Geography

Saltbush

• What is saltbush?
  Saltbush is a type of drought-resistant shrub native to Australia, known for its ability to thrive in arid and saline soils. It is commonly used as livestock fodder and has edible leaves that are high in protein and minerals.

• What did First Nations people use saltbush for?
  First Nations people used saltbush as a food source, incorporating its leaves into their diet. They also utilized it for medicinal purposes and as fodder for animals. Additionally, saltbush played a role in land management, helping to prevent soil erosion and maintain ecological balance.

• How has the use of saltbush in this article been advantageous to food security in Australia?
  The article likely discusses how saltbush has been integrated into modern agriculture to improve food security in Australia. Its advantages include its ability to grow in poor-quality, saline soils where other crops may not survive, providing a sustainable food source for livestock and humans. Additionally, its drought tolerance helps farmers maintain production during dry periods, reducing dependence on traditional crops that require more water.

Food waste

1. Why are different sized backyard fruit and vegetables
such as lemons, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, apples and
carrots acceptable for us and our friends to eat, but not
for supermarkets to sell?

• Because supermarkets want to upkeep a certain cosmetic image

2. Who do you think is responsible for the push for cosmetically perfect and uniformly sized produce?

• Supermarkets want to please customers and their standards but at the same time they are the reason customers have these high standards

3. What does ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables really mean?

• Fruit that doesn’t fit the cosmetic standards and is a bit bigger, smaller, wider, longer, bendier, or lumpier.

4. Where do you think this 'ugly' fruit ends up?

• It can be sent to businesses that specialize in selling imperfect fruit or vegetables, but sadly more often than not it ends up wasted.

5. How does this case study represent Australia's contribution to food production?

• It shows how such high standards affect food waste

6. Do you think it is fussy consumers or supermarkets
wanting their fresh food to look perfect that results in
the amount of produce being discarded?

• I think the reason customers are so fussy about fruit or vegetables being perfect is because supermarkets have been able to deliver increasingly more “perfect” food and consumers have gotten used to it and no longer want to eat food that isn’t completely perfect because in their eyes why eat “ugly” food when you could have much nicer looking food instead.

7. List some of the initiatives Craig takes to find some
answers to the ‘ugly’ fruit issue? How far does he get?

• Oz Harvest

• ImPerfect Fruit

8. What do you think would be one possible solution to this problem?

• For supermarkets to sell “imperfect” or “ugly” fruit and vegetables for a reduced price. this would meant that if customers still want to buy the cosmetically better looking fruit and vegetables they can, but it will be cheaper to get the imperfect fruits and vegetables.

Melbourne Food Bowl

1. Definition of 'food bowl': The term 'food bowl' refers to a region that produces a substantial portion of the food supply for a particular area, often encompassing fertile agricultural lands surrounding urban centers.

2. Melbourne's inner and outer food bowl: Melbourne's food bowl is divided into inner and outer regions based on their proximity to the city center. The inner food bowl consists of agricultural areas closer to Melbourne, while the outer food bowl includes more distant farming regions. Both areas collectively contribute to supplying fresh produce to Melbourne's population.

3. Areas comprising Melbourne's inner food bowl: The inner food bowl includes regions such as Werribee South, the Mornington Peninsula, and the Yarra Valley, which are situated relatively close to Melbourne's central business district.

4. Areas comprising Melbourne's outer food bowl: The outer food bowl encompasses areas like Gippsland, Ballarat, and Bendigo, which are located further from Melbourne but still play a crucial role in the city's food supply.

5. Four types of fresh food provided by Melbourne’s food bowl: Melbourne's food bowl supplies a variety of fresh produce, including vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and meat.

6. Melbourne’s projected population in 2050 and additional food requirements: Melbourne's population is projected to reach approximately 8 million by 2051. This growth will necessitate a 60% increase in food production to meet the city's needs.

7. Definition of 'urban sprawl': Urban sprawl refers to the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into surrounding rural land, leading to low-density and car-dependent communities.

8. Proposed ideas to address the reduction in Melbourne's food bowl capacity by 2050:

   • Implement urban growth boundaries: Establishing strict urban growth boundaries can limit the spread of urban development into fertile agricultural lands, thereby preserving essential farming areas within Melbourne's food bowl.

   • Promote urban agriculture: Encouraging the integration of food production within urban environments, such as community gardens and rooftop farms, can supplement traditional agriculture and enhance local food security.

Food Security

Food security can be broken down into four elements

Food Availability

• This refers to how much access to food a nation has within its own borders

Food Accessibility

• This refers to the social, political, and economical conditions of a nation to access food.

• Developed nations have far greater access to food than developing nations.

Knowledge and resources to use food appropriately

• This area can often be where developing nations have an advantage over developed nations when it comes to sourcing food, due to the creative nature required for sourcing other food sources.

• Typically, local cultural knowledge can be quite vital in knowing how to source a range of different foods.

• Whilst Australia is considered a “developed” nation, our First Nations citizens are far greater at sourcing food from the land than others. This is due to a historical local cultural knowledge.

Food Stability

• Countries that are more averse to disasters (natural, war, etc.) will find that food stability is quite unstable at times.

• The most recent example of war between Russia and Ukraine decimated the reliance of these countries on their crops, as well as other parts of the world who relied on the wheat grown for export.