Volume 199 - Issue 7
Australia’s dietary guidelines and the environmental impact of food “from paddock to plate”
Authors: Bridget S Green, Anna K Farmery and Colin D Buxton
Med J Aust 2013; 199 (7): 456. || doi: 10.5694/mja12.11845
Published online: 7 October 2013
Published online: 7 October 2013
To the Editor: We agree that nutritious food choices should also be sustainable, but Selvey and Carey’s portrayal of seafood production1 is incorrect. The 2012 assessment of Australia’s fisheries found that only two of the 111 fish stocks classified (1.8%) were overfished, rather than the 40% claimed by Selvey and Carey, and one of these (bluefin tuna) is rebuilding rapidly.2 Assuming 15 million Australians eat two 100 g portions of seafood every week, our annual seafood requirements are 156 000 tonnes from the 241 100 tonnes of current sustainable fishing and aquaculture production.
Globally, current fishing pressure is sustainable in 70% of world fish stocks.3 Demonising seafood based on discredited science claiming the world will run out of fish by 20484 does not help in making nutritious food choices. All food production has an environmental impact. We and others have applied the life-cycle analysis methods advocated by Selvey and Carey to several seafood industries. The amount of carbon dioxide produced by fisheries is lower than that from chicken, pork or beef production.5 Wild fisheries use little water and no fertilisers, pesticides or antibiotics,5,6 which makes seafood a healthy and sustainable choice for people and the environment.
Competing interests
Our fisheries research at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies has been supported by funding from the Australian Government Fisheries and Research Development Corporation; Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment; Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency; and the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre.
References
- Selvey LA, Carey MG. Australia’s dietary guidelines and the environmental impact of food “from paddock to plate”. Med J Aust 2013; 198: 18-19.
- Flood M, Stobutzki I, Andrews J, et al. Status of key Australian fish stocks reports 2012. Canberra: Australian Government Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, 2012. http://www.fish.gov.au/Pages/SAFS_Report.aspx (accessed Aug 2013).
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2012. Rome: FAO, 2012. 0_i1142875
- Worm B, Barbier EB, Beaumont N, et al. Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science 2006; 314: 787-790. 0_i1142878
- Hilborn R, Kearney B. Australian seafood consumers misled by prophets of doom and gloom. 2012. http://www.sydneyfishmarket. com.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=L-DLXbsm BJA%3D&tabid=103 (accessed Aug 2013).
- Hilborn R, Tellier P. The environmental cost of New Zealand food production. Wellington: New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, 2011. http://www.seafoodnewzealand.org.nz/fileadmin/documents/Publications/107558_ECNZFP_2012.pdf (accessed Aug 2013).