Food Security

[Gus Whyte]

There is much talk about at the moment due to the world just ticking over 7 billion people about how can we produce enough food for them? I put it to you that nearly all annual crop growing is unsustainable and very reliant on artificial additives and other chemicals to grow, also according to nutrionist Nora Gedgaudas we have no need in our diet for carbohydrates or sugars, so why grow crops anyway? What we do need is protein, in small quantities and fat, with lots of above ground vegies and fruit in season. The clincher here for rangeland managers is that grass fed animals on native vegetation produce a lot of omega 3 (good fatty acids), where as those fed on grain produce omega 6 (not so good fatty acids). So by following this track and grazing in good rotations with large mobs we can be using the perennial grasses and shrubs and not adding to the carbon emissions and most importantly feed a hell of a lot of people. So get out there, put some mobs together and do your bit for the planet.

[Ben]

The thing we came across time and again during my groups Nuffield travels around the globe was not so much a production problem but a distribution problem.
That said, I totally agree that there are some major land use issues that need to be addressed in the near future Gus. The continuing portrayal of all things meat as evil and all things fruit/grain/vegetable as pure and holy is just plain wrong.