‘I’m a Professor of Geography at Sydney University and a Newtown resident since 1989. I’m doing a lot of work on global food security issues, nutrition, links with climate change and the environment.’

What kind of trends are you seeing at …the moment?

‘My sense is that there are a lot of problems. It’s a pretty grim future. There are problems regardless of climate change in terms of feeding upwards of 9 billion people by the year 2050. And the environment is becoming more degraded and we’ve got a more uncertain climate. These are big issues that there are no easy answers for.’

From a local perspective, what can individuals do?

‘There is a lot of good stuff that’s happening. I think part of the answer is to be more resilient which means a bit more local food – supporting local businesses. I think the old model of big companies shipping food around the world is becoming less reliable in the future. I think we have to rely on more local production. The Inner West is a great place for local start-up businesses in the food and beverage industry. Some restaurants do local sourcing. There are of course urban gardens, community gardens, backyard gardens – a lot of things happening around this place. If it can happen in the Inner West, it can happen anywhere!’