Renowned Kangaroo Valley nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton will today call for the clock to be turned back and a return to locally farmed, organic foods.

But this time she won't be using a healthier diet or wealthier bank account as an incentive.

Instead she will argue that returning to sustainable food systems is also necessary for the environment.

"There's a need for people to consider the greenhouse gases that are involved in the production of foods, not only in agriculture but also in packaged foods, processed foods, foods that are out of season and foods with lots of additives," Dr Stanton said.

"One of the biggest problems we have is the huge choice available. We have more than 30,000 foods, including 1800 snack foods.

"The production of those foods is really quite unsustainable.

"It's time to get people back in touch with food."

Dr Stanton will be the keynote speaker at today's Illawarra Regional Food Forum, hosted by Illawarra Food Fairness and held at the University of Wollongong.

Experts from a range of fields will discuss the growing problem of food security and prepare a submission for a state forum to be held in October.

Dr Stanton said the Illawarra's good rainfall and rich soil meant it could lead the way in growing and selling food locally.

Source: Courtney Trenwith, Illawarra Mercury 1/07/2009