Food security is when all Australians have access to healthy, safe and affordable food that is culturally appropriate so they can lead an active and healthy life.
We have learnt that many things can affect food security in Australia especially with the rise in population, climate change which brings about droughts and extreme weather conditions, increase in oil prices and use of bio-fuels.
Although Australia contributes to less than 3% of global food trade we still need to ensure everyone continues to have access to sufficient healthy and affordable food. All Australians play a role by:
The recent droughts has meant that farmers haven't had access to sufficient water, resulting in dried up damns, rivers, stored water. This means they haven't had a successful season of grown their crops or feeding their sheep or cattle. We discussed the cause and affect this will have and we have concluded that farmers will not make money therefore they might lose their farms if they can't make mortgage payments. In addition, people working on the farms will lose their jobs, therefore increase in unemployment. Unemployment will mean that the government will need to support the Australian public as they will not have money to have access to healthy foods that are culturally appropriate.
If we cannot buy Australian grown fruit, vegetables and meats, Australia will have to import foods from other countries. When this happens Australians will have to pay more for their food therefore food will cost more and will not be affordable. This is because of the extra costs when shipping food across seas and other import/export taxes. Furthermore, the food standards in those countries might not be the same as Australia which means our health might be compromised.
Bibliography: Australia and Food Security in a Changing World by PMSEIC https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/FoodSecurity_web.pdf