The sight of Victorian fruit farmers bulldozing surplus trees due to the loss of supply contracts is a dramatic way to illustrate the quandary facing both Australian industry and growers. In April Victorian fruit processor SPC Ardmona, owned by Coca-Cola Amatil, announced it was dramatically cutting its requirements for locally-grown fruit. More than half of the 150 current peach and pear suppliers were told none of their crop will be required in 2014.
Robin Batterham, Kernot Professor of Engineering at University of Melbourne writes about the necessity for food security to be on Australia's agenda.
While we currently grow enough to feed 60m people, we are not immune to food security pressures. Wealthier nations are buying up Australian farmland to guarantee supply; food prices are increasingly volatile, causing panic and riots in less developed countries.
The caloric needs of the planet are expected to soar by 50 percent in the next 40 years and although world crop production has trebled since the 1950s, more people go hungry now than they did 20 years ago. The sustainable production and delivery of healthy food to the consumer from contemporary farming systems is a complex balance of biology, environment, trade and social justice. Major pivotal decisions on investments into agricultural research and food production and distribution systems must be made now in order to feed the world population by 2050.
Global agrifood systems are affected by ecological problems and social inequalities that require careful management through research and management, leading to greater sustainability. Major ecological issues include affordability of food and its production; fair trading; chemical pollution of land, waterways and foods; soil degradation and erosion; loss of flora and fauna diversity; access to food and energy required for long-distance transportation, processing and packaging of foods; and a range of human health impacts and risks. Much scientific research is being conducted to address these issues by The University of Melbourne and in collaboration with partner institutes and investigators.
The Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL) seeks to identify and promote emerging technical, social and organisational innovations that could form part of future sustainable systems. Website: http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/about-veil
