If some sort of natural disaster or terrorist attack were to shut down New York City’s food supply chain, their supermarket shelves would be picked clean within three days. Australian cities are no better prepared thanks to our dependence on a globalised food system.

For the full story click here

Michael Grose was in Kyneton last week

By Andrew McKenna

‘We need small town mindsets with our kids. We need to look out for each other’s kids. Child raising needs to be shifted back to a group endeavour.’

Those words are comforting to those of us living in small towns, but also reassuring to anyone who has thought that a nuclear family is inadequate to raise children. Continue Reading »

A still from the film

By Arabella Davison
On Friday the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine hosted the screening of Labouring Under an Illusion, a documentary looking at the media’s often bizarre and sensationalised portrayal of birthing. Attended by around 60 people, including local health professionals, the event raised over $2000 in support of local private midwife Sally McCrae.

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New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that Australia’s prison system is in desperate need of a massive overhaul, according to Peter Norden AO from the University of Melbourne.

A national research report released recently by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1351.0.55.031) showed a dramatic increase in the national prison population between 1994 and 2007 of 3.7% per year, and an increase in prisoners with prior imprisonment increasing at a rate of 3.2% per year. Continue Reading »

If winter has been giving you the blues, here's the solution: go on holiday! (As if you didn't know.)

At least half of all heart attack victims are suffering from depression 12 months after hospitalisation, but a simple exercise regime can reduce the anguish, a new study by Victoria University has found.

And another researcher, Dr Sebastian Filep, says his recent study on the benefits of travel found that a holiday may be a good tonic for those suffering from depression.

For the full story go to CI’s Nature page

BPA is a chemical used in polycarbonate drinking and baby bottles.

These are the hard, light-weight plastic bottles popular in the last two decades, including the big spring water bottles delivered by services.

BPA is also in the plastic lining of food and drink cans, and there have been concerns for BPA’s safety. Canada is about to declare it toxic after banning it in babies’ bottles two years ago.

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Drugs oil the engine of sport and a war to eradicate them is unwinnable because sporting culture encourages their use, a Victoria University (VU) expert said recently.

Associate Professor Bob Stewart said there were now five international studies showing the level of recreational and performance-enhancing drug use among athletes was much higher than for non-athletes. One study of US college athletes found that 40-70 per cent binge drink, 24-30 per cent use cannabis and 10-20 per cent use other illicit drugs.

For the full story go to CI’s Sport page

By Andrew McKenna

Before the recent Federal election, the government was planning to reform our health system. Here are some incredible statistics about the shape of health in Australia, which may help explain why:

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Gen Blades. 'Who knows where consciousness raising goes?'

By Andrew McKenna

‘It’s our own inner fragmentation that we see in polluted landscapes and corrupted environments. Before we can heal the earth we need to heal ourselves.’

Gen Blades has been in town for about four weeks after moving here from Bendigo, on a circuitous route via Tibet, northern India and Queensland. She works as an outdoor educator at Bendigo’s Outdoor and Environmental Education School, and came to her interview complete with backpack, weatherproof jacket and leggings, after walking to the Theatre Royal from her home out of town. The walk took her an hour and a quarter. Continue Reading »

Lachlan Norris takes a break from the Enduro

Six hours, sausage sizzles, mountain bikes, great fun and a great community event.

On Sunday around 300 men and women in lycra and cotton assembled outside Campbell’s Creek for the Rocky Riders Enduro. For the uninitiated – and it is a niche sport – it’s a nine kilometre course for mountain bike riders, through bush, over rocks and bushes, round tough corners and up and down unbelievable terrain.

Go to CI’s Sport page for the full story

Anything that promotes eating chocolate is worth examining

Middle-aged and elderly Swedish women who regularly eat a small amount of chocolate have a lower risk of heart failure, in a study reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association. Which begs the question, what about the rest of us?

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By Andrew McKenna

“I really like believing in what I do and I can see the differences being made. I can see someone camping in the bush for the first time and see their face … there’s days when I feel frustrated, and days when I feel I’ve achieved a lot. It fits in with my personal philosophy about equity and justice and it’s a way of contributing to that.”

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Australians are increasingly seeking healthier and more fulfilling lifestyles, and the Castlemaine Health and Wellbeing Expo promises to be offer plenty of options. Whether you are looking for information or inspiration, holistic health or inner peace, the Expo may well be the place to spend an informative and helpful weekend.

This is its tenth year, and it is run by a not-for-profit organisation. There are no paid workers, and the money raised is used to give people a hand up. Continue Reading »

With Ishii Saburou & Ishii Hisae – Directors of the Tokyo Family Yoga School and long time students of Masahiro Oki. 18–19 September, Castlemaine, venue TBC. This 2-day workshop will focus on the study of yoga and the Ishii’s unique system of self massage, sotai, and corrective exercise. These methods, developed through over 30 years of dedicated research and practice, can make a profound difference to your own yoga practice and overall wellbeing.

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By Andrew McKenna

‘Dear Dr Michael, at times I think my son is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.’

This was in a letter Dr Michael Carr-Gregg received in one of his roles as Agony Uncle for various magazines. Dr Carr-Gregg was in Castlemaine last week giving a lecture with the topic ‘Demistifying Adolescence’, and he gave the packed hall at the Steiner School plenty to take away.
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By Alanna Moore, July 2010.

Are we on a technological trip to hell? (No cats were injured in CI's use of this photograph)

In 1989 I studied a course on Building Biology that had been translated from the German. It warned of the hazards of modern building practices and materials in relation to human health, comfort and wellbeing, as well as any deleterious planetary effects. Penned by architects and health and building professionals in Germany, its dictum is that our homes should be healthy spaces where we can relax and rejuvenate. Unlike homes with Sick Building Syndrome, our homes should protect us and foster our wellbeing. Continue Reading »

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The Australian Greens have called for a levy on junk food and alcohol advertising similar to the levy that has applied in France since 2004.

Launching the policy with Victorian Greens Senate candidate, Dr Richard di Natale in Melbourne today, Greens leader Bob Brown said advertisers could choose the option of including health information in their advertising or pay the levy.


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The first poll on pollution and climate change since Julia Gillard took over as PM shows that both major parties have an opportunity to gain support from voters still waiting for concrete action on pollution and climate change.

The survey, part of Auspoll’s national omnibus of 1500 voters, found that:

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“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope”
- Wangari Maathai





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