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Moving beyond 'magic pudding' concepts of food supply

October 27, 2005

JimScott.thumb .jpgProfessor Jim Scott, in a public lecture next week, will be asking his audience to examine – and then discard forever – any “magic pudding” assumptions they might have about food production.

Professor Scott (pictured here), who holds the inaugural Chair of Mixed Farming Systems at The University of New England, will argue that “magic pudding” concepts of food supply are prevalent in “a population that is now largely disconnected from the realities of farming”. “In spite of this disconnection,” he says, “everyone retains a vital interest in food, expecting cheap, high-quality food to be available continuously. Many people expect the ‘magic pudding’ – based on agriculture – to go on producing high-quality food for consumers without environmental degradation.”

His free lecture, in Armidale Town Hall at 7.30 pm on Thursday 3 November, will examine viable alternatives to the “magic pudding” philosophy, alternatives that he has been exploring throughout his career as an agricultural researcher and academic. It will be his Inaugural Lecture as Professor of Mixed Farming Systems.

Professor Scott, who gained his PhD in pasture agronomy from UNE in 1987 and joined the University’s academic staff in 1989, is also the foundation Coordinator of UNE’s Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems. Since its inception several years ago, the Centre has grown to include 27 academic staff involved in cross-disciplinary research of relevance to farmers.

As the Centre’s Coordinator, Professor Scott is working towards improving the economic, environmental and social conditions of mixed farming communities by engaging groups of farmers in projects related to sustainable agriculture. The project closest to home is the Cicerone Project, established in 2000 on 200 hectares of land just south of Armidale. Led by local producers themselves, the Cicerone Project is working to help farmers on the Northern Tablelands make the most of local conditions. “It aims to understand how different management approaches affect the sustainability and profit of whole farms in the region,” says Professor Scott, who is a long-term Board member of the project. “We are hoping there will be opportunities to work with farmers in mixed farming areas, too, on projects important to them.”

He says his lecture will “examine the quest for long-term sustainability and review the progress made towards developing a sound understanding of viable whole farm systems”.

“I will propose that this is a task not just for those directly concerned with farming,” he says. “Rather, it is a task that all consumers of food, fibre and energy will need to embrace if mankind is to continue to enjoy bountiful harvests.”


Media contact: Professor Jim Scott, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 2436 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at October 27, 2005 10:18 AM