1. UNIT 4

2. INTRODUCTION Australia has plentiful food supply with increase in exports. Improved marketing have brought economic advances. Recognised as providing high quality food with technological advances increasing. Concerns re environmental issues however include; natural resource loss and wasted disposal.

3. NATURAL RESOURCES? Australia has many natural resources incl. land, forests, water, minerals and energy such as coal and gas. Economic advantages of primary production need to be weighed up against impact on environment. Forests, soil and water renewable ( can be used in food production and replaced over time) If not sustained or managed carefully can be depleted. Finite (or not renewable) resources incl. oil, coal and natural gas used as power supplies for food production. In some parts of the world natural resources are used up. Conservation of resources and waste minimisation introduced eg. hydro-electricity and solar power.

4. ISSUES = 5 broad areas: Packaging Agriculture Animal farming Fishing Manufacturing

5. Packaging: Food packaging waste disposal is world issue. Is 20% of Australia’s waste. Landfill issues of concern to manufacturers, govt’s and consumers. Q’s to consider; What raw materials used? Renewable? Can packaging be reused or recycled? Over packaging? Costs of recycling more or less than producing from raw materials? Packaging Council of Australia responsible for liasing with the govt, industry and community. Active in debating concerns re- recycling, litter reduction, solid waste management and waste minimisation.

6. Reducing the environmental impact of packaging: Reducing the environmental impact of packaging: Packaging contributes to waste but can also prevent by preserving contents. Without packaging, more food spoilage adding to garbage and landfill! Reduction of costs and environmental impact by: Producing lightweight containers, reducing thickness. Using technology and computers to producer better designs, more efficient. Products in more concentrated forms. Manufacturing bulk units of products to reduce need for lots of packaging. Using recyclable, reusable or biodegradable materials eg. wheat starch biodegradable packaging (pg 350) Refill packs for products. Labelling of recyclable products with logo. Find out about the Code of Practice for Packaging Reduce Reuse Recycle Dispose

7. AGRICULTURE- LAND DEGRADATTION ◦ Deterioration to land whereby quality is no longer useful. ◦ Problem in Australia, due to loss of nutrients, salts and acids and soil erosion. ◦ Soil erosion due to wind and water leads to loss of farming land. ◦ Can be avoided by- extensive crop coverage to protect soil, lessen soil disturbance by mechanical means, trees as windbreaks, giving soil nutrients to improve crop growth, raising banks to prevent water run off, avoiding crops near rivers and on slopes, investigating hydroponics (food grown without soil) ◦ Govt’s can reduce soil erosion by controlling urbanisation (land for food production can be lost by building houses)

8. SALINISATION- Salinity one of the greatest challenges facing agriculture today. Irrigation systems provide an input of water too quickly for drainage systems result in dissolved mineral salts being brought to surface of soil. Salinity (total concentration of water soluble salts in soil) makes it hard for plants to withdraw water from the soil, making them wilted, retarding growth and product yield.

9. Results in soil erosion leading to barren land. Trees and forests protect soil from rain erosion by providing shade or mulch. Top level of soil washed away or may dry out from sun damage. Removing trees for paper production for packaging etc impacts on oxygen in atmosphere as plants take in CO2 and breathe out O2. DEFORESTATION:

10. USE OF CHEMICALS: USE OF PESTICIDES- Chemicals such as fungicides (kill fungi in crops), herbicides (kill plants or hinder growth and poisonous to humans) and insecticides (to kill pests which harm crops) absorbed into soil can be harmful and difficult to remove. USE OF FERTILISERS- Added to soil to increase productivity however excess amounts harmful eg. nitrogen enhances plant growth but run off into waterways kills marine life such as algae.

11. USE OF CHEMICALS: Strict controls include- NRA (National Registration Authority) which assesses and registers all chemicals used in agriculture and animal farming. AQIS(Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) inspects, monitors and investigates imported and exported foods according to govt regulations. Commonwealth Dept. of Primary Industries and Energy surveys foods to test for residues of chemicals and contaminants.

12. Why the need for sustainable farming? Minimising energy and resources Maintaining nutrients in soil Preventing build up of poisons Composting and recycling Protecting soil from water and soil erosion.

13. Organic Farming: Challenge to farmers is to reduce amount of chemicals, reduce land use, prevent degradation to promote sustainability. Organic farming aims to balance productivity with environmental impacts. Avoid harmful chemicals, pesticides, fertilisers etc Crop rotation and biological pest control methods are used. NASAA (National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia) accredited by AQIS has strict standards for certifying products and processes being organic. ◦ Standards require products to be sourced from methods which are not contaminated, mixed with undesirable additives during growing, harvesting, transportation, storage, processing, preparation and packaging. ◦ Thorough application buy food producers and manufactures required for certification. Inspections occur annually and must be complied with for 3 yrs to gain full certification.

14. ANIMAL FARMING: There are 2 big issues! Safe disposal of animal manure. Highlighted by 1999 case when animal faeces contaminated orange packing house resulted in Salmonella outbreak. Manure can: enter waterways, lay in paddocks breeding ground for pathogens, spread as fertilisers and enter food crops. In dairy farming waste water contains manure, urine, chemicals, soil, milk etc which can run off into waterways. To overcome dairy farmers pump to collect waste water and separate then apply to other land to promote pastures. Land degradation from overgrazing. Cattle grazing contributes to land degradation by soil erosion. Overgrazing exposes soil surface which following rains contaminates waterways. Stock rotation reduces this to allow plant growth but soil may not always recover.

15. FISHING: Concerns; High quality water needed for marine farming. Waste build up from uneaten fish food, excreta, chemicals and dead animals. Degradation of coastal environment due to removal of vegetation to establish fishing area. Building ponds and deepening shallow wetlands affects natural water flow. Loss of local wildlife as wild fish get trapped in anti-predator cages or plankton removed which affects the food web. Chemical damage- used in fish farming may be toxic to plants and wildlife in surrounding waters. Sedimentation from farming impacts on plants and native species. Loss of natural fish by overfishing. Damage to sea floor due to dredging eg. scallop trawlers. Contaminated storm water gets into waters where fish breeding eg. containing animal wastes. Industrial waste chemicals or fungicides/ pesticides/ herbicides etc contaminating waterways and oceans. Food packaging littering fishing areas. Oil spills from cargo ships. Overfishing results in excess catch discarded contaminating waters and affecting other marine life. Govt and industry have a vested interest in maintaining water quality, also the need to allow fish to reproduce to replenish supplies.

16. MANUFACTURING: Uses many natural resources and contributes to waste disposal issues for environment. ENERGY- ◦ Used for processing and transportation. Relies on use of non renewable raw materials eg. coal, oil, gas. ◦ These resources costly for manufacturers and damage environment. ◦ Energy costs can be reduced by using solar power, designing food production plants that stay cool in summer and warm in winter to prevent power usage or reducing transport costs by producing food locally. Research being conducted to find energy sources less harmful to environment eg. methane gas from fruit & vegetable decomposition.

17. WATER: Limited resource which can be an environmental issue if it contains heavy metals, mineral salts eg nitrates and phosphates or other harmful contaminants. Fats, chemicals etc if not disposed of correctly enter waterways and affect marine life. Manufacturers now purify waste water to avoid pollution and fines!

18. AIR: Pollution from burning of fuels from food and packaging production contributes to harmful emissions into atmosphere. Food transportation exhausts also pollute. Heavy metals; lead and mercury are chemicals from industrial waste burn off that pollutes atmosphere. Reducing air pollution reduces depletion of ozone layer- important for manufacturers since 1980’s. Packaging industry banned from using chlorofluorocarbons in aerosol sprays eg. aerated cream.