Global crisis on our plate
Julian Cribb; 23/4/08
Most people think of farmers as the people “out there” who grow food and, occasionally, gripe about the weather. The farmer of the 21st century, however, may be the person who rescues civilisation. International agencies, such as the World Bank this month, are belatedly recognising the global food crisis is much closer than the climate change crisis or even the next oil crisis. Witness the recent spate of food riots and disturbances. Only farmers can get us through this crisis. Australian governments, it is almost redundant to say, have not yet woken up to it. According to 400 scientific experts who have spent the past four years probing the future on behalf of the World Bank and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, agriculture is going to mean vastly more to civilisation than merely tucker on the table.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23581600-25192,00.html
Tags: Agriculture, Australia, Environment, Global