About The Author

Terry Memory has had a keen passion for food since childhood. Initially, his interests revolved around becoming a better cook and sharing his love of food with his wife and family. The birth of his first child in 1999 saw him become focused on the nutritional aspects of food and the industrial food system. Several books inspired him to start eating organically and begin his first failed attempts at growing his food.

In 2006 he left his corporate job in technology and moved with his young family to rural Victoria in Australia to live a more holistic lifestyle and raise their children. In 2009, after the tragic Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Terry and Gemma decided to make a more significant break. They purchased a 40-acre farm with a run-down old barn for their home in the remote southern part of the island state of Tasmania. It was here that both of their passions for homegrown food and sustainability flourished.

Together they tried several different gardening and farming methods. All had varying degrees of success but were similarly fraught with frustrations and unforeseen problems. In 2014, they decided to take the leap and build a 200 sqm greenhouse that would be attached to their home for organic food production and free thermal heating. At this time (and now with five children), they started the Tasmanian Tea Company selling organic herbal teas at local markets. This new business saw them gain further insight into the positive health outcomes of freshly picked organic products had on various common health conditions.

Their new garden produced its own challenges, and in finding ways to produce more nutritious produce with less time, effort and cost, the Smart Veggie Patch concept and Technograrian approach were born. Over the last seven years, Terry and Gemma have refined their Smart Veggie Patch concept into what it is today. Their Smart Veggie Patch has proven invaluable in feeding themselves and their children (now 6!) and allowing them to achieve their health, sustainability, and food security dreams.

In 2017, Terry and Gemma founded the 13 Seeds Hemp Farm in Tasmania. They wanted to find a way to use their land productively for a cropping enterprise. Taking their lifetime of family-based food experience, they designed Australia's most extensive range of Hemp-based food and skincare products. These award-winning products included Australia's first Hemp muesli, porridge, chai, hot chocolate, falafel and a Hemp protein-infused Tasmanian honey. The 13 Seeds Hemp Farm became hugely successful. The couple then designed and built Tasmania's first dedicated Hemp food manufacturing facility in 2019. The 13 Seeds Hemp Farm, which the couple started on their kitchen table, was listed on the Australian stock exchange via a parent company in 2020.

This knowledge of the practicalities of feeding a large family, homegrown food production and sustainability, and large-scale food manufacturing gives Terry a unique perspective on the issues and possible solutions to our current global food crises.

As with anyone concerned with human health, the environment and future food security, Terry has had a zillion conversations about the issues and inequality that plague the globalised industrial food system. The Smart Veggie Patch book was inspired by his belief that the time for talk is running out, and there is now an urgent need for us to focus on what real options and solutions are available to us. The Smart Veggie book shows how the concept is both personally beneficial and achievable, and potentially game-changing if it was to be adopted on a global scale. The author's vision for this book and one he believes we must all ultimate take ownership of is 'Our Food - Our Responsibility', and the Smart Veggie book shows you how you can do just that.

Author of the Smart Veggie Patch - Terry Memory