Green advocates urge reset on food security goals
Sustainability advocates say future food security must be separated from an obsession with agricultural productivity to ensure food remains on the table of all Australians.
The federal government is currently consulting with stakeholders following the publication of the national food security strategy discussion paper last year.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has appointed a National Food Council to consult on the strategy aimed at strengthening a sector damaged by disruptions in supply chains caused by COVID-19, climate change and war.
The review follows a highly critical CSIRO report that found almost a third of Australian households experience moderate or severe food insecurity each year.
It was also stated that Australia’s food system has the highest environmental and health costs per capita in the world, estimated at up to $274 billion annually.
Co-author Rohan Nelson said current reporting metrics focus on agriculture and economic production at the expense of sustainability, equity and health goals.
Now the Australian Conservation Foundation says the strategy is in danger of being hijacked by export-focused vested interests.
The foundation said it was concerned about calls from industry bodies for cheaper access to agrochemicals, fertilisers, greater access to the export market and less bureaucracy and a green belt delivery strategy.
Instead, the focus should be on delivering sustainably produced food to people regardless of what they earn or where they live in Australia, it said.
“The first thing that needs to change is the goal,” said ACF’s Nathaniel Pelle.
He said the success of the food system should not be defined by how much beef or wheat Australia produced.
“This should be about supporting the reversal of the decline in nature to prevent the erosion of the ecosystem on which food production depends, and providing the right mix of healthy and affordable food for everyone,” he said.
An expert from the University of Wollongong also said that food insecurity is caused not only by lack of quantity but also by lack of quality.
Dietitian Katherine Kent said malnutrition contributed to a range of chronic conditions that cost the healthcare system billions of dollars and undermined productivity.
“From a public health perspective, we recommend that nutrition be made a key priority area,” he said.
“Food security really needs to be defined at the national level.”
