In Australia, Farmers Lead The Way To A More Resilient Food System

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle Nierenberg

Next week, I’ll be writing to you from Australia. 

Australia—like everywhere on this planet—is beautiful and complicated. It’s one of the most biodiversity-rich countries in the world, from the arid Outback to tropical urban coastlines to temperate rainforests in Tasmania. At the same time, also like many other nearby South Pacific island nations, Australia is experiencing the effects of the climate crisis particularly acutely.

Nine out of the country’s 10 warmest years on record have taken place within the past two decades. As sea levels rise, more than 1.5 million Australians are at risk. And severe weather events are becoming much more devastating: The summer bushfire season, which peaked last month, was the worst in more than five years and burned around 1 million acres (400,000 hectares). 

It’s also a place where people struggle to afford food. The country’s official Bureau of Statistics reports that 1 out of every 8 Australian households is food-insecure, but organizations like OzHarvest say it’s actually closer to a staggering 1 in 3 households.

But here’s what gives me hope: In the face of these cascading crises of food insecurity, climate change, and land degradation, Australia is showing how farmers and ag system leaders can be key players in building more resilient food and climate systems! 

This year, Australia is stepping up in a big way on the global stage as the country prepares to lead negotiations at COP 31, the United Nations climate change conference in Turkey, this fall. And on the ground, sustainability work has long been deeply engrained: The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), for example, has worked since 1965 to push governments and businesses to not only protect but also regenerate the country’s wildlife and natural resources—and to support farmers doing the right thing.

“Australian farmers care for over half the country’s land, nurturing some of the richest ecosystems on this incredibly biodiverse continent,” Nathaniel Pelle, the Business and Nature Lead at ACF, told Food Tank. “It makes sense for a conservation organisation like ACF to work with farmers who are producing food in harmony with nature—we know we can't fix our climate nature crisis without farmers.”

And because some 22 percent of food waste in Australia originates on farms, we need farmers on the front lines of building food security, too. Every week, the organization OzHarvest saves over 250 tonnes of good food from over 2,600 food donors and delivers it directly to more than 1,500 charities. Agriculture, the organization has said, is “largely untapped for food rescue.”

“We have forgotten how to value our farmers and the effort it takes to grow food,” Ronni Kahn, the Founder and ‘Visionary in Residence’ of OzHarvest, told me on the Food Talk podcast.

Uplifting the voices of farmers—giving farmers the microphone to tell their own authentic stories—is itself a food system intervention! As Pelle put it: “With smart, sustainable practices, and the community's support, farmers can heal damaged land, restore soil health, lock away carbon, and help create a food system that works for people and nature.”

Next week, on the opening night of Adelaide Fringe, Food Tank is presenting “Voices of Australian Farmers: A Love Story,” with our partners OzHarvest, Woolworths, Aquna Murray Cod, and the Australian Conservation Foundation. We’re so excited to celebrate Australian farmers as the kickoff to the world’s second-largest annual theater festival—and we’re thrilled to announce that the evening’s special celebrity guest host is none other than the renowned actress, director, and regenerative farmer Rachel Ward.

For the evening, we’re handing the stage over to mushroom farmer Georgia Beattie; cod aquaculturist Mat Ryan; poultry and beef farmer Hannah Greenshields; Ngarrindjeri Elder and pipi harvester Derek Walker; grain farmer Matthew Haggerty. We believe deeply in the power of bringing artists and farmers together for deeper collaborations like this, so we’re grateful for an amazing creative team including director Shannon Rush, the Artistic Associate at State Theatre Company South Australia; producer Isabella Strada; and musician Jamie Hornsby.

If you’re in the Adelaide area and want to join us, be sure to grab a ticket before they sell out! Public tickets are HERE, but as a Food Tanker, you can CLICK HERE to reserve a free spot as our special guest.

Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you at another “Voices of Farmers” event! Within just the next few months, we’re visiting Dublin, Ireland; Austin, Texas, during SXSW (find info and access free tickets HERE); Boston, Massachusetts; and more. 

In Australia just as in each of your home communities, it’s the wisdom of farmers that can help solve our most pressing challenges!

Hearing farmers’ stories firsthand—listening as they describe the love they have for the land, for their animals, for the food they produce—is incredibly powerful. I’m moved to tears and filled with hope by these folks who literally embody resilience in the face of the climate crisis. So please reach out to me at danielle@foodtank.com and let me know where we should bring “Voices of Farmers” next—and what amazing folks we should give the microphone to.

(Danielle Nierenberg is the president of Food Tank and can be reached at danielle@foodtank.com)