Sustainability in Food Production

Running Head: FOOD PRODUCTION
Sustainability in Food Production
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Institutional affiliation

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FOOD PRODUCTION
This essay seeks to assess the major sustainability concerns from an economic social, and
environmental point of view and various responses to the concern which could assist in attaining
sustainability. The selected scenario for this essay is food production in Australia. Sustainable
food production in Australia involves attaining the textile and food requirements in the country
without affecting the capability of the next generation to fulfil their own need. There is a
growing concern about the consistency and future of food production in the country and
organizations such as Australian Conservation Foundation (ACT) calls for strong effective action
and leadership from industry and government to ensure sustainable food production (Lee, 2013).
Sustainability can be defined as the process of maintaining change in a balanced environment, in
which institutional change, orientation of technological development, investment direction, and
exploitation of resources are all in harmony and promote both future and present potential to
attain human aspirations and needs (Wood, 2011). The history of sustainability can be traced
during the period of Western industrial revolution of between 18th and 19th century which led to
growth energy potential. By mid-20th century, environmental movements indicated numerous
environmental costs related to the material benefits which are currently being used.
The life cycle of food products entails disposal, use, distribution, packaging, manufacturing, and
agriculture. Agricultural activities are the largest source of environmental impacts from beverage
and food and are approximated to be responsible for about a third of the greenhouse gas
emissions induced by humans (Bielek, 2018). As the Australian population increases, the
demand for food increases resulting in pressure on land resources. Presently, the increased land
degradation in some sections of the country may be connected with unsustainably agriculture
activities. It is approximated that 70% of stream and rivers pollution in Australia is as a result of

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agricultural silts and chemicals (Whittinghill, Rowe, & Cregg, 2013). These chemical affect
organisms in the soil and in some cases cause negative effects on humans when consumed.
The major component of chemical fertilizers is phosphate and is involved in the improvement of
crop yields and soil fertility. Phosphorus is involved in primary processes of metabolism such as
respiration, macromolecular biosynthesis, signal transduction, energy transfer, and
photosynthesis. The long-term use of phosphorus in the soil during crop production results in
depleting of soil fertility and eutrophication (Chisti, 2010). Therefore, the excessive use of
agricultural chemicals affects the environment through pollution of the soil and death of aquatic
life, and also result in advanced health-related complications hence affecting the human
population and workforces in the country.
With the greater part of population suffering from health-related issues, the population will be
reduced resulting in dependency and the economy will be affected when the workforce and
employees fail to effectively perform their duties. Soil erosion is also becoming one of the severe
issues in Australia. Experts predict that the agricultural yield will be halved within 30 to 50 years
in case erosion continues at the current rate (Masuda & Yamamoto, 2013). These impacts related
to agricultural production can be reduced by focusing on the responsible way of cultivation. The
government is currently spending a lot of capital to control the health-related issues such as
cancer. Additionally, agricultural activities are the largest users of water globally and only 45%
of the water for irrigation is used effectively (Bielek, 2018).
In some regions in the country, there is the availability of rainfall from crop cultivation, but
many regions need irrigation. The wastage of water has greatly reduced water supply to the
industrial sectors and for domestic purposes. This is the reason why some parts of Australia have
an inadequate supply of water for domestic use since large quantity is being wastage in