CSIRO says its Transforming Australian Food Systems discussion paper will inform the development of an Australian Food Systems Roadmap to help guide a sustainable transformation.
The science agency has invited industry, peak bodies, government, professional and consumer and civil groups, and individuals to provide comment on the paper, with the submissions deadline 7 February.
CSIRO said, “The roadmap is intended to help guide the sustainable transformation that is necessary across Australia’s food systems and takes a systems lens looking at the entire food value chain and its many interacting systems.
“It will investigate and define the challenges faced by Australia’s food system within a national and global context, define a vision for the future of Australia’s food system, and explore opportunities for sustainable transformation.”
In 2023, Australia’s food systems are estimated to feed more than 60 million people across Australia and its various export markets. These food systems are high performing and vital to the nation’s economic and social prosperity, and the country also has a strong reputation as a safe and reliable provider of high quality, natural produce, and food products.
But CSIRO said in a rapidly changing world there are mounting pressures on these food systems.
“Australia has an opportunity to act now, to transform the nation’s food systems to ensure they remain world leading in terms of connectedness, innovation and technology adoption, infrastructure, and as a developer and deployer of enabling systems.
“Industry and governments need to work collaboratively to ensure that Australia’s food systems have a sustainable future, both environmentally and economically, while equitably supporting healthy populations.
“Delaying action risks these opportunities, risks the food system’s collective social impact, and will see Australia falling behind global competitors, with implications on the environment, health and livelihoods,” it said.
The roadmap has five focus areas:
- enabling equitable access to healthy diets;
- reducing waste and improving circularity;
- reducing emissions across the system;
- improving environmental and economic resilience; and
- improving value and productivity.
“It will determine the science, technology, systems and infrastructure required to support Australian food systems to tackle challenges and seize opportunities to ultimately create a more sustainable future for Australian agriculture and food,” CSIRO said.
The project is led by CSIRO Futures – the strategic and economic advisory arm of CSIRO, in close collaboration with CSIRO’s Agriculture and Food Business Unit.
It is is sponsored by CSIRO and several other organisations within the Australian food system, including:
- Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry;
- Australian Department of Health and Aged Care;
- Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries;
- Tasmanian Department of Natural Resource and Environment;
- VicHealth;
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ);
- FoodBank Australia;
- Australian Institute of Packaging; and
- Austrade.
The discussion paper is here.
