Abstract
The global food system is undergoing unprecedented change. With population increases, demands for food globally will continue to rise at the same time that agricultural environments are compromised through urban encroachment, climate change and environmental degradation. Australia has long identified itself as an agricultural exporting nation—but what will its capacity be in feeding an increasing global population as it also comes to terms with extreme climatic events such as the floods, fires and droughts, and reduced water availability, experienced in recent decades? This chapter traces the history of Australian agricultural exports and evaluates its food production and export capacity against scientific predictions of climate change impacts. With the federal government forecasting declines in the production of wheat, beef, dairy and sugar, Australia’s key export commodities may well be compromised. Calls to produce more food using new technologies are likely to generate significant environmental problems. Yet, a radical reconfiguration of Australian agriculture which incorporates alternative approaches, such as agro-ecology, is rarely considered by government and industry.
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Notes
- 1.
“Carbon fertilization” refers to the hypothesis that if CO2 levels do increase in the atmosphere this might enhance the ability of crops to photosynthesise and so increase yields. The IPCC considers that this will occur in some food crops. However, counter-evidence suggests that while CO2 might provide an initial boost to plants, its positive effects quickly disappear. In fact, increased CO2 is believed to reduce nitrogen and protein in plant leaves by some 12%. Climate change will thereby reduce the amount of protein in staple cereals available for human consumption. The reduced nitrogen in leaves will mean that pests attacking crops will consume more leaves to obtain the nitrogen that they require—which will translate into yield reductions (GRAIN 2009 p. 4).
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Lawrence, G., Richards, C., Burch, D. (2013). The Impacts of Climate Change on Australia’s Food Production and Export. In: Farmar-Bowers, Q., Higgins, V., Millar, J. (eds) Food Security in Australia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4484-8_12
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