When we think of food insecurity, many of us think of extreme poverty in the global south, not of Australia. Nevertheless, food insecurity is a serious issue here – and one that will only continue to grow.
Season 7 of Monash University's podcast, "What Happens Next?", returns with an investigation into food security. Host Dr Susan Carland's expert guests include dietitians Dr Sue Kleve and Liza Barbour, plant scientist Professor Ros Gleadow, and Ian Carson AM, a Monash alumnus and co-founder of food rescue organisation SecondBite.
Climate change brings with it warmer temperatures and rising sea levels that threaten staple crops, and an increase in natural disasters that pressure supply chains already challenged by global events such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This combination is creating a perfect storm, reducing access to reliable food sources even for the most privileged among us. It's increasingly difficult for the average Australian family to put high-quality, culturally-relevant food on the table.
A major contributing issue is the unsustainable nature of our nation's food systems, which beg scrutiny. According to Stop Food Waste Australia, the country wastes 7.6 million tonnes of food annually – "enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground to the brim near nine times".
While some of that waste happens between the paddock and the supermarket, the bulk of the problem is much closer to home. Households account for more than one-third of Australia's total food waste.
"What Happens Next?" features some of the change-makers on the front lines of food: the people working to improve the underlying causes of food insecurity, provide emergency food relief, and even shape the future of agriculture.
Importantly, listeners will leave with actionable insights into solving Australia's food crisis – starting in their own kitchens.
"There are students who are missing meals, there are people who are homeless who are missing meals, there are people with families that don't have enough money to buy their food and they're missing meals… And given the amount of food we produce in this country, I don't think that's acceptable." – Professor Ros Gleadow
"We're all active players in the food system, so we need to demand more localised food systems and we actually have a lot of power to do that." – Dietitian Liza Barbour
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"What Happens Next?" is available on all major podcast platforms. The program is released weekly on Friday, and will return on 17 February with a new topic.
Now in its seventh season, What Happens Next? explores some of the biggest challenges of the day. Academic and commentator Dr Susan Carland steps through the sliding doors with global experts and thought leaders to find out what could happen if we don't change, and what the world could look like if we do.
In January 2023, it was recognised with a Gold Award for Documentary under the Branded Shows and Advertising category of the inaugural global Signal Awards, alongside other high-profile podcast creators including Apple, HBO, Netflix and media powerhouses like the New York Times, Bloomberg and the ABC.
Explore the podcast's back catalogue.
