The Hon John Anderson AO FTSE.
The looming global food crisis: challenge and opportunity
Please note this is The Chaikin Oration that was postponed in September 2020.
ATSE is delighted to have as our Chaikin Orator this year, the Hon John Anderson AO FTSE. John is a former Deputy Prime Minister and a towering figure in Australian agriculture and politics. He is Chair of the Crawford Fund, an Australian registered NGO established by ATSE with a focus on global food and nutrition security. John will inform us on the challenges of the looming global food crisis, both technical and political, and how Australia should respond and is already responding.
John will inform us on the challenges of the looming global food crisis, both technical and political, and how Australia should respond and is already responding.
There is no doubt that the world’s ability to provide enough food for future generations is under stress. The jury is out on changing rainfall patterns, where fertile lands of today may become hostile deserts, whether population growth will continue, and on other impacts which will add to the food pressures. To add to the challenge, there are voices asking for the elimination of methane generating animals, inorganic fertilisers and GM food. Australia is fortunate in having world leading expertise both in food production and on analysis of the threats, and is well positioned to make a vital contribution.
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Thursday 25 February 2021
The Chaikin Oration is a premier event for ATSE NSW Division, which the Division has organised for several years to honour past Fellow, Malcolm Chaikin FTSE. The Oration has featured Fellows of the Academy as distinguished orators, on this occasion, the Hon John Anderson, AO FTSE. He will be presented with a medal by our Chair (and event moderator), Prof Anne Green, before his oration. This event is the postponed 2020 oration in fact, and will be a “hybrid” with a luncheon at the UUSC, and a webinar presentation.
The Hon John Anderson AO FTSE
The Hon. John Anderson AO is a sixth-generation farmer and grazier from North-West New South Wales, who spent 19 years from 1989 in the Australian Parliament. This included six years as Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister as a member of the reformist government led by John Howard.
The Liberal-National Party coalition oversaw enormous economic reform, including taxation modernisation and the maintenance of a string of budget-surpluses, which resulted in the Australian government leaving a cash surplus when it left office in 2007.
Recording of the event
1 hour 19 minutes