Thursday, 06 August 2015 15:24

30 tonnes of cabbage vs 2kg of beef

Written by 
Julian Cribb. Julian Cribb.

An international agricultural journalist and science writer believes horticulture will, long term, gradually replace dairying as NZ’s leading farming and food production industry.

Julian Cribb, from Australia, keynote speaker at Horticulture NZ’s recent annual conference, made predictions on changes starting to gain traction in agricultural systems worldwide.

He says the change from dairy to horticulture will occur in 2030-2050, as Asian markets begin to demand more vegetables than dairy products.

“They will still want dairy products for sure, but they will want vegetables even more. There will be a transition from the old style: just as there has been a transition from beef and sheep to dairy, it will now go further to this new diet.” 

Food fashion and changes in cultural demand and health will be in play, Cribb says, pointing out that four of every five consumers in New Zealand die from diet related diseases.

“These diseases cannot be cured by medicine: there are no cures for cancer and heart diseases. The diseases can be stabilised, but they can’t be stopped. To stop them we will have to put our kids onto healthy diets and that means horticulture. We will have to reduce the intake of meat, grains and sugar that underlies the worldwide pandemic of obesity and diabetes.” 

Cribb says for civilisation to survive this century it must change its diet from being broadly European – meat and grains – to being broadly Asian – vegetables and fish. People will keep eating meat and grains, but less of them.

“Vegetables are massively more efficient in land and water use. You can grow 30 tonnes of cabbage with the same amount of water needed to produce 2kg of beef. It’s a much more efficient use of resources which will get dramatically scarce, e.g. farmers’ water being taken by the mega-cities and big energy companies.”

More like this

Eating more fruit and veg 'helps the economy'

A new international study serves as a stark warning for New Zealanders: our health and wellbeing are in our hands, and increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables is a key step to reducing the pressure on our healthcare system.

Featured

Editorial: KiwiSaver to the rescue?

OPINION: Farmers are rightly urging the Government to relax the rules around KiwiSaver and allow young farmers to use their savings towards purchasing either a house, cows or a farm.

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

National

Machinery & Products

New Holland combines crack 50 years

New Holland is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the introduction its Twin Rotor threshing and separation technology, which has evolved…

Iconic TPW Woolpress turns 50!

The company behind the iconic TPW Woolpress, which fundamentally changed the way wool is baled in Australia and New Zealand,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Double standards

OPINION: Imagine if the Hound had called the Minister of Finance the 'c-word' and accused her of "girl math".

Debt monster

OPINION: It's good news that Finance Minister Nicola Willis has slashed $1.1 billion from new spending, citing "a seismic global…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter