Opinion Articles

When fewer people meet more food

For most of the modern era, the story of food was scarcity. More people meant more demand, higher prices, and ever-expanding markets for farmers. That part of human history has now come to an end. For the first time, global population growth is slowing sharply at the same time as global food production continues to rise. The implications for agriculture — particularly for bulk grain and meat producers like Australia — are profound, under-discussed, and

Trevor Whittington January 15, 2026

Opinion Articles

How the Net-Zero dream mugged agriculture

There’s a rule in politics as old as the wheatbelt: never sign anything you wouldn’t be willing to enforce yourself. Unfortunately, the Australian agricultural sector didn’t get the memo. A decade ago, farm lobby groups, industry councils, commodity groups and agribusiness roundtables lined up like schoolkids at assembly to clap along to the great net-zero revival meeting. Many signed a pledge, waved the flag, posed for the photo and strutted back to the paddock believing they’d

Trevor Whittington November 20, 2025