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The Forum > Article Comments > Global crisis on our plate > Comments

Global crisis on our plate : Comments

By Julian Cribb, published 5/5/2008

We need to reshape the way humanity produces food, feeds itself and manages Earth's natural resources.

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"Julian, I wouldn’t hold out much hope of Australian farmers becoming custodians of the land . .cleansing the waters."

Touche Imperial. It is well documented that our imprudent method of farming this arid land has resulted in soil degradation, salinity, depletion of our water resources and our native fauna and an overload of agricultural chemicals which have trashed our eco-systems and public health. And yet the bugs remain triumphant.

The South West of WA is now officially one of the most threatened environmental hotspots on the planet.

No worries that our farmers have converted to factory farming. Battery hens by the millions. Pigs, goats, cattle and sheep crammed into trucks to be transported thousands of kilometres around the nation.

A 2007 UN report says the spread of large scale intensive livestock production is threatening the world's genetic diversity and that corporate Australia is one of the prime offenders.

And yet our meat industry is spending millions of dollars of taxpayers money in PR overseas to increase live exports to developing countries, for short term economic gains for an avaricious and irresponsible livestock industry.

On the way, a couple of million of these chemically laden critters, diseased and dying, have been dumped overboard into the ocean, contaminating marine life.

Those couple of million dead animals could have been slaughtered in this country and fed to a substantial number of humans.

And now anything supported by four legs in Australia is transported around the world live. Camels, goats, deer, sheep, cattle etc. Many succumb to a watery grave on the way.

As a result of factory farming, humans in the West are now threatened with zoonotic diseases. Globally, deaths and sickness from animal contagions are on the increase. The majority of epidemics are now of animal origin.

Mother Nature objects as we move ourselves closer to the precipice.

This nation's farming practices and our sycophantic, captive governments, will force us to learn the hard way. Distance is no longer an obstacle to these pathogens (many insidious) and perhaps in the not too distant future, it may be every man for himself.
Posted by dickie, Tuesday, 6 May 2008 11:25:56 PM
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Imperial, stuffing it up- because every hecatare is not untouched remnant vegetation? because decades ago decisions were made that resulted in salinity? Because drought has denuded pasture? How exactly is this stuffing up occuring?

Or do you mean decisions made by govt's on water allocations, clearing encouragements/stipulations?

If farmers aren't currently custodians of the land who is?

All the things farmers have done, do, and will continue to do is for you the consumer. 20 million people don't simply exist here without farmers, and without environmental impact. Aust farmers can give up farming if you're happy to give up eating.

As the president of NFF, wouldn't it be a tad unusual to totally misrepresent his members? Perhaps you could provide some examples of NFF's general scepticism.

Maggie, I didn't intend to negate your statement, only to say that meat will continue to be highly important part of the human diet into the distant future. Even without feed grains.

You are quite correct that it takes lots more water to produce meat than grain, but that rainwater isn't depriving grains of water on land that won't support grains. Humans just don't eat grass, they require an intermediary like cows and sheep.

Unfortunately you won't be able to buy much Aust rice this year, but you make a good argument for buying Australian produce when we can.
Posted by rojo, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 1:31:21 AM
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please substitute meat for rainwater in my last paragraph. ie the water that falls as rain on non-arable soil is not going to be helpful to grain production.
Posted by rojo, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 1:40:32 AM
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The main reason for food shortages, although greed and stupidity also contribute, is that most of humanity is and always has been in a Malthusian trap. Technological advances occur, then population grows to eat up the surplus and restore the customary level of misery. The growth spurt ends, in such societies, when the market for labour collapses, i.e., the ratio of usable resources to people has fallen to the point that not even child slave labour can produce enough to pay for itself. If they avoid collapse, people then find ways, often very brutal, to limit their numbers. The high living standards enjoyed by ordinary people after the Black Death were not matched until the late 19th century, despite more than 500 years of progress, as explained in the lecture on the 14th century in the Radio National Thousand Years in a Day series (2000). The link gives part of a decree of Edward III in 1351, ordering people to work for the same wages as before the epidemic

http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/statute.html

By the early 20th century, malnutrition was again so widespread that the British Army had to lower its minimum height requirement (see Barbara Tuchman's history, "The Proud Tower").

We got out of the trap because, in addition to progress, our elites introduced policies (for economic and public health reasons) that made big families expensive, unnecessary, and easily avoidable: compulsory education, civil rights and economic opportunities for women, old age pensions, a (mostly) trustworthy financial system, modern contraception, sanitation and vaccinations so the babies you do want live, etc. Help that doesn't get people out of the trap is ultimately worthless, and degrading your natural capital to raise production now is worse than worthless. There are twice as many Ethiopians now as when Bob Geldof launched his appeals in the famine of the early 1980s. Is it really our fault if they are still hungry?
Posted by Divergence, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 6:22:08 PM
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*There are twice as many Ethiopians now as when Bob Geldof launched his appeals in the famine of the early 1980s. Is it really our fault if they are still hungry?*

Divergence, our religious nuts certainly share part of the blame.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3028820.stm

tells you a bit as to what has been going on in Ethiopia. Its
pointless sending them food, vaccines, etc, if family planning is
not dealt with properly. Many of these women would choose to have
less children, given the chance. Some of our religious organisations
make sure, that they are not given that chance.

I recently saw a documentary on Nigeria. The Western female
journalist was quite shocked. On her first day, talking to tribal
women, 4 of them offered to give her their babies. Many of them
simply can't cope with all those children, but without proper
family planning, that is not going to happen.

Empower these women with family planning of their choice, I think
you would be amazed at the difference.
Posted by Yabby, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 7:00:13 PM
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