Chantelle Rushton Caroline Chisholm College

Hi there!My name is Chantelle.

I am a student in Year 10 studying Agriculture.

I chose Agriculture as an elective because I was

interested in food production and natural resource

management

Agriculture is important to my region, but it is under

growing pressure from urban development and

competition from cheaper imported foods

I live in Western Sydney – an urban

area fringed by farms growing fresh food for the people of Sydney

I was lucky to be part of The Archibull Project at my School, where we use ART to communicate TECHNICAL concepts about issues affecting Agriculture in my region by

painting on fibreglass calf “canvases”.Through ARCHIBULL I was able to draw from my experience and put my ideas and

thoughts together and discover what local versus imported food means to Australia !

I represent CONNECTED farming and

SUSTAINABLEResource

management!

By Chantelle RushtonCaroline Chisholm College,Glenmore Park, NSW

Here’s my Question…

REASONS FOR IMPORTING FOOD:A BIGGER VARIETY OF

PRODUCTS and it sometimes COSTS LESS COMPARED TO BUYING LOCAL PRODUCTS!

SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMERS means JOBS and

FRESH FOOD!

It’s also important to have wide open

spaces and CONNECT with the

natural world!

PRESERVING RURAL

FARMLAND AND PREVENTING

URBAN SPRAWL !

AND SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMERS MEANS SUPPORTING THE WHOLEECONOMY!

…FOOD TASTES BETTER AS IT HASN’T HAD TO TRAVEL AS

MANY “FOOD MILES”

Apart from minimizing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions when transporting

goods from the crop to the table…

WHAT ARE FOOD MILES?“Food miles” means the distance that food has travelled from the time of its production…

… to the time it reaches the consumer.

POSSIBLE CONTAMINATION from unknown farming & storage practices…

…and a LOSS OF NUTRITIONAL VALUE of fruit and vegetablesRef:http://www.abare.gov.au/publications_html/crops/crops_09/foodmiles.pdf

LET’S FACE IT, BY IMPORTING FOOD WE

ARE NOT SUPPORTING LOCALFARMERS OR OUR

ECONOMY !

We could have just as much choice of

product with better investment

in local enterprises!

FOR FOOD ALLOWED TO BE PASSED INTO THE COUNTRY IT HAS TO PASS STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS SET BY THE IMPORTED FOOD CONTROL ACT 1992

WITHOUT THESE STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS WE COULD BE BRINGING IN SERIOUS HEALTH RISKS OR HAZARDS TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND ENVIRONMENT.

Ref:http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food

And there’s the concept of “CARBON EMISSIONS”

The NSW Government has Advertisements showing Carbon emissions as black balloons coming out of the machines we use that use up energy from fossil fuels…

…Agriculture has been shown to release lots of such GREENHOUSE GASES

CARBON EMISSIONS CAN COME FROM DECAYING PLANTS AND SOIL

CO2 ENTERS PLANTS THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS

AS PLANTS GROW they STORE CARBON IN ROOTS

WHEN PLANTS DECOMPOSE the CARBON REMAINS in a ‘CARBON BANK’ in soil

CARBON STORED AS ORGANIC MATERIAL IS RELEASED INTO AMTOSPHERE AS CO2 , the ‘CARBON DEBT’

WHEN WE USE CORN ETHANOL AS PETROLWE REPAY THE DEBT as ‘CARBON CREDIT’

BUT IT COULD BE DECADESBEFORE the DEBTIS REPAID.

http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com/2009/02/11/carbon-debt-explained/Carbon Balloon Ad (Your Carbon Contribution) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZLDPEQzlck

If there is INCREASED

PRICING FOR IRRIGATION, then there is

NO PROFIT FOR FARMERS !

Conflict between water users – URBAN versus

RURAL versus RECREATIONAL …Can

the SAME policy be used for all areas?

The fact is there are DIFFERENT WATER SUPPLY AND COSTS depending on the

different areas and uses!

Which means consumers take the time to find out about local produce, buy it, and use it to prepare home-cooked meals (instead of fast-food)

GOOD, CLEAN, FAIR FOOD

ONE SOLUTION COMES FROM A MOVEMENT CALLED

Ref: http://www.slowfoodaustralia.com.au

WORKING WITH SCHOOL COMMUNITIES TO MAKE KITCHEN GARDENS.

PROMOTING wholesome FOOD WORKING TOGETHER

TO MARKET locally produced FOOD

Another solution comes by STRENGTHENING AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL STANDARDS

Develop food standards to ensure industry and trade

interests are considered !

Ref: http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/food/ifsi

CONSUMERS can TRUST that Australian Products are the best

on the market!

http://www.woolworths.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/Website/Woolworths/Community/04Sustainability/#SustainableSupermarkets

•Low flow taps for all sinks and taps

•Having calico bags instead of plastic bags

Big companies are designing SOLUTIONS and INTIATIVES to MAKE FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE

FUTURE

So, what does “Australian grown

and produced” mean to

Australians?

Buying Australian Grown is good for all Australians. It creates jobs, boosts the economy and improves our standard of living. Buying Australian Grown also means getting fresh produce that has been grown and processed to high Australian standards. The Australian Grown brand is an easy way for consumers to identify produce that is Australian. The famous green and gold logo is a guarantee that the product carrying the logo is Australian.

Only products which meet the criteria set out in the Australian Made, Australian Grown

Code of Practice can qualify to carry the logo.Research released by Roy Morgan (2006 -2010) clearly shows that

Australian consumers want to buy Australian and that more than two thirds consciously do so whenever possible.

[ http://www.australianmade.com.au/research ]

So Australian Farmers should actively promote their produce as being

locally grown…the consumers want to know

about it …let’s make it easier for people to show

how much they value“HOME-GROWN” products

by supporting local farmers!

Thanks to all the teachers,

students, farmers, and promoters of

Agriculture in Australia…you enrich all of us with food, fibre

and shelter!

GOLD SILVERPLATINUM

BRONZE

WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE 2010 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION