The land of tomorrow will be one where we live, work and work away, but the land that exists today will not be a happy place to live, much less a thriving one.
In fact, the land we live on today is not that different from what existed before we had the internet and cars and planes and computers and phones.
The only difference is that today we are living in a much more efficient way.
It is time to take action to preserve and protect our native land.
The idea behind native farming is to provide food for people on a subsistence level, with no dependence on outside supplies, says Peter Devereux, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Monash University.
What is native farming? “
So we have to get out of our own way and think about what we can do to make it work for the people on the land and for the environment.”
What is native farming?
It’s a way of life that dates back at least as far as the Neolithic period.
We all know the stories of the nomads who would travel to other parts of the world to gather food.
In the late 19th century, Australian farmer William Stegall first used his skills in the field to develop a system for growing crops and livestock.
By the early 20th century native farming was a major part of Australia’s food production, and today it’s used to provide the bulk of our meat and poultry, along with dairy, eggs, vegetables and fruit.
There is a large number of native crops growing in Australia.
Here are some of the main ones: Pineapple, which is native to New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia.
The seeds are stored in a special pod and then ripened before being ground into small pods, or pounded into flour.
Corn is grown on a native farm in northern New South, Queensland.
Kiwi, native to the Cook Islands.
The kernels are ground into flour and then rolled into patties.
Peas are grown on native farmlands in New South Island, Australia.
Tomato, native Australia’s main fruit.
The pods are ground up, then the pods are rolled into bread and baked.
Papaya, native New South and Queensland.
The leaves are dried and dried again and then ground into a powder.
Aged parsnip, native Queensland.
These are processed in a similar way to the other crops and then dried.
Cabbage, native Tasmania and New South.
The stems are crushed and ground into pellets.
Tuckerberries, native Australian forests.
The fruit is ground and dried and then roasted.
Potatoes, native north-eastern Australia.
These can be ground and roasted.
It’s used in baked goods, as a meat substitute, and as a flour substitute.
And that’s not all.
Native farmers have also grown some of our most iconic crops: Chili peppers, native in Queensland.
This pepper grows in small pods.
The seed is ground into powder and then crushed and then pressed into a small flour loaf.
Seeds and seeds from native fruit trees.
These produce small seeds, which are ground and ground again and rolled into a large loaf.
A small pod is then rolled and baked into flour, and then smoked.
Avocados, native across Australia.
This crop grows in large, cylindrical, spherical pods, each of which has its own distinct seed pod.
The ground is crushed and pressed into bread.
So far, native farming has been an important part of Australian agriculture.
But what about the future?
Currently, more than 20 per cent of the land on our planet is used for agriculture.
The most intensive farming involves using a large amount of land for agriculture and the rest for the forestry industry.
This creates huge carbon emissions and a lot of land is lost every year.
So far, Australia has taken only a tiny fraction of that land and has only managed to reduce carbon emissions by about 25 per cent.
The result is that our land is becoming increasingly barren, while the forest, which we depend on for food, is shrinking in numbers.
“We need to find ways to use less land,” says Dr Devereuux.
As well as working with farmers to find new ways to grow food on the farm, it is also important to get rid of invasive species that are disrupting the natural habitat for native species.
But, as the world becomes more urban, our dependence on the agricultural sector is growing.
While most people are already using more sustainable farming methods, the more we use the more our traditional methods will have to go.
So what do we do about it?
As with any big change, it’s important to think about where it’s coming from and what it means for the future.
“It is really about taking care of our
