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Australia’s Role in Feeding the World
The Future of Australian Agriculture
Paperback
March 2017
9781486305896
More details
- Publisher
CSIRO Publishing - Published
27th March 2017 - ISBN 9781486305896
- Language English
- Pages 280 pp.
- Size 6.625" x 9.625"
- Images photos, maps & illus
$44.95
Earth’s human population currently exceeds 7 billion, and by the year 2050 our planet will have at least two billion more mouths to feed. When faced with providing food for so many people, the idea is often advanced that Australia will become the "food bowl" of Asia. Australia currently grows enough food to feed about three times its population; however, Australia’s role in feeding the world needs careful consideration.
This highly topical book draws together the latest intelligence on the sustainable production and distribution of food and other products from Australian farms. It examines questions that policy-makers, farmers, politicians, agricultural scientists and the general public are asking about the potential productivity of Australia's arable land, the environmental and economic impacts of seeking to increase productivity, and the value of becoming cleaner and greener in agricultural output. With chapters on the emergence of new markets, consumer trends in China, the biophysical constraints on agricultural expansion, and the various products of Australian agriculture and aquaculture, Australia’s Role in Feeding the World provides valuable insight into the future of agriculture in this nation.
About the editors
List of contributing authors
Acknowledgements
Introduction and a mud map—T. Hundloe
SECTION 1 THE BIG PICTURE
1. Feeding the planet’s growing population—T. Hundloe
2. No escaping demand and supply—T. Hundloe
3. The global food supply—T. Hundloe
4. Australia’s role—T. Hundloe
5. Trade, foreign investment and comparative advantage—T. Hundloe and J. Chiomey
SECTION 2 BIOPHYSICAL LIMITATIONS
6. Climate, rainfall, dams, bores and irrigation—C. Attard
7. Soils and underground critters—S. Cantwell
8. Australian fisheries resources—D. McPhee
SECTION 3 HUMAN AND POLITICAL DIMENSIONS
9. Tar and cement, big holes, small wells and pipelines—T. Hundloe and H. Ditton
10. When is a tomato not a tomato? —H. Ditton and T. Hundloe
11. Waste not, want not: the case of the bent banana—A. White, D. Gallegos and T. Hundloe
SECTION 4 AUSTRALIA’S AGRICULTURAL EXPORT PRODUCTS
12. Growing grains in Australia—S. Blagrove
13. Our Andy’s gone with cattle now—T. Hundloe
14. Horticulture—J. Chiomey
15. Sweet dreams of sugar—J. Chiomey and T. Hundloe
16. The chicken before the egg—J. de Miranda
17. Eggs—J. de Miranda
18. Australian fisheries production—D. McPhee
19. Milking the cow—T. Hundloe
20. Wool, lamb and mutton—T. Hundloe
21. Cotton—A. Solakovic
22. A case study of agriculture: the Atherton Tableland—T. Hundloe
23. Farming the sun and wind—T. Hundloe and S. Sharma
SECTION 5 TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
24. A blueprint for clean, green Australian agriculture—T. Hundloe, S. Blagrove, S. Cantwell, J. de Miranda and H. Ditton
Endnotes
References
Index
Tor Hundloe
Emeritus Professor Tor Hundloe was one of the pioneers of modern-day environmentalism. In 2003, he was the first Australian recognized by the award of an Order of Australia for his development and practice of economics in line with ecological reality and ethical imperatives. In 2010, he was awarded the Individual Award by the United Nations Association of Australia and is currently a researcher within the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland. He has also edited The Value of Water in a Drying Climate (2012), The Gold Coast Transformed (2015), and Australia's Role in Feeding the World (2016).
Sarah Blagrove
Sarah Blagrove is an Environmental Scientist at a large international construction company. She earned an Award for Excellence from the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, and is engaged in postgraduate research based on food security on a part-time basis.
Hannah Ditton
Hannah Ditton has a degree in Sustainable Environments and Planning, majoring in Urban Design and Planning. She has worked for the Green Building Council of Australia where her passion for sustainable development and planning originated.