Posted at Sun 26 December 2010 10:18AM

Food Security - The Big Picture

by Rosie Williams

'Civilization and anarchy are only seven meals apart.'

(Spanish proverb in Cribb 2010)

John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began tells the tale of an invasion of Australia by unnamed forces and the ethical questions faced by a group of teenagers forced overnight to become soldiers. A more precient story might ask what might bring invaders to the shores of Australia and what are the implications for each of us as we face decisions that might one day lead to just such a scenario?

The Australian government recently released a report into food production which details the many problems faced by our farming sector and the likely impact of these on our future food security. With widespread destruction from recent floods across much of Australia, the issue of food security and its relationship with climate change has never been more pertinent.

The QLD floods have pushed up meat prices, while ex-tropical Cyclone Tasha has caused an expected $1 billion damage bill and More than $3 billion is now estimated to be scratched off the value of the wheat, barley and canola harvest... The Australian (10 Dec). So just what is food security and what should be done about it?

Food security centers on rising populations and decreasing arable land as it is degraded by overuse, climate change or put to competing uses. Food security is a more immediate problem in poorer countries where there have been riots over the sharp rise in food costs and even regime change over the sale of agricultural land to foreign interests who are also struggling to meet their own needs (Life Matters 2010).

Australia is the world's second largest producer of red meat and feeds approximately 3 times our current population with the food we produce. The demand for red meat exports is expected to double by 2050 (Commonwealth of Australia 2010). Any decrease in the amount of food produced in Australia or increase in our own population is seen to also be a risk to international stability. Most recently we have seen the interest in land use come into question in debate about population growth targets in Australia (Dick Smith 2010).

In Australia prime arable land is under threat from mining interests, bio-fuels and foreign investment in addition to our practice of re-purposing arable land for housing estates. Risks to the Australian farming industry include climate change and natural disasters, domination of the retail market by supermarket chains as well as industry restructuring from family farms to investor-owned business (including increasing levels of foreign ownership). All these factors are considered as potential threats to Australia's food security.

Nowhere is the role of coming to grips with a diversity of views more prescient than in this issue of food security. Fossil fules are both a challenge for the environment as well as our ability to produce enough food to feed the world. If author Julian Cribb is to be believed, food and energy scarcity are the underlying factors behind an increasing range of global conflict.

Whether it is the invasion of Iraq explained as a fight for oil security (Brendan Nelson, 2007 ABC ) or the increased roll out of CSG mining in the hope of reducing reliance on oil producing countries, food security is the silent player at the table.

Read The Big Effect of Small Choices to find out how you can support Australian farmers with your everyday choices.