As consumers, we all have skin in the game

Growing farm sector benefits city dwellers more than bush people, says Jan Davis

I AM told the golden rule in journalism is never to make assumptions. In particular, when writing about a topical subject, one should never assume that people know the background to the subject. In other words, spell it out.

It is an adage that we might well apply to farming.

I was reminded of this when sorting through a pile of reports in my office. One was a survey for the Primary Industries Education Foundation a few years ago.

This study confirmed students don’t know where their food comes from, which was no surprise to those of us in the agriculture sector. In this world, milk doesn’t come from cows, it comes from the supermarket. Less than half the students knew lunch box items such as bread, cheese and bananas were from farmed products; three quarters of Year 6s thought cotton socks were an animal product; and more than one quarter thought yoghurt came from plants. These figures were reinforced by a survey released this week by this paper’s parent company, News Corp Australia.

This showed a quarter of youngsters think fruit and vegetables come from the supermarket, and 6 per cent think they come from “the fridge”. Only 1 in 10 knew they are grown from seeds.

Only 22 per cent of children aged 6-8 could identify five to six vegetables in their raw state; and 12 per cent could only identify one to two.

All this when the OECD says Australia is the fifth fattest country in the world, and one in every four kids is classed as overweight or obese.

Polling commissioned by the National Farmers’ Federation last year could explain why this is so. It found Australians have grown disconnected from where their food and fibre comes from. More than 80 per cent described their connection with farming as “distant” or “non-existent”. It also found most are totally unaware of the economic contribution of farming. Presented with a list of six industries, only 4 per cent of respondents correctly identified agriculture as the fastest growing sector.

This result highlights a real urban myth — that agriculture is a thing of the past, a sunset industry. In reality, it is a cornerstone of Australia’s economic future. It is on track to be the next $100 billion industry, having reached a record $60 billion farm gate return last year. The industry supports 1.6 million jobs.

The story is no different in Tasmania. Agriculture is the fastest growing sector, and it is growing much faster than on the mainland. Our farmers generated more than $2.5 billion at farm gate last year, and a further $4.1 billion came from processed food. The industry is aiming to increase that to $10 billion by 2050.

According to National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson, the problem is that people simply don’t know they have skin in the game.

Most people assume the industry only benefits people in the bush. The bulk of jobs supported by the farm sector are in the city, in retail, food service, logistics and finance.

“Farmers don’t just grow your calories, they grow your salaries,” Ms Simson said.

While food and fibre production is largely out of sight, out of mind, farming produces all the essential ingredients in every meal, every natural fibre on our backs, and many other facets of our lives. This growing disconnect between town and country is serious — and it can’t be ignored any longer.

We live in one of the most urbanised countries. Food is relatively cheap. Everyone takes it for granted and we’re quite complacent about our wellbeing. People should understand how far their food travelled and how it was produced. Australian farmers are efficient producers, and in many areas we export more than we use domestically. However, there’s no guarantee that will always be the case.

There was a bumper sticker around that said, “If you’ve had a meal today, thank a farmer”. And we should.