Food security and sustainability: Are we selling ourselves short?

Abstract

This paper deals with the question: do some food systems engender a more positive social environment than others, and does this matter? The pressure to generate financial capital from food production is enormous, especially for a country like Australia, and financial imperatives clearly drive choice of food production methods. Many have argued that environmental costs of food production are hardly ever factored into the profitability equation and the notion of sustainable development represents a position where consideration is given to environmental concerns while at the same time maximizing economic returns. While the importance of choice of food system in order to benefit the natural environment has been argued for, another environment - that of the social environment - remains relatively underexplored.