¶ Coming to Regeneration Through Health
The thing that really sort of dug it in for me was trying to heal my heal an injury that I had that had lingered for longer than it should have , and I tried all these mechanical interventions , massage and physio and Cairo it was a back injury and I started to dabble with playing with nutrition to see if that would move the needle , and so the philosophy that
I was living by was like this sort of paleo diet , right , low inflammatory foods . So I became very militant about what was in and what was out , and the only way I knew what was in my food was to make it myself . I didn't really want to be the guy that goes to the cafe or the restaurant and says do you mind ? asking the chef . Who is that ?
That that's like boring , and invitations to people's homes like pretty quickly dried up . And so because I was that guy , you know that the pain in the ass to cook for so I was like , right , okay , I know what's potentially going to fix my back , so I'm going to make it myself . And so that that sort of started to dig in .
I started to experiment with those types of foods and then I got onto a cooking show and we did reasonably well , which meant we stayed on for six months and that's all we did was research recipes , practice , practice , practice , showtime . You know like it was .
It was an immersive experience that meant after six months , like if I played guitar all day , every day for six months , you'd get reasonably good at it and you'd get quite passionate about playing .
What happened then ?
What do you mean Playing guitar ? I don't play guitar , though .
So what happened ?
with the cooking .
Then my joke kind of fell flat .
He's already said I was not right .
Dammit , you cut that bit out .
I'll leave it in . Yes , there we go .
So anyway that I guess learning to cook often an experiment because it was helping me and my physical condition that was step one , and then step two was the cooking show and then from then I've cooking has been such an integral part of not my personal as well as my personal life , my home life , but a lot of my work .
You know I've written cookbooks and health books that have a big focus around not just nutrition but like cooking , like you can't have nutrition without cooking , you know . Like being the custodian of your own health , like taking control , like has to start in your own kitchen .
So what are you , what's your feeling then , having tapped regenerative sources ? What difference did that make ?
Well , so I wrote my first book in 2013 and I was talking about that then not Regen , because it wasn't a thing , but I was talking about food sovereignty , which is a fancy way of saying you know , kind of coming to terms with or understanding where your food is coming from . And in every book I talk about that .
And my last book , which nobody read because it was a flop it's called the sustainable diet and it's about looking at the food systems that are currently available to us .
No , but if it had come out now , it would be a really good story , but it came out at a time , really , when , anyway , we don't need to go into it . I've let it go .
What time was it ? When did it come out 2000 .
I think it was the fire . I think everything was happening with , like the fires Maybe and then we entered into COVID with very much like no , I think like people were so overwhelmed with everything that was going on . I think the last thing they really wanted to do was like I've got to go on a diet and I've got to care about how , where I get my .
You know what I mean . It wasn't . I think that it came out at the wrong time .
Yeah , thanks , it's great . So where we are now , it's interesting like it's such a departure for Teal .
Although food has always been such a big thing in my life , whether it's like dealing with an eating disorder , you know , because lack of information around nutrition , or , you know , and struggling with my weight from lack of information around nutrition , like when I was younger to loving food .
It's lovely when this reconciling of all your loves essentially yeah , yeah . The taste yeah .
So , yeah , I guess , for me it's like it's the , it's the amalgam of All the things that I've been working on for the last nearly 20 years . So this sort of marriage of nutrition , provenance , food , it's all kind of come together in the good farm
¶ Re-Creating The Good Farm Shop - Pivoting to Ready Meals
shop . But what I will say is it's so , it's it's more of a departure from Till because , as we've just said , like she's come from a , an industry that's acting , directing , writing , and she's very gifted in that space . But what is incredible is that she's so . She's clearly a talented but incredibly creative .
And so you go , okay , well , we , we now run this essentially a Ethical ready-mills business like how , where's the creative partner other than making the food and coming up with the recipe , ideation , stuff ?
But she's taking all this creativity and she's just like repackaged it into ideation and Problem-solving , like she's incredibly proficient at problem-solving and coming up with ideas , like she's a fountain of . You know , she's Mount Vesuvius of . Ideas . As soon as my eyes crack in the morning , she's like I've got some ideas for you .
I wish we did have film rolling .
But what , what the thanks ? That's really nice , funny things . But but just to add in , so it was you know yes beef chick . It was an online book , right . We then started . You know , when you buy whole animals from farms , it's really hard to get rid of that whole animal . But firstly , it's really expensive to buy a whole animal , to buy a whole animal .
What I think most people don't know is that butchers most butchers do not buy whole animals . They buy crates of cuts that have come from an abattoir right . So a lot of the animal gets wasted , or it gets turned into dog meat or depth dog food , or it gets you know , I don't know .
Yeah , what happens ? There are these . There are these examples We've talked about and we know about a feather and bone in Sydney . Yeah , yeah , exactly but you were saying , because they're in Sydney , at least gives them a shot even this .
It's not straightforward and easy , but it gives them a shot at making it work , yeah , so they've been around for a long time .
They have a great reputation ? Yes , I think , for for us being such a small business , it , yes , it is expensive to buy a whole animal , but it's just .
I guess the better way to put it is that it just ties up a lot of capital and then you have to have it butchered , which is again tying up a lot of capital , then you have to freight it all and so you know , when we don't have a huge , you know big , deep pockets to kind of buffer all that , it takes a lot of money out of the business and stops us
moving forward in other areas .
But the other thing about it is that you're you know most people will buy . They want the eye fillet . I feel it's a gone in a second . You know , there's like six , I feel it's to a cow and then you've got a bunch of scotch fillets .
You've got a bunch of , you know , porta house and T-bones and stuff , but you've got so much truck , so much truck on it and so much means , and that's not . Those aren't the ones . So you're left with so much . Really how ? and then , and then people are you're sold out on those cuts that everyone wants . So then you got to go . God , we've got a .
What are we gonna do all the stuff which was the ? Actually , the great fortune that we , that we started the business like that and what we are now is only is a ready meals company , but we had to get there through . Okay , what are we gonna do with all this extra meat ?
Okay , we're gonna make Scott , you're gonna cook Meals with yeah , one of you gotta start making ragout with the With the means . You've got to start making your slow cook must-mum curry with the Chuck . You've got a . Every other dish that you've made get cracking . And so we did and we bottled them .
We had put them in one liter jars , which was kind of a new thing , because we didn't want to do a whole lot of plastic and we started doing the markets and we started selling ready meals the markets and we had really good feedback . People loved them . We were selling them for way too cheap and we made no money .
We've now got someone helping us with the money stuff very good .
Yeah , neither of us are very good .
But it's got . It's good at cooking , I'm good at ideas , but we're I .
The idea that we should be .
Everything is a problem , isn't it ?
and yet , by the way , how ironic when I hear you talk about the humans gravitating to the prime cuts . It's like the old industrial model farming , where the cows , of course , go to the favoured grasses and wipe them out .
So how ironic that with the good stuff we would do the same thing as the model we're trying to get away from , but you have to turn the other stuff into the good stuff . Yes , well , there you go .
Which is what ? A lot of ? Not a lot , because there aren't a lot but places that do buy butcheries , that do buy whole animals . They do turn them , they are inventive and they do turn them into meals and as cultures did for whatever before .
And they would , but they wouldn't suffer it .
They find ways to prepare it as well , exactly . So basically , then we worked out , we went away for Christmas , kind of going what are we going to do ? Because we hadn't made a cent at this point . We'd been going for a year and a half .
Revenue was going up , but we weren't making any money from it and it started as a passion , which it still was , and I guess at the beginning it was like it doesn't matter , we didn't need to make money out of this you get to a point in a business when you've been doing it for a year and a half and you go .
I think we do need to make money .
If we're going to keep doing this , our savings is going to go . We're going to need to make money from it .
I relate to this too . And then you've got kids and like school's going to come .
Okay , a bit of board planning after all , yeah , and you're saying , they're saying play with me , and you're going no , no , I've got to do the business stuff . Business stuff doesn't even make me money .
What are we doing here ?
So we basically came back and we were like we have to pivot the business , we have to the ready meals . We can sell the ready meals , we can get into shops . We couldn't get our meat into shops because you could only put a 5% margin on them and we were making no money anyway . So we were never going to be able to do that .
So it's the value edge you could bring .
The value edge that you can bring .
So we went away for Christmas but we went to the UK , so it wasn't like a tropical exotic holiday , unfortunately , but they are so far ahead of us in terms of green labelling food probably , Really yeah , it was pretty impressive in the supermarkets that we're here Really cool stuff .
Now there's like High Street Regen Burger Chains Goodness , really yeah , Very ahead of us for sure .
And you walk into their main supermarket , I guess , kind of similar to a Harris Farm not main supermarket , but a supermarket similar to Harris Farm , but it is a main supermarket and there's stuff about the farmers , there's information about where they get their meat from and why they care about that and how long they've had these relationships , for you really get
the sense that this chain of supermarkets is about that .
Yeah , there you go , yeah , anyway .
so these supermarkets , it was inspiring . There were ready meals there that were beautiful ready meals and they were in these great bamboo kind of they weren't packaged in plastic this endless line of plastic ready meals , totally .
It wasn't sure they were but there were also these other ones that were just beautiful bamboo packaging and just really cool and we tried some and they were delicious . They weren't like organic produce but it was high quality and I got really excited .
Yeah .
And I was like I had thought for a while that I wanted to ditch the buying whole animals thing and like turn the business to ready meals . But I felt like Scott wasn't there yet and I think I might have , like , mentioned it or something .
But then we got back and I was kind of working out how I was maybe going to make it kind of sound like it was his idea .
That's if you need to do that .
Anyway , he was like one day . He was like when we got back . It's like I reckon we should not do the meat anymore .
Yeah , ditch the butchery . Yeah .
And I was like great idea , yeah , and we just came back with this whole new excitement . You know , and you know , let's be . We were always going . It was never going to be okay . If we can't do buy whole animals , let's just buy crates of cuts , and who gives a fuck where it comes from ? It was never going to be that .
It was either quit , stop it and let someone else , like feather and bone , just continue doing their thing , or it was going to be . How can we make this work in another way ? Keeping the philosophy ? Yes , and that's the values that we started with .
Yes .
Which is what it is now . So not an online butchery , but beautiful ready meals that use , you know , 99% organic ingredients and you know only .
The meat is from region sources , yeah you know the sources and we know that the company that we work with . They have the ability and the license and the permission to kill on site , on farm , which is pretty unique . Oh , that is .
So , it takes the whole lab to out of it . Yes , so important . It's such a big part .
So it diminishes the amount of stress that animal encounters . So it's big . You know the business has sort of had various iterations , which I guess is proves to us that we're married to the values and the principles of it and the pillars of it , not necessarily like what the business is .
You know , we've gone from a cow share to an online butcher to now we're a ready meal and I just wanted now's a good time to bring you know I think we should ditch the ready meals .
Monday morning starts on the fresh , it does go to show what I think is a message for all of us to be nimble , to be open to being nimble with this , with whatever we're doing , which is the creative side , right . So to tap those people . We don't all have to be that either .
So , speaking of which you said , film passion and I know you played a part with this right behind camera and stuff too in the evolution of how this documentary came to be are you too feeling like that old space you inhabited with this new space are coming together in some form ?
I don't know what that would look like , necessarily Like yeah , I haven't that idea , hasn't gone off in my head yet how to marry the two . But I think the other thing that hinders creativity is when you're giving so much . I mean , we have two small kids . I basically have been giving so much of myself to keeping two kids alive .
So I really think that a big part of me turning away from the film industry , or losing my passion for that , was that I just didn't have enough of that resilience anymore because I was just , it was all going into the kids .
¶ Healing Chronic Pain Through Nutrition
It's like an alarm , isn't it ? It's like a podcast here Car alarm .
Actually I don't know if that guy's going to shut up , because that that happens .
What is it that would be annoying .
Should we just get the rifle out and shoot it ?
Yeah , I'll stake the fire . I'll stake the barbie . Could you eat it ?
No , it's acceptable .
Is it yeah ?
he probably predates our existence here .
Three days podcast .
Anyway , I feel like I'm now at a point where I can breathe , and so I probably have more space for things like you know , film industry stuff , acting stuff making , creating . That'll be interesting to see what comes what does come ?
And the back ? How is it in the water ?
My back yeah great .
Really so that journey has resolved , oh yeah .
That is so interesting .
Yeah , yeah , it took about . It took about a year to kind of get to the point where it wasn't an everyday you know , it wasn't a presence in my life .
And then there was about three or four years where I'd have like an episode where it flare up , and now I haven't had one of those pages for years and years , but it was chronic pain for like eight years of your life . Yeah , seven years of like Aconic situation .
Yeah it was pretty debilitating , not just physically , like it took a toll on you know , it's hard to be present , it's hard to really kind of embrace the world and embrace life .
I was pretty cranky , I was depressed a lot of the time and I lost all my identity because I was like the , the thick guy that used to run around everywhere and use his body and now I , at that point I couldn't use my body . So I had to , like , remodel who , who I was . It wasn't a , it wasn't a fun time .
I relate to . I mean I had , having been the trainer as well , I hadn't had a big motor accident and spinal fractures and stuff and that sort of reshaping of identity .
But yeah , I think about the power of your story , that nutrition was such the driving factor in the renewal and I'm wondering then how much emotional work or spiritual work even was part of it , like did you , was there that wing , if you like that you worked on too .
I'd like to say yes , but in all honesty I guess I mean I'm about halfway through that back episode . You know , I was a client , I was a personal trainer . The client was saying to me you're back injury . You know it's all emotional , right you ?
know it's , I heard plenty of it too , yeah , and I was going through a breakup at the time , so me too .
So it was my , it was a marriage . You know degradation of a marriage . And she's like it's all wrapped up in that and I was like I guess , because I have a science , you know , done exercise science , I can see the scans on my MRI . It seemed just so empirical to me that you know A equals A plus B equals C . You know like it's .
I knew when I did the injury , I knew how it felt . There's the scans , that's the and that's the prognosis , and it's hard to then accept . Well , it's , it's your circumstances , it's your experience , it's your trauma , it's your grief , all that stuff . And so , if I'm honest , I was a bit of a no-no to that .
And then because the nutrition sent me a very loud , clear signal that if you give your body the right inputs , it opens up the capacity and the bandwidth to heal and repair . So again , in that I am the case study . This isn't , admittedly , you know , the caveat here is that this isn't a clinical control you know blind placebo trial Like it's .
I am any cause once . Yeah , and so it just reinforced my science logic that A plus B equals . You know , I'm giving , I'm eating these foods , I'm eliminating that there's no sort of credence given to spiritual or energies or grief . But I have you know , when things are stressy for me in the past , I feel it in my back .
Me too . Me too , exactly , I don't ignore that either .
Yeah , but it's not . I'm not going to , I'm not going to sit here and say I went on some deep spiritual mind opening journey that helped my back , because that would be a lie . Wonderful guys , it would be a better story . It would be a better story .
No , I think that I mean I certainly I can map my experience onto that and it's it's just interesting to contemplate .
Do you get better when I came into your life ?
I ever think I'll better but , I love my way to end . That's beautiful ,
¶ Music!
but if you've listened through to an end of an episode you'll know we close actually on music , but I want to open the gambit up to film potentially too .
If there's been music or film in this case that has been significant in your life being mentioned a couple before till , maybe it's music you that we focus on here for you , but you choose that's been either significant in your life , representative of a transformative time , or just something you're reveling in right now .
Can you go first ?
This is going to sound very English , but there's two bands that I listened to probably Adnaudium , for till one . Well , I'm sure everyone's heard of both of them , but it's Radiohead and Rolling Stones . The Rolling Stones , far out .
I just what can you say ?
Some of those riffs and Charlie's like for 50 years for 60 years . I was playing it on the drive up yesterday and to the point was Tashie . My elders was like can we listen to something else ? It's been like five hours now , but each one I'm like listen to this Tash listen to that riff I'm saying with one of them . So there's that .
It's a very masculine energy and there's something . I was thinking about this on the drive up because I listened to it , and why do I listen to it ? And I know what's coming . I know each verse and melody , but what is it ?
And there's something that it just and it's the same for all people , but the you know , the input is different , but for me it's the Rolling Stones and there's something that speaks to my whatever . It is my DNA and it gets , gets inside me , and Radiohead do something similar . These lyrics are somewhat poetic . They are poems really .
When you look at them , transcribe their poems , but just layered with amazing sound .
A friend actually sent me his current outfit , which I can't remember the name , off the top of the head .
Who's current outfit , tom York's the smile ? That's what it is , isn't it ? Yeah , yeah , amazing .
Amazing .
Yeah , wonderful mate , wonderful Till .
Yeah , I've got one oh go on .
That's here Are you going to go music ?
It's a bit of a combo . Oh hello , your mum did just . Why it's so good . Go on , what do you think ?
Oh , I thought you were going to because you've been playing that this is not Taylor Swift , but it's not Taylor Swift .
What is it ? It's somebody really . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish . Billie Eilish she's just a beautiful human . I just really liked her and I fell in love with her music .
Can't stop listening to it .
Is there a particular track that switched it on ? It's actually not bad , really . Yeah , I've not listened at all . I don't think , oh , maybe I know something . It's a really good documentary . Yeah , Like it's from the I do like the music dog .
It's from when she first releases a song that goes kind of viral and then it's sort of I guess it's over a chunk of years to where she basically wins all of the Grammys . Is that the big music award ? Yeah , who wins like all the Grammys ? It's her relationship with her brother , so beautiful .
They just make music together in their room and he's just her biggest fan and , yeah , just I love , really like her music .
Wonderful , you guys . It's been really special . I mean , we've just lingered into the evening , Mm so good yeah . I felt like that's what this was gonna be in the end , and it was bloody beautiful , thanks for spending the time with me oh pleasure I really enjoyed myself .
I've just worked out what that bird is as well . It's like it was the Oscars song that comes on at the end when it wants you to wrap it up .
Oh , that's right .
Yeah nice one .
It's giving up now , but it was it was like shut up guys , it's falling asleep .
So , good , falling asleep on the branch Still going .
That's a wrap . That was Matilda Brown and Scott Gooding at the family farm in the Nambucca Valley on Gambanya country on the mid-north coast of New South Wales . For more on Til and Scott , The Good Farm Shop , the film Rachel's Farm , its tour and how to book your tickets , see the links in the show notes .
I've put a few photos on the episode web page too and , funnily enough , as we passed through Roebourne in the northwest of WA on the way to Derby , I find Scott's book The Sustainable Diet in the local library .
It was on the giveaway pile, but hey , someone ordered it, and not wanting to see it turfed, I was assured the giveaways always get claimed , so someone will read this remote copy . If you're interested in the next big regenerative agriculture event in Australia , join me in Margaret River , WA , in September .
I'm privileged to be emcee and hope to see some of you there . Finally , once again huge thanks , Blair Beattie from Farmers Footprint Australia for taking that driver's seat on our journey to the Nambucca Valley for the series of three episodes that concludes with this one .
For subscribers I'll continue to send you behind the scenes stuff and other news of what's unfolding as I get around the country, and if you've been thinking about becoming a subscriber, I'd love you to join us . It's with thanks , as always , to this community of generous supporters that this episode was made possible .
Just head to the website via the show notes regennarration . com forward slash support . And thanks again . And , as always , if you think of someone who might enjoy this episode , please share it with them . Please also continue to rate and review the podcast on your favourite app . It all helps .
The music you're hearing is Regeneration by Amelia Barden , off the soundtrack to the film Regenerating Australia . My name's Anthony James . Thanks for listening .