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

Featured

Wilmar hands over US$725m ‘court security’ in Indo graft case

Reuters reports that giant food company Wilmar Group has announced it had handed over 11.8 trillion rupiah (US$725 million) to Indonesia's Attorney General's Office as a "security deposit" in relation to a case in court about alleged misconduct in obtaining palm oil export permits.

National

Machinery & Products

Calf feeding boost

Advantage Plastics says it is revolutionising calf meal storage and handling, making farm life easier, safer, and more efficient this…

JD's precision essentials

Farmers across New Zealand are renowned for their productivity and efficiency, always wanting to do more with less, while getting…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Don't hold back!

OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…

Sorry, not sorry

OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter