Currently, a billion undernourished people experience hunger on a regular basis. Global food production will have to rise 70 per cent by 2050 as the world population expands to 9.1 billion from 6.8 billion people. Recent global food prices have been the highest on record, exceeding 2008 levels that sparked deadly riots across the world. Causal factors include population growth, climate change and weather-related crop problems, diminishing water supplies, oil prices and diversion of food crops to biofuel production, damaging farming practices, and land shortages. Is an ongoing world food crisis inevitable? What is Australia's role in global food security and how are we managing our own domestic food challenges in relation to environmental sustainability, rising food prices and declining productivity? |