CHAPTER
Influences on food
availability
In order to survive, the human body needs
access to food and water. Deprived of healthy
food, humans are more likely to suffer diseases
or to die. Sadly, despite producing enough, food
is not readily available to everyone. According to
the United Nations, approximately three million
children under 5 years old die of starvation
each year. In many parts of the world, we are
witnessing a crisis in access to food. The food is
there, but for reasons that we will explore, it is
not available to everyone.
CHAPTER OUTCOMES
In this chapter you will learn about:
The history of the availability of food, including:
global migration
the use of native Australian foods
the influence of technological, social,
economic and political influences on food
availability.
KEY TERMS
affluence
availability
cash crop
economy
food security
global migration
multicultural
politics
poverty
social justice
staple food
subsidy
tarriff
embargo
technological
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9780170400572
CHAPTER 1: INFLUENCES ON FOOD AVAILABILITY
CHAPTER 1
Food security
Food security is a human right, and it exists when
all people at all times have access to necessary, safe,
nourishing, culturally appropriate food to sustain
a healthy and active life. In many areas throughout
Australia and around the world there are people
who run out of food and the means to purchase
food regularly. Daily, too many people face barriers,
such as remoteness, low income or little education,
to accessing enough healthy food, and the United
Nations estimates one in nine people around the
world (793 million) go hungry every day.
According to the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO), food security exists when
all people, at all times, have physical, social and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food
to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for
an active and healthy life. It includes:
adequacy of food supply and availability of
sufficient quantities of appropriate, quality foods.
stability of supply, without fluctuations or
shortages from season to season or year to year
accessibility to/affordability of food
quality and safety of food, taking into consideration
clean water, sanitation and health care.
From the definition above, it is clear that food
security involves more than just the production of
sufficient quantities of food. It also requires food to be
accessible, affordable and of sufficient variety and quality
to enable a healthy life.
In order to be assured of good food security now
and into the future, there are several dimensions that
must be addressed physical availability of food,
economic and physical access to food, food utilisation
based on knowledge of basic nutrition and stability of
the other three dimensions over time.
Not everyone in the world enjoys secure access
to food. The factors that can cause food insecurity
and affect food availability are often multiple and
interrelated, including:
the financialisation of food food is traded as a
commodity rather than regarded as a right
market dominance of multinational agribusinesses
and exporters leaving small-scale farmers with
limited avenues to market their produce
Figure 1.1 Dimensions of food security
lack of access to farming land needed to produce
food and generate income
land grabbing by large business who take over
land that has been traditionally farmed by families,
to grow food for export or extract natural
resources. This deprives local communities of the
basic resources they need to survive.
Biofuels being produced from plants such as
sugar cane or corn; as farmland is diverted to
grow plants for biofuels, the amount available to
grow food has decreased and deforestation has
increased
natural disasters such as drought, floods,
typhoons and cyclones, which can wipe out
an entire harvest, and climate change, which
influences global weather patterns
conflict and war leading to food shortages and
triggering years of food crises
unfair trade rules that can see small local food
producers treated unfairly, many not being
rewarded for the worth of their labour or produce
food wastage, which occurs at all stages of the
food chain is often preventable.
Physical availability and access to food are further
influenced by a diverse range of factors.
Access
Food security
Availability
Utilisation
Stability
WorldHunger.
org
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COLOA Studio
FOOD TECH FOCUS / STAGE 6
Figure 1.2 Staple food crops around the world
Historical changes to
the availability of food
Global migration
When people move from one country to another or
to another part of their own country, they bring with
them the desire for and knowledge of the foods they
already know. As a result of this migration, the new
location may gradually introduce the newcomers most
preferred foods into the local diet. Over time some of
these foods become part of the daily diet and are called
staple foods. To be classed as a staple, the food must
be readily available to most of the population, and
provide a major source of energy in their diets. Staples
may be of plant or animal origin and vary from region
to region. They are generally inexpensive and more
plentiful than other food sources.
Throughout history as populations moved around
the world so too did staple food crops so that today
we have access to a variety of staple foods. Where
crops are currently grown around the world bears
little association with where they were historically
grown and produced. Countries like Australia, with
solid economic growth and good trade markets have
morphed from predominantly low-nutrient-density
staple foods including potato chips, doughnuts, and
biscuits, to higher-nutrient-density staple foods
including increased consumption of meat.
