The global population is increasing and if we add climate change, disruptions in the supply chain and workforce, the rise of input costs, and public health concerns related to nutrition, it is no surprise that sustainable and equitable food systems are at the centre of the international sustainability agenda.

When it comes to food systems, we need to consider the whole picture – meaning the entire pipeline from production to consumption, including waste management.

CSIRO’s roadmap, Reshaping Australian Food Systems, is the result of its work looking into the country’s food systems’ challenges (image below).

Multiple stakeholders were consulted by CSIRO in the lead-up to the report, and the roadmap sets a path for how Australia can secure a more sustainable, productive, and resilient future for its food, environment, and people.

Kirsten Rose, CSIRO’s Executive Director, Future Industries, said the roadmap would provide an important resource for decision-makers.

The roadmap identified five areas of opportunities, each with its own 2030 targets and 2050 goals:

• Enable equitable access to healthy and sustainable diets.
• Minimising waste and improving circularity.
• Facilitate Australia’s transition to net zero emissions.
• Align resilience with socioeconomic and environmental sustainability.
• Increase value and productivity.

The targets and goals for each of the five areas of opportunities are further broken down in the report to identify efforts for improvement, opportunities across the food system, and R&D priorities to achieve the objectives.

According to the report, more sustainable, productive, and resilient food systems in Australia have the capacity to:

• Equitably and safely feed entire current and future populations, even during weather extremes and other supply disruptions.
• Advance global food and nutrition security.
• Support dignified livelihoods for workers and prosperity for regional economies.
• Avoid or minimise waste.
• Contribute towards local and global environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
• Sustain the environment and enable the protection and restoration of critical ecosystem functions. Embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems and practices.
• Develop, adopt, and integrate innovation processes and technologies.

However, the report points out that this change will only be feasible if stakeholders across our food systems take part in driving or supporting it. Some of the responsibilities and actions that stakeholders could take are detailed in the report.

CSIRO’s Kirsten Rose says that addressing these challenges and redirecting our food systems towards greater sustainability and resilience will help us protect our food security in the future.

Download the roadmap, Reshaping Australian Food Systems.

 

Sources: CSIRO ‘Reshaping Australian Food Systems roadmap’; https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/News/2023/June/CSIRO-roadmap-charts-Australias-food-and-nutrition-security-by-2050.