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INFLUENCES ON FOOD AVAILABILITY – COMPREHENSIVE STUDY NOTES

Key Terminology (learn & be able to define / apply)

  • Availability – physical presence of food in a region or community.

  • Access – economic & social ability of individuals to procure food.

  • Affluence – abundance of money/resources; often linked to excessive intake of energy-dense foods.

  • Cash crop – crop grown primarily for sale/export rather than domestic consumption.

  • Economy – framework of production, distribution & consumption of goods/services.

  • Embargo – total/partial prohibition of trade with a nation.

  • Food security – state where all people, at all times, have physical, social & economic access to safe, nutritious, culturally-appropriate foods that meet dietary needs for an active & healthy life.

  • Global migration – movement of people that transfers food preferences & knowledge.

  • Poverty – absolute (life-threatening) or relative (below community standard) deprivation of basic needs.

  • Social justice – fair, equitable distribution of resources (e.g. food).

  • Staple food – inexpensive, widely available food that provides a major source of dietary energy.

  • Subsidy – government payment to producers to lower costs & encourage production.

  • Tariff – tax on imported goods.

  • Technological – relating to scientific or engineering advances affecting food production & supply.

Food Security Fundamentals

  • United Nations & FAO definitions emphasise:
    • Adequacy of supply (sufficient quantity/quality)
    • Stability – no seasonal/year-to-year shortages
    • Accessibility/affordability
    • Quality & safety (clean water, sanitation, health services)

  • Four interlinked dimensions (Figure 1.1):
    \text{Availability} \leftrightarrow \text{Access} \leftrightarrow \text{Utilisation} \leftrightarrow \text{Stability}

  • Current global snapshot:
    • 3\,\text{million} children < 5 die of starvation/year
    • 1/9 of the world (≈ 793\,\text{million}) hungry daily

Contemporary Threats to Security

  • Food treated as a financial commodity rather than a basic right.

  • Market dominance by multinational agribusinesses squeezes small farmers.

  • Land grabbing for export crops/mineral resources → loss of local farming areas.

  • Expansion of biofuels (sugar-cane, corn) diverts arable land; increases deforestation.

  • Natural disasters & climate change disrupt harvests.

  • Conflict/war create long-term crises.

  • Unfair trade rules, low farm-gate prices & preventable wastage across supply chain.

Historical Evolution of Food Availability

Global Migration & Staple Diffusion

  • Migrants carry knowledge, seeds & tastes. Over time new items become staples if they are:
    • Widely obtainable
    • Cheap
    • Major energy source

  • Modern locations of maize, cassava, rice, wheat, sorghum etc. often differ from their centres of origin (Figure 1.2).

  • Example: Australia shifted from low-nutrient staples (chips, doughnuts) to higher-nutrient meats due to economic growth.

Indigenous Australian Food Systems

  • Pre-1788: ≈ 300\,000 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people, 500–600 family groups (100-1000 each).

  • Nomadic seasonal cycles; tools included spears, boomerangs, digging sticks, grinding stones (Figure 1.4).

  • Men: sporadic large-game hunting; Women/children: bulk diet via gathering seeds, fruits, insects, eggs.

  • Sustainable techniques: ‘fire-stick farming’ – patch burning to renew grass, attract prey, ensure predictable returns (Bill Gammage, Figure 1.5).

  • Contemporary revival: ≈ 5\,000 native species usable. Products (e.g. Outback Spirit sauces, bush-tomato chutney) reach supermarkets; supported by Coles Indigenous Food Fund (10 ¢/item) – provides fertiliser, modern skills, employment.

Colonial & Post-Colonial Phases

  • First Fleet (1788) brought flour, rice, salted meat, alcohol, seeds, goats/hogs/chickens. Crops failed in poor soils; rationing → malnutrition & scurvy.

  • Weekly adult ration: 7\text{ lb} flour, 7\text{ lb} meat, 3\text{ pt} peas, 6\text{ oz} butter, 0.5\text{ lb} rice.

  • Migration timeline (Figure 1.9):
    • 1790s Irish; early 1800s dairy; 1870s American preserves
    • 1930s Depression & British/N-European migrants
    • 1940s-50s post-war Europeans (Italians, Greeks)
    • 1960s fast food (KFC 1968, McDonald’s 1971), outdoor lifestyle
    • 1970s-1990s Lebanese, Vietnamese; rise of frozen/convenience; supermarkets, colour packaging
    • 2000s-present: celebrity-chef media, farmers’ markets, functional foods, online/virtual stores, focus on provenance & ‘food miles’

Australia Today – A Multicultural Pantry

  • Diverse, safe, abundant; ‘spag bog’, pad thai & laksa join meat-pie heritage.

  • Consumers experiment with fusion cuisines; national identity reflected in mixed dishes.

Technology’s Multilayer Impact

Whole Supply-Chain Overview (Figure 1.10)

Primary production → Processing → Packaging → Transport → Retail/Food service → Consumers → Disposal/Recycling

Production Advances

  • Precision / Smart Farming: GPS, satellite imagery, remote sensors yield data on soil, moisture, weather → targeted fertiliser/pesticide use.

  • Hydroponics & Vertical/Underground Farms: London tunnels grow herbs; LED spectra optimise growth; recirculating water reduces usage.

  • Automation & Robotics reduce labour; driverless tractors, drones map fields.

  • 3-D Printing: NASA pizza; home “Foodini” prints puréed mixtures into shapes.

Processing Spectrum (Table 1.2)

  • Traditional: canning, salting, sun-drying, fermentation.

  • Modern: pasteurisation, UHT, extrusion, chilling/freezing.

  • Cutting-edge: irradiation, ohmic heating, ultra-sonification, modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP), freeze-drying.

  • Degrees of processing:
    • Minimally (washed apples, frozen veg)
    • Moderately (pasta sauce, yoghurt)
    • Heavily (microwave dinners, soft drinks)

  • Benefits: shelf life, safety, nutrient retention, reduced waste; Controversies: additives, biotech/GM, packaging waste.

Tools & Equipment Evolution

  • Steam → electricity enabled smaller, safer machines; domestic appliances (fridges, dishwashers) reduced labour, improved safety.

  • Refrigeration key milestones: 19th-century iceboxes → electric fridges (1950s widespread) → cold-chain logistics permitting global perishables trade.

Packaging Innovations

  • From leaves/skins → multilayer plastic films; properties: O₂/moisture barriers, antimicrobial absorbers, microwave-susceptors.

Storage & Distribution

  • Advanced silo monitoring (temp, humidity) prevents spoilage.

  • Cold-chain sensors (e.g. ColdMark 2\,^{\circ}\text{C} indicators) verify safety.

  • Transport modes: water, rail, truck, air – improved via lightweight composites, alternative fuels, intelligent systems, upcoming autonomous vehicles.

  • Traceability tech: barcodes, QR, biometric & infra-red scanning enable quick recalls & consumer transparency (e.g. McDonald’s AR app).

Marketplace Transformation

  • Supermarkets unify fresh & processed goods; self-checkout, smart trolleys.

  • Online: home-delivery, click-and-collect, virtual station walls.

  • Case: Aussie Farmers Direct – >1.25\,\text{million} items/week, claims price matching & 100 % Australian sourcing.

Economic Determinants

Business Cycle Phases (Figure 1.20)

Expansion → Boom → Recession → Depression → Recovery.

Types of Economies

  • Agricultural, Subsistence, Industrial, Market, Mixed.
    Australia = mixed market industrial; many African states = subsistence; India/China = industrialising.

Poverty vs Affluence

  • Absolute poverty: prolonged inability to meet any basic needs; life-threatening.

  • Relative poverty: below community living standard.

  • Cycle of Poverty (Figure 1.21): poor family → low nutrition/education → limited skills → low income → repeats.

  • Australian snapshot (Red Cross): 2.5\,\text{million} people (13.9 %), incl. 603\,000 children below poverty line.

  • Health burdens of excess affluence:
    • \frac{7}{10} men & \frac{1}{2} women overweight/obese
    • 1/4 children overweight/obese
    • Cost >\$50\,\text{billion}/year (direct + indirect).

Political Factors & Instruments

  • Three levels of AU Govt. (federal/state/local) influence food via policy, regulation & expenditure.

Fiscal & Trade Tools

  • GST exempt fresh basics; processed foods taxed.

  • Tariffs protect domestic producers or raise revenue; FTA reductions (e.g. dairy into China, cheese into S. Korea).

  • Subsidies overseas: US wheat, Indian sugar; Australia minimal subsidies → sometimes tariffs/embargoes defend farmers.

  • Embargoes: live-cattle export ban to Indonesia (animal welfare) ; banana import ban (disease risk); Russian embargo on AU produce (political retaliation).

  • Export strategy: AU exports ≈ 60\% of production; key markets China, Japan, Indonesia, USA; branding on ‘clean & green’ quality.

War & Conflict

  • Destroy crops/livestock, displace farmers, block aid → famine.
    Recent: Syria, South Sudan use starvation as warfare.

Social Justice Lens

  • Future food policies must meet security + sustainability + health concurrently; fairness integral yet often sidelined.

Ethical / Practical Extensions & Classroom Links

  • Sensory testing multicultural foods; design national Dish; debate poverty statements; research smart-farm tech; create infographics on waste/war.

  • Aid examples: CanHelp (bikes, sponsorships), Oxfam, Caritas – empowerment, education, micro-enterprise to break poverty cycle.

Numeric & Formula Highlights (memorise for exam use)

  • Global hunger: 1/9 people, 793\,\text{million}

  • Child starvation deaths: 3\times10^{6}/year

  • Indigenous population pre-1788: 300\,000 people, 500{-}600 clans

  • First-Fleet adult weekly ration: 7\text{ lb} flour & meat, 3\text{ pt} peas, 6\text{ oz} butter, 0.5\text{ lb} rice

  • Overweight statistics: 70\% men, 50\% women, 25\% children in Australia

  • Food export proportion: 60\% of production

  • Poverty line population AU: 13.9\%

Exam-Style Connection Prompts

  • Compare hunter-gatherer, subsistence & industrial systems – link to sustainability.

  • Analyse how technology shifts consumer accountability (e.g. QR codes) and producer responsibility (traceability).

  • Debate: “Tariffs & subsidies distort global equity – discuss using Australian & US examples.”

  • Evaluate the statement: “Affluence poses as great a nutritional threat as poverty.”