HUMANITIES

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food

Saltbush is a drought-resistant plant 

used by First Nations for food, enhancing Australia’s food security through sustainable agriculture practices.

Anamika saltbush, a drought-tolerant native shrub that can regenerate marginal land and offer a supplementary food supply

1. Three Ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians Maintained Food Security:

   - Sustainable Harvesting: Indigenous Australians practiced sustainable hunting and gathering, ensuring that they only took what they needed and allowed animal populations and plant resources to replenish.

   - Seasonal Movement: They moved seasonally to access a variety of food sources, following the natural availability of plants, animals, and water.

   - Fire Management: Controlled burning practices were used to promote new growth, making areas more suitable for hunting and gathering food, and improving the health of the land.

2. Modern Use of Ancient Practices:

   - One ancient practice still relevant today is the use of controlled burns. Modern Australian land management includes fire-stick farming techniques to prevent larger bushfires, rejuvenate the land, and support biodiversity. This method helps maintain healthy ecosystems that support a variety of food sources.

3. Cooking and Identifying Murnong:

   - Murnong, also known as yam daisy, can be identified by its distinctive yellow flowers and broad leaves. To cook murnong, it can be roasted or boiled, often used in a similar way to potatoes. Knowing how to identify and prepare such plants emphasizes the importance of understanding local food sources and culinary practices, which can promote sustainability and appreciation of the local environment.

4. Seasonal Movements and Food Security:

   - Seasonal movements allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to utilize different food sources throughout the year. By following animal migrations and plant growth cycles, they ensured a consistent and diverse food supply, thus maintaining their food security.

5. Reason for Evening Fires:

   - Lighting fires in the evening is likely to be a practice rooted in tradition for cooking, warmth, and protection. Fires can also attract animals towards the light or warmth, possibly aiding in hunting during the cooler hours of the night or morning.

6. Lessons for All Australians on Food Security:

   - All Australians could learn the importance of sustainability from the practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Their methods of managing the land—like using native flora such as saltbush and murnong—demonstrate how to cultivate food sources in harmony with the environment. This can inspire modern sustainable agriculture practices that enhance food security and biodiversity.

7. Research on Indigenous Food Recipes:

   - Exploring online resources for Aboriginal food recipes could lead to trying dishes that highlight native ingredients. For example, recipes that incorporate saltbush or murnong might be rewarding to prepare as they showcase traditional Australian foods and reveal the rich culinary heritage of Indigenous cultures. Searching "Aboriginal food recipes" can yield a variety of interesting and authentic dishes to try.

Melbourne food bowl

Melbourne Food Bowl:
Working through the attached slides and through your own research, answer the following questions below:

1. What does the term 'food bowl' mean? (1 mark)

The term ‘food bowl’ is often used to describe productive regional areas of Australia, such as the Murray Darling Basin, that are important places for sourcing of food.

2. Melbourne has an inner and outer food bowl: What does this mean?  (3 marks)
The inner food bowl includes well-known areas of food production, such as the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula. The outer food bowl produces a more diverse range of foods that includes fewer perishable foods, such as fruit and vegetables, but more livestock

3. Which areas make up the inner food bowl of Melbourne? (2 marks)
The Inner Food Bowl is the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne

4. Which areas make up the outer food bowl? (2 marks)
The outer food bowl of Melbourne includes the rest of Melbourne, outside of the metropolitan inner food bowl area.

5. List four types of fresh food that Melbourne’s Food Bowl provide. (2 marks)

1. Fruits (such as apples, berries, and cherries)

2. Vegetables (such as carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes)

3. Dairy products (such as milk and cheese)

4. Livestock (such as beef and lamb) from surrounding farms.

6. What is Melbourne’s population expected to be in 2050? How much more food will need to be provided? (2 marks)
Melbourne’s population is expected to reach 8 million by 2050. To meet the needs of this growing population, there will be a significant increase in food demand, ultimately requiring more food production to sustain the city.

7. What is meant by the term 'urban sprawl'? (1 mark)
The term 'urban sprawl' refers to the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into surrounding rural land, often characterized by low-density residential development, increased reliance on automobiles, and the spread of infrastructure. This phenomenon can lead to challenges such as loss of agricultural land, increased traffic congestion, and environmental degradation.

8. Melbourne’s food bowl currently produces enough food to meet around 41% of the food needs of Greater Melbourne’s population, but by 2050 urban sprawl could reduce the capacity of the city’s food bowl, so that it can only produce enough food to meet 18% of the city’s food needs. 
Imagine you are a city planner that has to propose an idea to help address the above issue.
Outline two ideas that you would propose. (4 marks)

1. Rooftop Urban Agriculture: Promote rooftop gardens to enhance local food production and green spaces.

2. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): Partner farmers with urban residents for direct access to seasonal produce, supporting local agriculture and reducing transport emissions.

Food security

food availability

• in a nutshell, this refers to how much access to food a nation has within its own borders

• for example, a land-locked country would have no access to seafood

• a country with high food availability would rely less on imports, where as a country with little availability would rely significantly on imports

food accessibility

• this refers to the social, political and economic conditions of a nation to access food

• in the area, we discuss the idea of developed or developing nations. who can give some insight into these terms?

• research shows that developed nations have far greater access to food than developing nations. this is due to the social, political and economical conditions of the individual nation.

knowledge and resources to 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 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 cultural knowledge

food stability