The future of food: day one of the 20th HACCP Conference

One item sure to be on the agenda in the coming half-century will be food: the lack of it, how to produce more of it, how to get it where it’s needed and how much it will be worth. With the expected increase in population and the cost of food production, how we will feed an estimated 9 billion-plus people from an already-stretched food system could become the biggest challenge of the century.

These topics - and more - were covered in depth on day one of the 20th Australian HACCP Conference. Speakers included: CEO of Future Directions International Major General John Hartley AO; Assistant Secretary, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Dr Jammie Penm; and General Manager of Foodbank Australia Greg Warren.

While the concept of food scarcity is difficult for us first-world inhabitants to grasp, Major General Hartley and Warren warn that it’s an increasing problem in our world - and is likely to increase as we put further pressure on our food system.

Both Major General Hartley and Dr Penm commented that investment in agriculture is necessary to secure to our future food security. As our available arable land dwindles, increased productivity will be vital to feeding our growing population.

Water scarcity and land degradation were highlighted as serious threats to the world’s ability to feed itself, while climate change could lead to further instability and unpredictability.

WNIFT&M spoke with Dr Penm about what the increased demand from Asia will mean for Australian food processors. We will report back on the insights he shared shortly.

For more information on the 20th HACCP Conference, visit www.haccptown.com.au/Australia/html/conference.htm‎.