Sustainable Sustainability in Australian Food Exporting

Sustainability is an increasingly important consideration in both built and natural environments, as human endeavors are revealed to be increasingly fragile and enormously dependent on natural resources that could potentially be eradicated through overuse and unsustainable practices. This affects almost all areas of human activity, including many that might seem not directly related to sustainability issues such as import and export levels. When considered from a regional perspective, however, the exportation of resources -- whether purely natural resources or a combination of natural and built procedures -- becomes directly related to certain concepts in sustainability. This paper will examine current features of Australia's food exportation activities and determine their degree of sustainability.

Crop Production

The amount of arable -- i.e. food-producing -- land in the world is diminishing, in some regions at alarming rates, meaning that agricultural products are already becoming increasingly rare (Midmore 1993). This does not yet pose a problem to developed nations, that either possess large agricultural areas or can afford the rising costs of imports (Midmore 1993). Right now, Australia falls into the former category and exports a large proportion of its agriculture to countries around the world. Population changes and a growing scarcity...

By developing and utilizing more efficient farming techniques that help to restore or at lest fail to continue shrinking agricultural lands, the current limits of land and water resources can be increased both in the short- and the long-term (Tellarini & Caporali 2000). This will have several effects on exporting, especially if the sustainable techniques are employed in Australia yet global supply keeps shrinking: Australia should be able to maintain an agricultural surplus for some time to come, allowing for the continued exportation of food resources and potential strategic stockpiling, should the situation progress to a point where this is deemed necessary.
Multiple Perspectives

The issue of Australia's agricultural production and the need for sustainable practices is not only important in its effects on exporting activities, however. There are a variety of considerations and different levels…