Insights Seminar: Climate risks in Australia’s fresh food system – are we cultivating climate change resilience?

Event Details

Date:

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

Group Learning Space, Room 273

Location:

Global Change Institute, Building 20, St Lucia

URL:

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Climate risks in Australia’s fresh food system – are we cultivating climate change resilience? Presented by Jane Muller, Senior Research and Policy Officer, Growcom

Despite mounting evidence that climate change poses significant threats to global food systems, climate risks to food security still tend to be framed as largely concerns for developing nations. Severe flood events in vital farming districts in south-east Queensland in 2011 and 2013, however, were clear reminders of food security threats closer to home. Fresh food systems have quite specific characteristics – requiring the daily production and supply of highly perishable food stuffs: fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, meat and milk. Jane’s research asks how key players in Australia’s fresh food system have responded to recent natural disasters; whether climate risks are recognized to be increasing due to climate change; and what actions are being taken to cultivate climate change resilience within our food system? In this seminar, Jane will discuss results from her interviews with people directly involved in fresh vegetable supply chains in south-east Queensland. Her presentation will outline the implications of recurrent flood events, how recent disasters and future climate risks are constructed by supply chain actors, and how climate risk resilience is influenced by supply chain governance arrangements.