A recent article from AAP published in stuff.co.nz reported that Australian farmers are becoming greener. This appears to be happening at a rate much faster than in the U.S. The article cites that idea that farmers who live closer to the land and depend on the weather are naturally more concerned with issues such as climate change. A snippet from the longer article:
Research by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) shows that Australians’ attitudes to farming and its effect on the environment are now largely positive.
Any sceptics still believing that the men and women who grow our food and earn so much of Australia’s export income don’t care about the environment need only look at the programme for this week’s inaugural NFF congress in Brisbane.
The 300 delegates to Australia’s peak farming body’s national congress attended sessions on climate change, water and its use, and genetically modified (GM) crops – all key environmental issues.
As well, awareness of environmental issues pervaded sessions on food marketing, new technologies, and the coming global food crisis.
Farmers live closer to the soil and to the weather than the rest of us – and in their environmental awareness it shows.
I’m afraid we are pretty far behind in the U.S. We’re just beginning to become greener.
