAY IS IT? BY DONNA WATERS

It’s a dark night even though all the street lights are working. The green fluorescence from the pub’s sign loiters on the footpath. It signals the smell of stale cigarette and beer-soaked carpet. The footpath, which begins at the traffic lights and ends just around the corner, is clean tonight. Usually the sound of the races or the pokies can be heard through the long open window that overlooks the street, but tonight is country and western night. Johnny Cash sings about a boy named Sue, but not loud enough to drown out the drinkers’ voices. They seem happy. You notice her sitting on the step. The stairs to the Sports Bar are just past the long window where a fellow flicks his ash out onto the footpath. She’s young. The lemonade is in a Reschs schooner

glass beside her, in danger of being kicked down the stairs. She’s twirling her hair and pulling it. If you look close enough there is a bald spot on the crown of her head where she has been twirling and pulling. She’s wearing socks with Jesus sandals and is reading The Wishing Chair.You notice the title when she puts the book down on the step to sip more lemonade. Maybe she would prefer a milkshake but the milk bar is closed now. She blows bubbles into the drink before trying to lift out each piece of ice. It isn’t easy with the straw. Someone has changed the music to Willie Nelson. Or Kenny Rogers. The Sports Bar door opens and the lemonade is smashed all over the footpath.You can’t tell if it was deliberate. As a man and woman go down the stairs, the woman holds herself up against the wall and vomits. The man turns and signals to the girl to come too. Hurry up. The three of them are inching their way along the footpath, heading towards the traffic lights. The man swears at the woman, almost in time with Kenny Rogers. The girl is watchful. The traffic lights are still red and the night is getting darker. But they are walking into it anyway. You notice the book lying on the step. It has managed to stay dry. A fleeting thought, but you think perhaps you should pick this up and run after the girl to see if she’s alright.You ought to give her her book back because she seemed like a good reader and she mightn’t have a lot of books at home and this might be her favourite one. It’s getting very dark now and it’s not likely to be here if they come back for it. But they’re gone. And your bus is here and you see your friend looking for you from the inside. Thank Christ it’s an express bus.

CREATIVE WRITING

JETLAG BY JAKE GOETZ taste beer snot blood early Morning/ton Peninsula broccoli trees wind cars listen Neil Young bogan burnout spit blood tea too hot taste beer backyard durry roll hills hoist sun rubs clouds palms spit blood put down durry sip tea six forty six magpie gawk no sleep Ibis (one) Crows (three) wind cars smell lavender blue sky now early beauty surfboard Body Abuse Collage

THOUGHT-DREAM BY JAKE GOETZ Ear piercing four seasons at one time Being altering in a shade of no ending No beginning a burst of neon yellow Slow opening of language fixed to nothing Life failing to be and be more and be more convincing and how like words it just s p r e a d out: a thought like a dream of a thought

POEMS

DELUSIONS BY JAKE GOETZ

for Nichola

a driven cloud lights up think fireworks hazed in permanence a hangover that gapes at you like a tunnel on an early South Coast train the way a day without you knowing gets to know you & if telling people always what they want to hear theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never know what they wanted to say but today is a t-shirt designed just for you & the world says burrow in animal fantasy blankets, a trip or just forget like a working-class movie night extravaganza

SHE BURIED HER IN HER COURTYARD BY CHLOE HIGGINS coral-pink / new child / burning poison / Lucy ice / a spoon a candle to light / the way she was curled up / small eyes closed / she squeezed her belly / scooped out fleshy matter gone / within snug crimson / dome of secret insides this Neverland where / she sucked on ice

POEMS

GIG GUIDE THANKS TO ALEXANDRA SMITH

JUNE Thursday 5th B LUEB ER R Y CIRCUIT, SHEERKHA N, JOE MUNGO VAN The Brewery Thursday 5th END O F S ESSION PA RTY FEA T. THE HO LI DAYS / / STEP-PA NTHER // DJ COMP F I NAL Wollongong UniBar, Tickets $7 Student, $15 Non-Student Friday 6th THE AUD REYS Bulli Heritage Hotel, Tickets $25 Friday 6th THE B EAR DS + FRA NKY WA LNUT Wollongong UniBar, Tickets $25 Saturday 7th B O YEUR / / GOG A RTY // WITHOUT PARAC HUTES RAD, Tickets Presale: $5+bf, Door: $10 Sunday 8th S TI LLWATER HA ZE BA CKYA RD SESSIONS: ASHL EI GH M A N NIX & JUSTIN CA RTER Tickets $10, (address announced day before the show) Thursday 12th LI TTLE B ASTA RD RAD, Tickets Presale: $10+bf, Door: $12 Friday 13th WAGO NS RAD, Tickets Presale: $20+bf, Door: $25 Friday 13th S TR AIGHT ARROWS // TV COLOURS // THE PI NHEAD S Wombarra Bowling Club, Tickets Presale: $10 +bf, Door: $12

GIG GUIDE

Saturday 14th TIN SPARROW RAD, Tickets Presale: $10 +bf, Door: $15 Saturday 14th SAFIA // AKOUO // SUPPORTS TBA RAD, Tickets Presale: $10 +bf, Door: $15 Thursday 19th EMMA RUSSACK RAD, Tickets TBA (check Rad or Yours & Owls website) Friday 20th RÜFÜS ‘WORLDS WITHIN WORLDS TOUR’ // SPECIAL GUESTS HAY DEN JAMES + CROOKED COLOURS Waves, Tickets $30+bf Saturday 21st REVELLERS ‘YOUR ROUN D’ TOUR Dicey Riley’s Hotel, Tickets $10 Thursday 26th THE CAIROS & NOVA HEART Bulli Heritage Hotel, Tickets $15 Thursday 26th NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE RAD, Tickets Presale: $12+bf, Door: $15 Friday 27th NEW EMPIRE Bulli Heritage Hotel, Tickets $17 Saturday 28th BENJALU Bulli Heritage Hotel, Tickets $10 Saturday 28th CHET FAKER ‘BUILT ON GLASS’ TOUR Anita’s Theatre, Tickets $38.50 Saturday 28th GRAVEYARD TRAIN RAD, Tickets Presale: $22+bf, Door: $28