Farmers’ CEO cooking for a cause
National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) CEO Matt Linnegar will once again don his apron and showcase his cooking skills on Monday, 17 February 2014, when he joins over 200 CEOs from across the country in the Qantas and OzHarvest CEO CookOff.
Taking place at the well-known Sydney establishment, Carriageworks, the inaugural CookOff, now in its third year, aims to help feed Sydney’s homeless while raising funds for Australian charities, and building awareness on the issue of food security.
“Last year was a great success, and as the CEO of Australia’s national agricultural body – representing the people who grow the clean, fresh, healthy food Australians enjoy – I again take on the CEO CookOff challenge to provide for some of Sydney’s most disadvantaged,” Mr Linnegar said.
“At the NFF, one of our core focuses is on global food security, and the need to increase our domestic agricultural production to meet the growing global demand for food and fibre.
“Australian farmers already help feed 60 million people worldwide – yet the UN predicts that with the global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, food production will increase by 70 percent.
“Concerns of food security have existed throughout history, but with the world’s population to reach an unprecedented level, we must as a collective, be thinking about the accessibility, affordability, distribution and wastage of food here in Australia.
“It’s great to see so many CEOs and decision makers join in to raise awareness of the issue, facilitated by fantastic organisations like OzHarvest, who are day in and day out, rescuing excess food and delivering it to those in need.
“Whilst we are the ‘lucky country’ in many respects, the National Food Plan outlined that five percent of the Australian population could be food insecure at any one time – particularly the very old, isolated rural Australians, Indigenous Australians, new migrants and low income households.
“Meanwhile, Australians throw away food worth $7.8 billion a year which equals a whopping 7.5 million tonnes of annual food waste. Looking at these statistics, it’s clear that there are some big challenges ahead, for Australia, and the world, in overcoming the issue of food security. I urge you to show your support by donating to the CEO Cookoff over the next two weeks,” Mr Linnegar said.
All donations to the CEO CookOff go to the Australian charities OzHarvest, Tribal Warrior and Life Changing Experiences Foundation, and are tax deductable. For more, visit the CEO CookOff Website.
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