Food security is increasingly recognised as a problem facing urban populations in developed countries like Australia as well as in the developing countries of the global south. Recent disasters, especially floods, have highlighted the fragility of food supply lines in Australian cities. Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change is a NCCARF-funded project that explored urban agricultural practices through a critical review of relevant literature and case study research in two major Australian cities. It found that urban agriculture has the potential to play a greater role in strengthening the food security of Australian cities and building urban resilience in a changing climate.
The 3rd National Sustainable Food Summit addresses ‘how do we get to where we need to go?’, mapping out how transformational change might occur within our food system over the next 50 years with a focus on immediate and emerging priorities. This event is the largest and most diverse gathering of practitioners interested in the sustainability of our food system, and attracts delegates with interests across the food supply chain, including primary producers, manufacturers, retail brands, and members of the business, government, education, public health, community and not-for-profit sectors.
The Australian Government is developing Australia’s first ever National Food Plan with the aim of fostering a sustainable, globally competitive, resilient food supply that supports access to nutritious and affordable food. You can give feedback on the green paper by providing a written submission or contributing to online discussion on the National Food Plan blog. The consultation period ends on 30 September 2012.
A new coalition of community food advocates, the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), has initiated the development of the People’s Food Plan. Over the next three months the Alliance wants to hold a series of kitchen table discussions and public forums around Australia, to collect your views on how we will feed ourselves. You are invited to contribute by hosting an event or participating in the focused discussions. Please express your interest by emailing info@foodsovereigntyalliance.org.
The Queensland Conservation Grow Local initiative aims to protect and promote population health across South East Queensland, meet consumer demand for fresh, locally-produced, environmentally-sustainable food, protect soil, air, water and land health in South East Queensland, improve food security (profitability and sustainability) across the region, and establish South East Queensland as a leader in local food production and consumption.
Released in early March 2012, FOODmap is a comprehensive comparative analysis of food distribution channels for major categories within the Australian food industry, from food producer to consumer. It summarises the key features of a food industry that continues to undergo change, with significant opportunities and challenges at a category level.
The 2nd Annual National Sustainable Food Summit will discuss how Australia’s food system will tranform to meet the challenge of feeding more people with less over the next century. The inaugural 2011 Summit, attended by over 340 participants from diverse sectors and backgrounds, generated consensus for the need to collaborate and continue the conversations necessary to generate change. The 2nd Annual Summit will progress the discussion from 2011 to begin to examine what new frameworks and emerging solutions will help support a sustainable and resilient food system for Australia now and in the future.
You are invited to attend the 3rd Sustainable Phosphorus Summit hosted by the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney – a founding member of the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative. The Summit will bring together key international science, policy and industry stakeholders from different parts of the food production and consumption chain concerned about the role of phosphorus availability and accessibility in global food security, about protecting the environment, and about supporting rural and urban livelihoods.
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater – the theme for 2012 is Water and Food Security.
In August 2011 the Waite Research Institute in Adelaide hosted a debate on food security and what is needed to feed our rapidly growing population. The motion in question was this: Increasing agricultural production is the only sure way to feed 9 billion people by 2050. The affirmative and negative arguments presented are summarised in the COSMOS magazine feature article Food security for 9 billion.