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Can we continue to ignore this issue any longer?

Sustainability is defined as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 1987).

2010 is the Year of Environmental Sustainability in Queensland Schools, and the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity. With increased awareness of these interrelated issues, many individuals and communities are realising that we have the power to protect or destroy the life support systems we rely on and are devising actions to improve the situation (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010).

Sustainable farming is centred on the principle of land stewardship, where the primary goal is to support the environment by enriching the soil, protecting air and water quality, minimising energy consumption, and supporting biodiversity. By eliminating or at least reducing chemical inputs, this food production method is able to reduce fossil fuel usage by 40% (Heller & Keoleian, 2000). Studies have shown that sustainable agricultural practices can actually increase food production by up to 79% while at the same time actively reducing the effects of farming on climate change through sequestration of carbon (Pretty et al. 2006). 

The current situation

In Australia, intensive agriculture is the dominant agricultural model. It is characterized by high investment in mechanisation, and the use of pesticides, plant growth regulators and chemical fertilizers to improve yields at a lower monetary cost (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). The intensive use of water in the production of these increased yields has already led to serious salinity issues in the great river systems of Australia. A report released by the National Farmers’ Federation and the Australian Conservation Foundation in April 2000 estimates that the cost of rural degradation in Australia, as a direct result of current agricultural practices, is in excess of $2 billion annually - a figure that has been predicted to triple by the year 2020. The same report also predicted that by 2020 the area of land that would be irreparably damaged by salinity could increase from 2.5 million ha to 15.5 million ha if no changes are made to production methods and practices (Hawkins et al., 2002).

Fertilisers and pesticides have been found to alter biodiversity in rivers, lakes and oceans by causing algal blooms and have the potential to drain into groundwater bore systems. A topical example of this is highlighted in a report by the CRC Reef Research Centre (2003), which illustrates how runoff from the cane industry is significantly degrading the Great Barrier Reef. Biodiversity is also compromised, as pesticides and herbicides harm all insects and plants, not just pests and weeds. The production, packaging and distribution methods employed in intensive farming also require significant energy inputs that leave a large carbon footprint. Hawkins et al. (2002) and Lee (2009) agree that the health consequences of working with and ingesting these chemicals through the food chain, as well as the decreased nutritional content of food grown in exhausted soils, has been linked to increasing sensitivities, allergies and other health issues including cancer.

With the globalisation of food production, the monopolisation of seed companies and the development of GM technology, food production has become a very political issue. Slow Food Australia (2009) describe how consumers have become disconnected from the food we eat; where it comes from; who grows it; how it tastes; how much food we need; how to cook it; and how our food choices have the ability to affect our communities, local and global.

In the last few decades, family farms and rural communities in Australia have experienced declining incomes that have negatively affected their solvency (Hawkins et al., 2002). This impacts the social cohesion of rural communities and by association, all Australians.

In cities, large centralised supermarkets have evolved to meet the needs of sprawling suburbs, encouraging the use of private vehicles as the main mode of transport for food shopping. As a result, fossil fuel emissions have increased, along with the separation of people from each other and the earth (Hawkins et al., 2002). Carbon emissions are further increased through food miles on products imported from other countries to meet off-season demands and the convenience of the fast-food culture our society has come to depend on (Hawkins et al., 2002).

Key Question: How can we support sustainable food production in our community?

Good food and clean water are fundamental to life (Hawkins et al., 2002). As a global community, we in fact produce more food than we need. Australia alone throws away 3 million tonnes of food annually, yet malnutrition is common in many parts of the world (Hawkins et al., 2002; United Nations, 1987; World Vision Australia, 2010). According to Tribe (1995, p.37), “sustainable agricultural development is the vital key to the global problems of population, poverty, hunger and the environment".

In today’s world it is predominantly large-scale systems that produce and distribute food to the world’s population. However, current practices have many detrimental environmental and social consequences that are unsustainable, and in some cases irreversible (Lehane, 2009). Balancing a growing world population’s food requirements with sustainable production methods into the future is one of the biggest challenges facing society today (Falvey, 1996).