Australia exports 70 per cent of the food it produces, yet 1.3 million households suffer from food insecurity. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has recently appointed a National Food Council to consult on the upcoming National Food Strategy.
The council is made up of 11 food sector individuals representing a range of interests and companies in the industry, but is facing significant community backlash.
Community-led campaign Who Decides Food? says the council is little more than a collection of corporate interests which will not well serve Australians.
According to the DAFF website: “A National Food Council (the council) has been established to advise on the development of the strategy. It is a skills-based, multi-disciplinary council comprising members with considerable knowledge and experience from across our food system. It reflects the complexity and inter-connectedness of our food system.”
The members of the council include Claire McClelland, CEO of Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (who represent just 11 companies responsible for 50 per cent of Australia’s fresh produce), Pat O’Shannassy, CEO of Grain Trade Australia (an organisation formed to formalise commodity trading standards and standardise large-scale international grain contracts) and Barry Irvin AM, the executive chairman of the Bega Group. The Bega Group is valued at $3.5 billion and owns a significant portion of Australia’s dairy industry as well as iconic brands such as Vegemite, Daily Juice Co, Dairy Farmers, Farmers Union and DARE iced coffee.
Tammi Jonas is a farmer, academic and food sovereignty activist. Photo: AFSA.
The Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) is a member of the Who Decides Food? campaign, which has criticised the make up of the council due to strong corporate interests, shareholder-profit priorities and an export-driven mindset.
“The National Food Council is a textbook case of corporate capture dressed up as expertise,” said AFSA Focal Point for Farmers, Tammi Jonas.
“What DAFF calls ‘expertise’ is in reality a narrow group of actors whose business models depend on the very systems that make our food less secure, less just and more vulnerable.”
The National Food Council was appointed by Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Julie Collins following an EOI process. The council will provide advice to the Minister and consult on the development of the National Food Strategy.
The community-led effort from Who Decides Food? was formed in response to the appointment of the council, in a bid to have the council include representatives such as small-scale farmers, food-justice or community food organisations, independent public health experts, broader First Nations food sovereignty leadership as well as climate change and environmental organisations.
The campaign is backed by community organisations such as Sustainable Table, Open Food Network, Slow Food Brisbane, The Australian Conservation Foundation and Food Connect Foundation.
Australia exports 70 per cent of the food it produces, yet a report released by the ABS in September 2025 states: “Over one in eight (13.2 per cent or 1.3 million) households experienced food insecurity in 2023.”
“Australia urgently needs a National Food Council – but it must serve communities, not corporations. The current model is unacceptable. But together, we can change it,” said Tammi Jonas.
Who Decides Food? is calling for the NFC to prioritise community-led food resilience instead of export-market growth, which they say will require the NFC to rebalance the council membership, free from major industry dominance.
Lucy Ridge is a member of the AFSA National Committee.
