News Archive

The Year 2050 might seem far away, but the current generation of children will only be in their forties and will be raising families.

Their world will have 50 per cent more people in it but the planet, our source of food, will be the same size. The demand for food will be huge.

People the world over are now insisting on food that is healthy and ethically and sustainably produced. We need to plan for this situation and we need to start planning now.

A series of lectures targets the three of the key issues that are likely to shape the nature of human food in 2050.

6 AUGUST 2013 - AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Winthrop Professor Kadambot H.M Siddique, AM FTSE, Director, The UWA Institute of Agriculture

6-7pm, Murdoch Lecture Theatre FREE  R egister here .

"Australia is currently a net food exporting country and about 70 per cent of the food produced is exported," Professor Siddique said. " The presentation will cover our current food production, population growth and the impact of climate change on food production and export.

"To maintain Australia's food production capacity in 2050, we must innovate, adopt and reform. We need to bring existing knowledge into use; build the capacity of institutions to undertake strategic research, development and extension; increase research and development and investment; and undertake microeconomic reform."

4 SEPTEMBER 2013 - IS MORE EFFICIENT FOOD PRODUCTION IN CONFLICT WITH ANIMAL WELFARE?

Marion Stamp Dawkins, Professor of Animal Behaviour, University of Oxford

6 - 7pm University Club Theatre Auditorium  FREE Register here

Greater efficiency may for some people be an obvious goal for providing food security for an increasing human population but what are the implications for animal welfare?

Will greater agricultural efficiency inevitably lead to lower standards of welfare? This lecture will ask whether there is really a conflict between human well-being and animal welfare and argue that good animal welfare can provide the basis of healthy safe food for humans, benefits for the environment and productive commercial farming.

Marian Stamp Dawkins has been involved in research on farm animal welfare, particularly that of poultry, for many years. She works extensively with commercial poultry producers in the UK and was behind the setting up of FAI (Food Animal Initiative) at Wytham, Oxford.

10 OCTOBER 2013 - DO GENETIC EFFECTS THREATEN THE SUSTAINABILITY OF MARINE FISHERIES?

Fred Allendorf, Regents Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences, University of Montana and 2013 US Fulbright Senior Specialist UWA

6 - 7pm University Club Theatre Auditorium FREE Register here

Wild marine fisheries comprise approximately 15 per cent of all animal protein in the human diet. But the world is facing a global fishing crisis.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 70 per cent of all commercially important marine fish stocks are fully fished, overexploited, or depleted.

The harvesting of marine fish can have genetic effects that threaten the sustainability and potential recovery of this valuable resource. For example, recent genomics work with Atlantic cod has shown that the observed reduction in size and earlier age at sexual maturity is at least partially caused by a genetic response to fishing pressure.

To sustain the productivity of harvested marine fisheries populations, it is crucial to incorporate genetic considerations into management. Management plans should be developed by applying basic genetic principles combined with molecular genetic monitoring to minimize harmful genetic change.

Fred W. Allendorf is a past President of the American Genetic Association, and has served as Director of the Population Biology Program of the National Science Foundation.

This lecture series is co-sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Studies , the UWA Institute of Agriculture and the UWA Future Farm project