Prince Charles's Interest in Organic Farming and Gardening


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Mandrake hears that the heir to the throne plans to question publicly the Food Standards Agency's conclusion that expensive organic food is no better for you than produce from intensive farms

Prince of Wales prepares for an organic dispute - Telegraph
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From what I understand, this report fails to take into consideration the effect of chemicals used by non organic farmers. So possibly, IMO, there are few differences in the nutrients, but major differences in taste and the benefits of not ingesting any chemicals.:flowers: I know that on some farms/units, the Pigs are fed Copper to stop them gestating and Arsenic to keep the meat white, (my source is an acquaintance who owns a fattening unit)!
 
Prince's paradise: BBC show reveals Prince Charles's organic garden at Highgrove | Mail Online

Humming with the sound of birdsong and trickling water, and the air thick with the heady scent of English cottage garden flowers, the ravishing organic gardens at Highgrove are buzzing with life.

The Georgian Cotswolds estate is home to arguably the best royal gardener in history, Prince Charles, who has lovingly designed and nurtured the 15 acres that surround the house, creating one of the nation's most important contemporary gardens.
 
Question About Charles - is he a vegetarian?

I've been in a debate regarding whether or not Prince Charles is a vegetarian or not? (I know he isn't vegan - because I read he does like scrambled eggs) but will he eat meat?

I know he is a prolific organic gardener - which I highly respect.

I admit it, I'm just nosy. :)
 
I have read that Prince Charles recommends mutton.
I assumed that meant that he also enjoys eating it, as do I.
He is an advocate for wool so he must agree with the farming of sheep.
Mutton is the meat off an older sheep, even Merinos which are quite lean.
I enjoy eating lean old merino ewe grown on our farm.

I also assume that he eats venison, rabbit, pheasant and other game
because that is the logical reason for shooting it.
And he has access to wonderful fresh meat grown on his own farm along with the produce from his vegetable garden.

I would be surprised to find that Prince Charles is a vegetarian but most people, for health reasons, do eat less meat than in the past and eat more salad, herbs and vegetables. He looks very healthy whatever he eats.
 
I would be surprised if any British Royal is a vegetarian what with their hunting activities and so on. I think he has very much inherited his mothers love of the countryside. Though I'm a vegetarian myself, I have respect for people who hunt their own prey!
 
I think this is the only thing I agree with Prince Charles about...the need for organic and non-GMO foods....not to mention a return to buying from local sources, not depending on food picked before it's ripe and gassed etc, then shipped thousands of miles to wherever. Also people need to be growing some of their own food, even people in apartments can usually grow a few things in containers. We need to be more self reliant and more informed about where our food comes from and how it's grown etc.

For those that eat meat, buy as local as possible instead of mass produced commercial meats. That is going to be the best way to stop factory farming and those that use inhumane practices to raise their livestock.

MM
 
Prince Charles' role in the Food debate is quite useful. He winds people up successfully and makes them talk about his ideas.

I hope he can continue his campaign(s) for a lot longer. Once king, he won't be able to do so.
 
Having yesterday watched a documentary about Highgrove, I am nothing short of amazed at just how breathtakingly serene and beautiful the estate is.

The Prince is well featured and presents his garden to the interviewer at length.

The Prince of Wales and his gardening specialists have devoted so much effort and time into it's conservation; it's not hard to tell it's a labour of love for all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_gApHmulU&feature=related
 
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:previous:
Thank you SO MUCH for posting the video! :flowers:
My, what a stunning place. I have rarely seen anything more beautiful than the house and especially the gardens surrounding it. The improvement is just amazing: the house back in 1980's was nice but ordinary, nowadays it's just nothing short of breathtaking.

The place has Prince Charles' personality all over the place. I absolutely loved the entrance sign: "BEWARE! You Are Now Entering Old-Fashioned Establishment". How wonderful is that? "biggrin"
 
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Having yesterday watched a documentary about Highgrove, I am nothing short of amazed at just how breathtakingly serene and beautiful the estate is.

The Prince is well featured and presents his garden to the interviewer at length.

The Prince of Wales and his gardening specialists have devoted so much effort and time into it's conservation; it's not hard to tell it's a labour of love for all.

Agree - and its all in the main totally on target. Not 'out there' at all. I'm a bit surprised that such cutting edge ideas and practices seem to be routinely scoffed at in England. Its pretty normal stuff (here in the US).

Prince Charles' role in the Food debate is quite useful. He winds people up successfully and makes them talk about his ideas.

I hope he can continue his campaign(s) for a lot longer. Once king, he won't be able to do so.

And this will forever puzzle me. Why? He's a human being with a private life and the right to a freedom in that life. Slavery has been outlawed for centuries. Maybe as Monarch he can't speak - crazy even so - but perhaps this is the modernization of the monarchy that everyone is always talking about - surely a modern monarch can maintain a private life - why not?
 
I personaly think that the Prince he way before his time in his way of thinking. I mean he was doing this back in the 80's and it has taken him thus far to get other people onboard with his way of thinking.
Personally, I like it. I think we would all be better off if we could have more of a sustainable way of life rather than depending on others for what we need. I guess the older AI get, the more I see it this way. I would die to have just a small portion of his garden in my back yard. I would love to have a few chickens back there to have fresh eggs and manure to fertalize my grass. But since I live in the city, I just get to drem about these things. During the Princes time with Diana, you always heard how diana hated Highgrove and how he talked to his plants. Well, I always thought that he was just a dork. But now I see what he was trying to achieve and kudos to him for doing it!
 
There is a lovely book The Gardens at Highgrove by Charles and Candida Lycett Green. Really beautifully photographed.
 
Having yesterday watched a documentary about Highgrove, I am nothing short of amazed at just how breathtakingly serene and beautiful the estate is.

The Prince is well featured and presents his garden to the interviewer at length.

The Prince of Wales and his gardening specialists have devoted so much effort and time into it's conservation; it's not hard to tell it's a labour of love for all.

Highgrove: Alan Meets Prince Charles Part 1 - YouTube

Whenever I watch this documentary - and I've seen it now about twice - I am always struck about how careful and deliberate Charles is in his decision making - and so the tragedy of his personal life is thrown all the more into sharper relief. It is good that things have turned out happy for him and that he finally insisted that his personal life contentment trumps the falsity of tabloid opinions - but what a trail of tears to that happiness.

The many 'if only's' - if only his first wife were intellectually curious, if only she valued home life and married life above the glitz of the camera and recognized that she had a loyal and serious partner - if only the first marriage had been one that resulted in comfortable middle age - all the if only's. Really sad.

But the real stand out is how interesting Charles is - a man who decided very early on to 'have a life' and not sit idly waiting for the throne or live his life in the camera's eye. In this the two eldest children of the Queen are interesting - and perhaps its the influence of the Queen Mother who as I have understood had a considerable hand in their upbringing (not as much with the second pair of children).

This clip reminds me that of all the Royals he is the one - along with Camilla - I'd be interested in meeting - and not just for a moment. I mean an afternoon of conversation. There's a lot there to make a fascinating visit.
 
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Whenever I watch this documentary - and I've seen it now about twice - I am always struck about how careful and deliberate Charles is in his decision making - and so the tragedy of his personal life is thrown all the more into sharper relief. It is good that things have turned out happy for him and that he finally insisted that his personal life contentment trumps the falsity of tabloid opinions - but what a trail of tears to that happiness.

The many 'if only's' - if only his first wife were intellectually curious, if only she valued home life and married life above the glitz of the camera and recognized that she had a loyal and serious partner - if only the first marriage had been one that resulted in comfortable middle age - all the if only's. Really sad.

But the real stand out is how interesting Charles is - a man who decided very early on to 'have a life' and not sit idly waiting for the throne or live his life in the camera's eye. In this the two eldest children of the Queen are interesting - and perhaps its the influence of the Queen Mother who as I have understood had a considerable hand in their upbringing (not as much with the second pair of children).

This clip reminds me that of all the Royals he is the one - along with Camilla - I'd be interested in meeting - and not just for a moment. I mean an afternoon of conversation. There's a lot there to make a fascinating visit.

Charles' work and interests are indeed fascinating.
He chooses to concentrate on things that make a long term difference to the world. He might be 'fashionable' now but Charles was passionate for the environment long before many others jumped on the same train.
 
That's surely a sign of the times, that the little cheesemaker goes out of business because it can't compete. Well, it's understandable because people not only seek better prices--whatever the quality loss--but often the "homemaker" in the home is too busy with her second job, making a living, to go to both the supermarket and the little cheese maker such as Charles' cheesemaker.

Bless Charles for his wonderful thoughts about organic food and the environment.
I hope some of that rubbed off on his children and that William will also have an organic garden, at his country home, and will have good food delivered to his London home, from an organic grocer. It makes a huge difference to get the pesticides and herbicides as far out of your life as you can!
 

Right and those who have much less than he, have to pay for the stuff they buy. Wow, Supermarkets, cutting prices for people to pay a better price, a derision from a man who can pay anything, for he lives on the people's money and his mother's. Oh yes, from Cornwall, a place which his ancestors stole from the people. He doesn't work, at anything, except smiling and waving and cutting ribbons. Sorry, the guys who run the markets, have to make a living to live. They have no subsidies.
 
Countess, I do sympathize with your empathy for the "little guy" who does not have Prince Charles' money. As a "little guy" myself, I understand, but I still fight for quality food for as many little guys as possible. I patronize an organic food co-op, actually two of them, one in the nearby small city and one in my small town. I am probably still alive and functioning because I eat like this. I believe in it as much as Charles does, and for me it's the most admirable activity a royal can have, publicizing, through his own life activity, the best way to be healthy.
The whole country of England could have organic food if people put their thinking caps on, and pitched in to do it. Alas....not expected.
 
Countess, I do sympathize with your empathy for the "little guy" who does not have Prince Charles' money. As a "little guy" myself, I understand, but I still fight for quality food for as many little guys as possible. I patronize an organic food co-op, actually two of them, one in the nearby small city and one in my small town. I am probably still alive and functioning because I eat like this. I believe in it as much as Charles does, and for me it's the most admirable activity a royal can have, publicizing, through his own life activity, the best way to be healthy.
The whole country of England could have organic food if people put their thinking caps on, and pitched in to do it. Alas....not expected.

Mariel, thank you. What a lovely name you have. At any rate, some of organic farming is great, but many times in this day and age has caused dreadful problems with e-coli because of mishandling. I would love a food co-op, I love small vendors. Not necessarily for healthy, but, also, for good taste. I am a very active cook, entertain a great deal and love great produce, cheeses, meats, not supermarket crap, etc. But I, also, realize that for many people the prices charged are not viable. Charles does not live both sides. He has no idea what it takes to put food on a table. He has no idea what is takes to earn a living. Look, I am 72, my mother lives with us and she will be 99, we talk about a lot of times about when food from local markets were far better than what we get, today. I love the idea, but it is not practical for a mass market consumption. I even hate those words. I wish, to be able to purchase what I want and, yet allow others to know what these differences taste like. To some, who can just put food on their table or care less about cooking, it is an anathema. There should be both.
 
Right and those who have much less than he, have to pay for the stuff they buy. Wow, Supermarkets, cutting prices for people to pay a better price, a derision from a man who can pay anything, for he lives on the people's money and his mother's. Oh yes, from Cornwall, a place which his ancestors stole from the people. He doesn't work, at anything, except smiling and waving and cutting ribbons. Sorry, the guys who run the markets, have to make a living to live. They have no subsidies.

Did you actually read the article or did you just read the headline and decide this would be a good opportunity to dump on the PoW?
The article is all about the going out of business of a privately owned family business, that amongst other products manufactured a brand of cheese for the Duchy of Cornwall.
At no point in the article does the PoW or anyone from the Duchy of Cornwall comment on the closing out of the business, which again is an independent family owned business and not owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.
 
Countess, E Coli is a problem indeed, these days. I am not sure we have had it in the food at my organic co-ops. Although New Mexico is over-all the poorest state in the USA (I read), it is in love with organic or small-farm foods. It is true that only the "middle class" can really afford the organic co-ops. But the less wealthy have small farms and know HOW to farm in traditional ways. And we have the Farmers' Markets weekly, as well. We have many problems associated with poverty, but, at least we eat pretty well. Charles was here in the past at a college he was patron of, World College West, in Las Vegas New Mexico. Letizia and Felipe were here in Santa Fe for the 400th anniversary of the Pueblo de la Santa Fe de Francisco D'Assis. (I hope that is spelled right, I don't speak Spanish, I never expected to live here). Santa Fe is the oldest state capitol in the USA, older than those in New England, but of course can't hold a candle to Europe's capitols.
 
Mariel, the poorest state in the Union is Mississippi. Where New Mexico falls, I do not know. I will check. I think many areas in the US are trying to go back to a time when food was local and good. I live in Tennessee, now, but I am from New England. We were just back there, where we have local farms stands, always. The produce is so much more superior. New England corn and tomatoes, the best, lived in Oregon, great berries, but terrible corn and tomatoes. It varies by soil, I believe. I hope we can go back to a time when we ate local food at its season and it was great and worth the wait.
 
There is a wonderful book on the garden with a forward by Charles.
 
There is a wonderful book on the garden with a forward by Charles.

If that book is put together anything like Charles' "Harmony", it would be a wonderful book to own.
 
Its very beautiful there. Its interesting just how much goes into taking care of the gardens and the meadows. What touched me most was how the meadows were gradually cultivated so as not to shock the natural wildlife. Yep... he's definitely Charles the Green if you ask me. :D

There is so much that goes into gardening and I think Charles is very lucky to have a great deal of help in maintaining the gardens. I think if you're doing yourself, you will become overwhelmed.
 
There is so much that goes into gardening and I think Charles is very lucky to have a great deal of help in maintaining the gardens. I think if you're doing yourself, you will become overwhelmed.

There is no way humanly possible that Highgroves's gardens and landscapes could possibly be tended by one person especially with the schedules that Charles has. I'd be willing to bet though that he's right on top of every move made though and has taken great care in who his gardening staff is.

The man is an exceptional artist and its clear to see he's not limited to canvas.
 
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The Prince of Wales has hit out at the “fashionable vandalism” of the natural world, claiming land has been “callously and rashly discarded” over decades of neglect.
Techniques for developing and nurturing the environment developed over thousands of years have been abandoned with many native species coming under threat as a result.
Only now are people beginning to realise that endangered plants, trees and animals have an “intrinsic value” and are “crucial to our long term survival”, the Prince said.

Prince Charles: stop fashionable vandalism of natural world - Telegraph
 
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