FED:Think big on food: experts

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2010
FED:Think big on food: experts

CANBERRA, Dec 1 AAP - Australia must start thinking big when it comes to securing our
future's food supply, amid a range of threats including climate change and a population
boom.

A new report from the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council
warns that while Australia may presently have an abundance of food, the future supply
is far too vulnerable.

The council has recommended setting up a national food security agency, which would
be responsible for regulation and research, rather than the mix bag of organisations currently
overseeing that.

"What the new report shows ... is that the time has come to think about food security
in Australia, to think about how we need to look at it from an integrated approach," chief
scientist Penny Sackett told ABC Television on Wednesday.

"Food security isn't just about having enough food in general, but really having a
sustainable and reliable supply of affordable and nutritious food for everyone."

The report said that if Australia's population continues to grow to 35 to 40 million
and climate change continues unabated, food imports could soon outgrow exports.

Productivity in the sector has plateaued over the past decade, while risk of diseases,
food transport and storage concerns are also weighing down the industry.

Much of Australia's problem with food supply lays with the way we consume it, the report stated.

"Poor nutritional choices made by many in our community are developing into an increasingly
important public health issue," it reads.

While the report urges for more funding for research and development, Professor Sackett
asked that farmers be given an extra helping hand.

"Farmers are facing many challenges and they are going to need help from the research
and development sector," she said.

"Realistically, Australia is going to have to ask questions about what sort of food
it can grow, where it can grow and where it can increase productivity.

"A big part of the answer has to be how to use our land more wisely, how to use our
water wisely and how to increase the research and development into doing better."

Australians should also be scrutinised for their consumption, Prof Sackett said, noting
that 40 per cent of food produced in Australia is wasted somewhere along the chain.

Prof Sackett said the federal government, which coincidently oversaw the inaugural
meeting of its National Food Policy Working Group on Wednesday, will review the report,
Australian and Food Security in a Changing World, at the next sitting of the council on
February 4.

AAP cj/jfm

KEYWORD: FOOD SACKETT

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