The Australian government’s first national food strategy underscores what agricultural scientists have been saying for the past decade – that it is not possible for Australia to double its food production by 2050 without the use of all available investment, innovations and scientific advances.
As the Food Plan green paper points out, there will 3.2 billion affluent and middle class people living in the Asian region by 2030, mostly in China, India and Indonesia. Their food needs will be driving the coming Australian agricultural boom. As the food plan starkly states, “Australian investment alone is not enough for our food industry to continue to grow, so foreign investment remains critical to the ongoing success of our agriculture and food sectors.”
Just as Chinese investment has driven Australia’s mining boom, so will it be the prime mover behind the cutely-named next “Dining Boom.” Another stark reality ahead for all those who currently object to the use of crops that have been bred using the latest biotechnology techniques, including genetic modification. The Green Paper states clearly that without the adoption of new crop varieties, it will not be possible to meet the demand to grow double as much food by 2050 as Australian currently is now.
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View the original article here: China: Australia can feed our “dining boom” with GM crops
