Masterchefs of Our Own Destiny
Global food prices reached unprecedented heights in 2011, dashing the hopes of those who believed that the crisis of 2007-08 had righted itself. As the world struggles to afford to feed itself, there are an additional 219,000 mouths at the global dinner table every day. The World Bank estimates that the increase in food prices in the latter half of 2010 pushed another 44 million people below the $1.25 per day extreme poverty line. Although the brunt of the crisis is borne by developing countries, the impact of rising food prices is also being felt at home. While the threats to global food security include such diverse issues as rising populations and climate change, for Australia there is another threat to add to the list: the demise of the humble honeybee.
Arriving in Queensland in 2007, the Asian honeybee (Apis cerana) could devastate apiaries across Australia and wipe out a huge proportion of our national agriculture. The Government’s lacklustre response to the threat posed by the Asian bee exemplifies the problem with Australia’s broader conception of food. While we recognise the vulnerability of our environment and often seek to make sustainable choices, we continue to see food as a commodity which, if local supply is short, can be sourced on the global market at affordable prices. Currently, 93 per cent of our food comes from within our borders, yet over the past 10 years Australian food exports have been decreasing along with our agricultural land area. If Australia continues to undervalue its own food security, then decisions will continue to be made which jeopardise our ability to feed ourselves. An increasing reliance on imported food in Australia would not only have economic implications, but repercussions for security as well.
Feeling the Sting
The Asian honeybee first arrived in Cairns in 2007, having been stowed away aboard merchant ships. Though native to the Asian landmass, subspecies have already spread across the Indonesian archipelago and into Papua. If the bee continues to spread, it could devastate apiaries across Australia and with them, a huge proportion of our national agriculture.
The common bee – literally, your garden variety bees – are European honeybees (Apis mellifera). They are relatively docile, excellent pollinators, and great producers of honey. By contrast, the Asian honeybee is aggressive, a poor pollinator, and has a particular penchant for nesting in letterboxes. Most importantly, it is the host of choice for Varroa jacobsoni, a vampiric mite.
Varroa jacobsoni is a close relative of the Varroa destructor mite. The Varroa destructor has been linked to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which effectively decimated the American bee population. When the Varroa mite reached the U.S. around 1985, nearly a quarter of the country’s 4.3 million managed beehives were wiped out within two years. The number of deaths among wild populations was even higher. Since the initial onslaught, the mortality rate in North American managed beehives attributable to Varroa mites has settled at around 30 per cent, however the figure is as high as 85 per cent in the Middle East and 53 per cent in Europe. In the Solomon Islands, the arrival of the Asian honeybee precipitated the collapse of the country’s European bee population, with its 2000 hives reduced to just five in the space of three years. This makes the Varroa mite a huge threat to bee populations everywhere, including Australia.
If the collapse of bee colonies sounds like a small problem, think again. Insect pollinators, primarily bees, contribute around 10 per cent of the total economic value of human food production globally.
If the Varroa mite was to spread throughout Australia, the consequences would be devastating. More than 95 Australian commercial crops rely heavily on bees for pollination, while some crops are completely reliant. “Without bees”, says Lindsay Bourke, Chairman of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, “you wouldn’t have one almond. Not one nut would be produced”. According to the CSIRO, “one in three mouthfuls of food comes from insect-pollinated crops”.
A Hive of Inactivity
In an effort to control the spread of the Asian honeybee, an eradication program was implemented to detect and destroy swarms and nests before they could spread throughout the country. However, in January of this year, the Federal Government cut the program.
The Government’s rationale was that it was no longer feasible to eradicate the bee, and that containment would be a better option. However, a Senate oversight committee has raised concerns that the decision may not have been made on purely scientific grounds. The inquiry suggested that the representatives from currently unaffected states and territories (Western Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory) “may have supported the conclusion that the pest is ineradicable based on a mistaken view that they would not be directly impacted and therefore should not contribute to an eradication effort”. On the contrary, there is reason to believe that eradication is achievable if the program is prioritised – a view supported by industry experts.
The Queensland Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation estimates that a complete eradication program would cost around $11 million. This is a small price to pay compared to the projected annual costs if the bee became endemic. The spread of the Asian honeybee would cost $27 million each year in public health and public nuisance expenses alone. Not only is the honey industry worth $80 million to the economy, but as Senator Richard Colbeck notes, $4 billion worth of Australian crops are reliant on pollination.
If the importance of food security in the public eye was correctly prioritised, a more effective outcome would have been produced. Not only is the cost small in relation to the economic risks, but a failure to act will jeopardise the nation’s ability to feed itself.
The Pressure Test
When food security is discussed in the public arena, it features as a side note to issues such as climate change, population growth and urban sprawl. It should be considered as a key issue in its own right. Protecting our ability to feed ourselves without undue reliance on imports should be a priority in and of itself.
Economically, the chief benefit of self-sufficiency is that more supply means lower prices. The ability to minimise imports (or offset them with exports) reduces the negative economic impact associated with trade imbalances. Global food prices are set to hike as agricultural land is turned over to biofuel production, residential land and industrial development. Maintaining domestic supply will afford Australia significant export revenues, and will reduce pressure on food prices for the global market.
An inability to feed ourselves could have dire consequences for Australia’s national security in the future. Many international relations scholars predict that future conflicts will be fought over access to food and water resources. Unless we prioritise our own food production we may be adversely affected in the event of regional instability, or if the trade routes upon which we rely for supply become unstable. Additionally, international relations theorist John Mearsheimer has noted that naval blockades have been used against Australia and can be used against us in the future in order to extract diplomatic concessions.
Australians have long been conscious of the vulnerability of our environment and the impact this has on our food production. We have seen floods that wipe out vast crops of wheat, cyclones that annihilate banana crops, and droughts that claim the lives of sheep and cattle. Since the foodie revolution, many have begun to truly think about their food and its origins. An increase in backyard vegetable patches, private efforts to buy locally and grow organic food, and the rise of the celebrity chef on television shows like Masterchef are testament to this. But we continue to view food as an unlimited commodity, rather than as a finite and precious resource.
The issue of the Asian honeybee speaks to an underlying problem. Our well-being and security are at risk, but our collective failure to understand the threats that we face prevents us from making effective and timely decisions to safeguard our food self-sufficiency. It’s time for Australians to put their game face on, and become Masterchefs of their own destiny.
Lindsay Gumley is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Economic and Social Sciences, majoring in International Business, and Government and International Relations. She is currently completing honours in Government and International Relations.
William Thomas is in his third year of a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting, and Government and International Relations.
