Food wars to shape future

…In Australia, debate on the future of agriculture has largely been about drought and climate change and has ignored the fact that the world may be entering a prolonged period of shortages and famines at a time of vastly increased demand for food.

At top policy level in Australia, and in all the leading countries of the world, there is apathy about a potentially extremely grave problem facing humanity in the medium term. Sixty per cent of the conflicts in the last 15 years have had, at their core, a scarcity of food, land or water. Scarcity of food, land and water is a major driver of refugeeism, and the conflicts between different groups it precipitates.

Australia has not yet understood that agriculture policy is defence policy. It is refugee policy, immigration policy, environmental policy as well as health, food and economic policy. We persist in seeing it as an isolated issue. We have not grasped its global significance.

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