ABSTRACT
Today, more than any other time over the last 50 years or so, environmentalism and a growing awareness of the finite nature of Earth’s ‘apparent abundances’ is becoming more and more inextricably linked with the issues of food security. This is not surprising really considering that the natural resource base provides everything that we humans eat, wear, use or live in. Moreover, through the ages our reliance on the environment around us has increased exponentially and nowadays, as population growth places greater stresses on these resources, the sustainability of this relationship comes into question. As a consequence, the last few decades has seen growth in not just environmental movements, charities and organisations but a fundamental shift in the way many humans view themselves and their relationship with Earth. This is particularly manifested in the way many have chosen to no longer view themselves solely as consumers or end users of the Earth’s products but rather as custodians of an equal and mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. Thus, it this relationship and in particular the way in which it is viewed has huge implications in every aspect of our lives and not least in almost every facet of what we grow and eat. In short, from the way we cultivate our fields to the inputs we use and the emissions we generate; from the food processing plants through to the storage, the consumption patterns and the disposal of all our waste, environmentalism and sustainability is helping to redefine the food security concept (Steck 2008).
