Australian researchers find native grasses could be grown for mass consumption

Native grasses could be grown for mass consumption, a one-year feasibility study has found, after researchers tested 15 different species “from paddock to plate” in north-west New South Wales . Native millet, or panicum, turned out to be the best all-rounder: easy to grow and harvest, easy to turn into flour and “significantly more nutritious” than wheat, lead researcher Dr Angela Pattison from the University of Sydney said. Native millet is also gluten free, she added. The study, which involved researchers in ecology, food science, social science, marketing and business, found that native millet was the most economically viable of all the grains they tested. Native grains are called dhunbarr in the Gamilaraay language. Mulga, Mitchell grass and Kangaroo grass. Researchers also found that native grasses had environmental benefits. As perennials they sequester carbon, support biodiversity and preserve threatened species and habitats, but the researchers say all these benefits need further study. How Australia’s meat industry could be part of the climate solution Read more The work was done in collaboration with Gamilaraay traditional owners, local farmers and the Indigenous social enterprise, Black Duck Foods, founded by Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe. Pascoe has also experimented with the use […]

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