As the problem of food waste continues to mount in Australia, a food policy researcher has raised concerns about the effect of food trends on farmers.

Much like the fashion industry, food consumption follows trends.

But agricultural economics expert Wendy Umberger is worried farmers chasing those trends are feeding into an oversupply of some products and a shortage of others. 

She said growers reacting to the ebbs and flows of a forever-changing market ​with short-lived trends was proving unsustainable to food security as a whole. 

Key Points:

• An agricultural economics researcher is concerned farmers are too focused on chasing consumer trends 

• The Riverland's last asparagus grower wants to open a farm gate to cater to the local demand

• A grain analyst says Australian lentil plantings almost doubled when India removed import tariffs ​
  

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