Food security: greatest challenge of our time?

By Jason Major

TechNyou

How will we feed ourselves in 30 years time? “Make no mistake, this is the greatest challenge of our time,” Julian Cribb told the National Sustainable Food Summit in Melbourne earlier this year.

The Summit report, video presentation of the speakers and commentary is now available from the 3 Pillars web site. There are some challenging and confronting statements made. I was there and the constant theme being driven home by all the speakers was that the existing system of food production, distribution and consumption was unsustainable. To feed ourselves in the future will require a radical overhaul, a complete re-think on how we produce, distribute and consume food. Some of this change will come from increasing scientific knowledge and new technologies; much of the change, however, will be cultural, political, economic and social.

For example, Australians throw away $1.1 billion worth of fresh fruit and vegetables every year. Reducing waste would have a huge effect on our ability to feed ourselves.

Quotes from speakers will give you a flavour of the Summit:

“The urgent need to give priority attention to food production, whilst maintaining the quality of the resource base from which it is produced, is perhaps one of the greatest scientific challenges ahead and certainly one that has apparently slipped from our gaze.” Dr John Williams, Commissioner, Natural Resources Commission, NSW and Founding Member, Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists

“This is the size of the challenge facing the coming generation of farmers. It is to double the global food supply using half the water, on far less land and with increasingly depleted soils, without fossil fuels, with scarce and costly fertiliser and chemicals, amid spreading diseases and pests, under the hammer of climate change.” Prof. Julian Cribb. Julian Cribb and Associates.

For as long as the cost of maintaining and improving the natural resource base in agricultural systems is not included in the price of food, farmers will never be able to farm sustainably and profitably.”  John Williams, Commissioner, Natural Resources Commission, NSW and Founding Member the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.

In other words we should expect that we will pay more for our food.

Our intentionality shapes our systems. How would the food system be different if we approached it from the viewpoint of abundance and cooperation, rather than competition and scarcity?”  Richard Hames, Distinguished Professor and Director, Asian Foresight Institute

Hot topics

The report contains a list of hot topics for further discussion – likely part of next year’s summit. It was interesting that two of the topics were What role does genetically modified food have to play in the current and future system? This is exactly the topic of our forum that Technyou is running in collaboration with the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics in National Science Week. Stayed tuned for more details, but it will be held on 10 August somewhere in Melbourne.

Other hot topics included:

What role do biofuels play in a climate of food scarcity?

What role will organic farming play in the new food system?

To what extent should the externalities of food production – the environmental and social cost – be factored?

Recommendations

There were loads of these, but one other theme running through the conference was how disconnected we have become with the land. There was a call for a mandatory inclusion of food and nutrition in school curriculum and food literacy at all levels of education.

Will this mean we will have to endure more junior Master Chef on TV?

Video presentations

There many available for download. Two that I would recommend are Julian Cribb and Robin Batterham

Robin Batterham – What does food security actually mean and why is it important to Australia? from 3PillarsNetwork on Vimeo.

Julian Cribb – What are the future challenges to our food system? from 3PillarsNetwork on Vimeo.