Chefs should stick to chefing.  This galoot knows nothing about his subject.  We will NOT run short of food

The world population is NOT growing so he falls at the first hurdle.  The population of the Western world is SHRINKING.  Africa has a lot of babies that it cannot feed so they choose to limit their population by starvation.  But that is their way and has no impact on us.

And our chef knows nothing about agricultural economics.  Most agricultural crops are in GLUT and likly to stay that way. And there is no shortage of land for farming expansion if food does become less available.  See here for instance

And meat in the diet has become steadily more available over the years and that should continue.  A lot of cattle are fed in feedlots already and it would be pretty simple to expand that.  Using surplus crops for feed would enable that


The days of sitting down and tucking in to a giant steak are on the way out, MasterChef judge Matt Preston says.

Mr Preston believes the plates of the future will be mainly plant-based, with small amounts of protein, mostly plankton and insects.

His comments come as a large chunk of Australia is in drought, including all of New South Wales

It has led to a national discussion on what food will be eaten in the future and where it will come from.

Mr Preston shared his thoughts at an Ikea Democratic Design Days Future Food forum in Sydney on Wednesday, where he was part of a panel of speakers.

'Seafood, plants - they're really the future. I think the days of eating a giant steak are on the way out,' he said.

Mr Preston said there was already an international restaurant which had put a plankton risotto dish on the menu and it is 'delicious, absolutely delicious'.

'Plankton, insects, they're the protein source we should be using because they thrive here,' he said.

'We're starting to see a big move towards a plant-based cuisine, that's right around the world.'

He said meat will still feature on household menus, albeit on a small scale.  Instead of eating 500g of meat, people will start to have more smaller, better quality portions, about 100g. 'Eating less meat but better is something we're moving towards,' he said.  

Mr Preston acknowledged it will still be some time before insects become a common meal in Australian homes but it should eventually happen.   

'I think insects provide a solution but we have to accept the solution that they provide, that's probably the way,' he later told Daily Mail Australia.


SOURCE 






Christians are turning to home-schooling amid a massive rise in religious bullying – with some kids targeted for opposing same-sex marriage

Families with deeply religious values are resorting to home schooling their children more frequently, as schools report an increase in religious bullying.

Disgruntled parents cited incidents in which their children were taunted and targeted for opposing same-sex marriage.

New figures reveal the number of pupils being educated by their parents has soared 50 per cent in just four years to 4,479, The Saturday Telegraph reported.

A shift in school values, showing a more general hostility toward Christian and Islamic ideals and beliefs are allegedly at the root of the problem, according to Accelerate Christian Home Schooling co-ordinator Stuart Chapman.

'In our celebration of a diversity, Christians are now the ones who are the target of bullying and in the minority,' he said.

'[Parents are] feeling their children are being targeted because they believe in the traditional family.'

He said in one case students who opposed same sex marriage were forced to stand at the back of their classrooms.

After the vote in favour of same-sex marriage, Mr Chapman and the families of students who are suffering fear the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction, resulting in a need to pull children from school to avoid nasty attacks.

With religious schooling considered a luxury some families can't afford, home schooling as a more convenient and price-conscious option may also have contributed to the 50 per cent rise.

A spokesperson from the New South Wales Department of Education said a parent's decision should be respected when it comes to home schooling children. 

Geoff Brailey, a McCrindle Social Researcher, said the challenges the religion as a whole is currently facing is a multifaceted concern. 'I think there is a lot of challenges the Christian religion has faced, ranging from the royal commission through to some responses from the same-sex marriage plebiscite.' 

SOURCE 






How Scientific Groupthink Has Slogged The Climate ‘Debate’

Comment from Australia

Groupthink among climate scientists — ‘the science is settled’ brigade — has constrained public debate, which was to be expected. You see, believers are predominantly devoted to promoting ‘solutions’ and that, rather than open-minded inquiry, which is the warmists’ objective.

Someone among my group of “climate change is real” mates sent me and others a series of those heat-stripe charts from dark blue (cold) to dark red (hot) for various places and showing that it had grown hotter over the past 100 to 200 years or so.

The earliest was from central England and dated from 1772. Climate Lab Book is the source for these charts if you want to look them up.

One wag responded that these charts made it easier for people who couldn’t read graphs. Uneducated Deplorables presumably.

I can read graphs despite my membership of the Deplorables. As can most, if not all, of those skeptical of the alarmist hypothesis.

I responded in a reasoned and diplomatic way that those who thought the charts showed anything of interest or significance were halfwits.

Or, I may have said that they had only half a brain. I’d had a glass or two of wine at the time. But leaving this particular way of expressing myself aside, what is my point?

My point is that we are in an interglacial period (thankfully) and, to boot, we are coming off a Maunder Minimum (low-sunspot activity) dated around 1645 to 1715.

This is otherwise referred to as the Little Ice Age. Thus, there is no dispute that the Earth has gradually — though not evenly — warmed since then. To point this out as though it were profound is profoundly irritating to those with a full quota of wits.

I thought it might be instructive to employ what in the business world is called facilitation.

You break an issue down; and then, by approaching it from the least- to the most-contentious parts, you try to forge a consensus among people in a room.

A consensus is infeasible when comes to climate. But a process of breaking down the climate change hypothesis into parts might put the debate on a more intelligent footing and, perhaps, deter people from broadcasting banal heat charts.

It’s a simplified breakdown. I want a degree of license on that matter. Only the first three of the six parts listed below would find unanimity among true believers and skeptics.

The Earth has warmed since the industrial revolution.

The warming since circa 1975 (based on land, sea and, since 1979, on satellites) has been at a considerably faster pace on average than in the period from 1850 to 1975. (Only since 1850 has there been a land and sea global temperature series (HADCRUT) based on thermometer readings.)

CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from around 280ppm pre-industrialization to around 400ppm now.

The increase in CO2 is mainly due to industrial emissions
The more rapid increase in temperature since 1975 is predominantly due to increased CO2 emissions.

Further increases in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 risks runaway warming accompanied by more violent and frequent adverse weather events and by flooding sea-level rise.

You might ask why this breakdown is useful. Only in making the debate more intelligible is my claim. Let the debate begin at number four above. Put the first three away into the consensus bank.

When it comes number four, some scientists among skeptics would agree. Others might differ. One skeptic colorfully described mankind’s emissions as a “fart in the wind.”

In other words, he thought natural processes primarily accounted for the rise in CO2. I have no idea.

When it comes to number five there is a theory. CO2 is a mild greenhouse gas but it encourages other effects. Principally, the creation of water vapor, I understand, which has a multiplying warming effect.

Some scientists among skeptics suggest that negative feedback effects (e.g. cloud cover reflecting back the Sun’s rays) will mitigate warming.

Some suggest that CO2 is a sideshow and that other natural forces are at work. See, for example, Kininmonth in QOL 27 August. I have no idea.

When it comes to number six a combination of statistical models and speculation underscore the predictions. Here I have a tentative view.

Models are very bad at mirroring dynamic complex natural systems. They’re best taken with a grain of salt. But, on the whole, as you can see, I don’t think I am in any position to judge the science.

Ditto for all, all, of us outside of the scientific fraternity. At the same time, all of us are in a position to judge the process. The process has been appalling in my view.

Groupthink among climate scientists (the ‘the science is settled’ brigade) has constrained public debate. The use of the term “denier” says it all.

Carrots in the form of research grants and sticks in the form of shunnings and sackings have silenced academic skeptics.

Corporate carpetbaggers, who know squat about the science, have sleazed into the picture grabbing billions of taxpayer dollars to install costly and intermittent power sources.

Virtue-signaling politicians, equally ignorant, have jumped onto the bandwagon. It is a dream come true for the greens who would like to deindustrialize the planet.

And, to top it off, once you let the UN make the running, despite all evidence to the contrary, the North Pole has no summer ice left, imaginary hockey stick temperature graphs appear, and Pacific islands begin sinking under swelling seas.

Finding the truth now about the science is impossible in our lifetimes. Too much-vested interest in the current paradigm stymies genuine inquiry.

There was a possibility of some sort of forced and awkward consensus being forged on reducing CO2 emissions by using ‘clean’ coal, gas, nuclear and, yes, some solar.

But that opportunity, too, is lost. Among believers, the problem and the means of combatting it have become conflated.

My observation is that believers are predominantly “solutioneers” (Roger James, Return to Reason). The means have become the objective.

Deploying windmills and solar panels is now the principal objective. Reducing CO2 emissions has become of secondary importance. Thus, power has become much costlier and more unreliable.

And emissions? Onwards and upwards. But heck, look at those ugly soaring wind turbines and feel good about yourself.

The only answer left is in partisan politics. We need politicians and governments to arise to crash through the current paradigm. Trump is having a go. Morrison? Don’t hold your breath.

I see, as I write, that new Energy Minister Angus Taylor has forsworn his fidelity to ‘the science’. Mind you, what he says he will do about it gives a glimmer of hope. Fingers crossed.

SOURCE





Seven injured after ‘wild’ inner Melbourne brawl involving up to 200 blacks

POLICE say they are horrified by the behaviour of up to 200 individuals after a wild brawl inside a live music venue in Melbourne spilled out onto the street.

Sixeven people were injured after a car accelerated towards the crowd at top speed during the brawl in Collingwood.

“He was going at a blistering pace and he was f***ing aiming for people straight at them,” one witness told the Herald Sun.

“Everyone was screaming. I didn’t see the moment of impact but it was clear he had just one agenda to annihilate people.”

One 18-year-old man was pinned against a parked car and taken to hospital as a result, sustaining a serious leg injury.

Commander Tim Hansen from Victoria Police said the incident began inside the Gasometer Hotel and despite police being “aware of the event” and tasking resources to patrol the area, they arrived shortly after the main incident occurred and missed the major affray.

One man was hit by the car and blood and debris were scattered along the street.

“Police were called and attended shortly after … we deployed resources in search of both offenders and witnesses,” Commander Hansen said.

“Some key persons who we’re keen to speak with left the incident prior to police arrival or upon police arrival. We conducted a search of the immediate vicinity but were unable to locate any of those persons at that time due to the complexity of the environment in which we were operating in.”

The fight broke out inside the Gasometer as a large crowd of up to 200 people left the venue early Sunday morning at approximately 2.45am.

A large number of patrons then moved out onto nearby streets where fighting continued. As a result of the affray, six other men, aged between 18-21, sustained various ranges of injuries and were taken to hospital.

“It’s an affray (and) from where I’m standing, horrific behaviour,” Commander Hansen said.

ABC News reporter Yvette Gray said “neighbours say they saw dozens of young people fighting each other and jumping on cars”.

Collingwood is known as one of Melbourne’s most “hipster” neighbourhoods and is a hub for Melbourne’s music scene, with venues hosting regular punk and indie gigs.

The car struck a pedestrian, leaving the man with serious leg injuries, while five others have injuries that were described as non-life threatening. All were taken to hospital.

Police are investigating how the vehicle crashed into parked cars and hit the man.

One person, deemed a witness, is assisting police with inquiries, however from his evidence it is anticipated an arrest will occur shortly.

“It was certainly a chaotic scene when police arrived last night and there were people we certainly endeavoured to apprehend,” Commander Hansen said.

It is unclear what triggered the violence, but police believe there was some “angst” inside the music venue where an industry launch was taking place at the time.

“From there it spilled out into the street. We’re working through and trying to understand the cause of the incident.

The main offender who was the driver of the car is still on the run. “He was going at a blistering pace and he was f***ing aiming for people straight at them,” a neighbour told the Herald Sun.

“Everyone was screaming. I didn’t see the moment of impact but it was clear he had just one agenda, to annihilate people.”

Three vehicles are damaged, including the one the alleged offender used and two parked vehicles.

Police believe there may be other people who are key persons of interest.

Authorities are not confident the car attack was a deliberate act.  [Are you kidding??] “There is nothing to suggest there is any thing sinister in regard to a terror attack, there’s no link to something far more sinister. “When we get an opportunity to speak to a suspect we will put allegations to him or her.

“As I understand it was patrons versus patrons from a fight that initiated inside the premises,” Commander Hansen said.

“As I’m advised we became aware of this event yesterday afternoon. We had our operational response unit and those units were tasked to have a patrol presence around the hotel.

“We were concerned because history shows us that a demographic of the crowd we’re talking about, primarily Pacific Islanders and African Australians, we were advised because of that, because it’s an event in the CBD or immediate surrounds, it’s not uncommon for us to keep an eye on certain locations.”

The demographic of those involved in the fight were a mix of the two communities, police said.

The vehicle had not been reported as stolen and authorities have spoken with the owner.

Blood could be seen splattered across a parked car while debris from the incident was left scattered across the road.

Witness Josh Whelan told the ABC the scene was chaotic, saying he saw the car “hurtling” towards the scene at high speed. “It was screaming and smashing, it was riot noise,” he said.

SOURCE 






Political stupidity about Northern Australia

This is an old, old story and proves that politicians never learn.  To see what is wrong with it, learn from the Ord.  The basic problem is that there is a worldwide glut of agricultural products. The problem is not growing the stuff but selling it.  And the costs of production and transportation are high in remote areas, which makes profitable sales from there impossible

A CSIRO blueprint to transform Northern Australia into the "next great food bowl" would create 15,000 jobs and generate $5.3 billion annually.

Northern Australia could become a multi-billion food producing region under a CSIRO plan which the federal government is determined to bring to life.

The research has identified 370,000 hectares suitable for agricultural crops in the north, making a significant addition to the two million hectares across the country on which crops currently stand.

The CSIRO estimates agricultural development on the land would create 15,000 jobs and generate $5.3 billion annually.

Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan says the study, released on Thursday, backed a federal government push to make the region the nation's next great food bowl.

"We now need to pick that up and do the hard yards to take what is a vision, a concept, into a real-world project," Senator Canavan told reporters.

The land identified for crops is spread across three catchment areas in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Aside from boosting agricultural exports, the new crops could help farmers in the regions during droughts, Senator Canavan said.

"Wouldn't it be great right now, to have a grain-producing area, a cotton seed-producing area, in far north Queensland to help and assist our farmers in central and northern Queensland?" he said.

The federal government will work with the states and territory to fund the infrastructure needed to support the irrigation, with Senator Canavan stressing the project would be a "generational effort".

"That will take years, but let's just stick at it and do our job for the people of northern Australia."

The report also identified 710,000 hectares of coastal land for aquaculture.

The government is bracing for opposition to the plan from people based in major cities with a "building nothing anywhere" philosophy, Senator Canavan said, but will urge them to listen to the science.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the development could also be an opportunity to create jobs for some in indigenous communities.

"Our indigenous people have a deep understanding of the land and the water and this fits well with sustainable agriculture," he said in a statement.

Labor spokesman Jim Chalmers said it is more important than ever that Australia create an agricultural export industry in the north.

But he said people in the region are tired of hypothetical ideas and want to see action.

"People are sick of the talk, they're sick of the reports. They've been hearing this kind of stuff since Tony Abbott in 2013," he told Sky News.

Mr Chalmers said Labor is ready to make investments in the region should it win the next election, including a regional jobs plan.

SOURCE 

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).    For a daily critique of Leftist activities,  see DISSECTING LEFTISM.  To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup  of pro-environment but anti-Greenie  news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH .  Email me  here