New report reveals how country's food systems letting Aussies down

West Australian

02-06-2025

A shock new report says Australia's $800bn food system is 'falling short', despite producing enough food to feed nearly 100 million people.
The CSIRO has completed the first national stocktake of the nation's food system, which identified 100,000 Australian farmers produced enough food to feed 27 million Australians and another 73 million people globally.
While Australia claimed it was a food secure nation, the CSIRO said it was based on the bulk amount of agricultural commodities it exported such as wheat and beef.
But it did not account for food affordability issues or a diversity of food that met nutritional requirements.
The report, titled Food System Horizons, estimated lifestyle diseases caused by unhealthy eating such as diabetes and cardiovascular cost the economy about $49bn through hospitalisation, healthcare and lost wages.
It says those hidden costs are the highest in the world per capita and costs the economy hundreds of billions of dollars.
'Currently, millions of Australians routinely rely on food charity,' the report said.
'Australia's food system does not produce enough vegetables to meet recommended daily intakes.
'Production-based analysis of food security also overlooks the critical role that food environments play in shaping dietary choices and health outcomes.
'The promotion of convenient, highly processed foods is costing the Australian economy billions in lost productivity from the impact of preventable, diet-related diseases.
'These challenges suggest a significant opportunity for communities, governments and businesses to work together to create future food environments that are healthier, more sustainable and more equitable.'
CSIRO Sustainability Research Director Larelle McMillan said food policy in Australia was currently fragmented across portfolios as diverse as agriculture, environment, industry, social services, health, transport and urban planning.
'We need to move from analysing specific parts of the food system to establishing coordinated reporting for important food system attributes and interactions, thus enabling connected up action for a national food system that serves all,' Ms McMillan said.
She said a reporting system would offer valuable insights into where the food system was falling short – for example, almost a third of Australian households experience moderate or severe food insecurity each year – and where it's failing to meet the needs of all Australians.
'This can be used as a focal point to bring together a greater diversity of voice and vision to identify pathways to sustainable, healthy and affordable food for all Australians,' she said.
The report found the hidden costs of Australia's food system were as high as $274bn, with the biggest burden on the economy coming from negative health and environmental impacts.
Negative environmental factors from farming such as soil, air and water degradation, loss of biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution cost the economy about $225bn.
The report stated commercial activity across Australia's food system, particularly in the agricultural sector, generated unintended but significant environmental impacts.
'Together, the net present value of the overall negative health and environmental impacts of Australia's food system is around 13 per cent of Australia's gross domestic product,' the report stated.
'These environmental impacts, including climate change and damage to fragile soils, have contributed to a plateauing of agricultural productivity.'
CSIRO agriculture and food director Michael Robertson told NewsWire the food system encompassed everything from farming, retail, consumption, logistics, food handling, waste and so on.
Dr Robertson said we celebrate the massive performance the farming sector delivered every year in Australia in terms of the amount of food it produces, 'not only for us, but also for export,' he said.
'But we don't connect all that up to other parts of the system that are associated with food consumption within Australia, this is where the hidden cost issue comes in.
'We don't quantify that and add that into the price of food that we pay for, pointing those out shows what areas need attention,' he said.
'By owning it we can start having a conversation nationally about what we might do to reduce those hidden costs,' he said.
Dr Robertson said knowing and understanding the state of our food system through regular reporting was the first step in dealing with the complex challenges and opportunities facing Australia's food system.
'Our food system is more than just producing and exporting commodities – it's also about providing equitable access to safe, nutritious and healthy food, produced sustainably for all Australians,' he said.
'We have an intergenerational responsibility to pursue these goals vigorously.
'This national stocktake provides an evidence base to guide our actions as social, cultural, environmental, and economic priorities shift.
'While Australia's wider food system is an economic and production success, generating more than $800bn annually and providing significant employment particularly in regional areas, the intersection of our food system with other critical goals calls for a more comprehensive way to evaluate its performance.'