Australia does not have a food security crisis.
THE issue of food security has sparked plenty of discussion in recent years, however, it is important to clarify that the term is widely misused in the Australian context.
Modern consumers value having access to a wide range of produce year-round. And while the impact of the pandemic has reduced the availability of some products, there has been no threat to ‘food security’.
Australia has faced logistical challenges and some consumers face food affordability challenges (at worst).
Some products will not be available, but overall, Australia is well provided with calories.
A relative concept
The chart above displays the share of consumer expenditure on food for 104 countries, collected from US Department of Agriculture datasets.
Australia is ranked at 97th with 10.81 per cent of consumer expenditure. Interestingly Australia is higher in the rankings for alcohol spending at 28th place, or 4.5 per cent of expenditure.
As Australian consumers spend a relatively low proportion of overall wages on food, there is a much larger degree of flexibility to divert spending from other goods to food in the event of higher food pricing.
In other nations, where food spending makes up a much more considerable component of the average spend, this flexibility is reduced.
Availability
The recommended calorie intake per day for a man is 2,500 and for a woman is 2,000.
From 2010 to 2019, Australia had a food supply of 3,412 calories per capita per day, substantially higher than the recommended calorie intake for a man or woman.
On a global basis, the average available food supply was 2,909 calories.
Australia also has a significant protein availability, with an average of 108.8 grams per capita per day. The recommended intake for an active 37 year old is 65 grams.
Australia, therefore, has significant access to protein supplies.
The recommended intake of fat for an active 37 year old is 70-122 grams. Over the period 2010 to 2019, Australia has had access to a fat supply of 157 grams per capita, per day.
This is significantly higher than recommended levels, and above the global average supply over the same period of 83 grams per capita, per day.
Collective view
The modern food supply chain is global and provides the ability to move produce from areas of surplus to deficit.
The fourth-century writer and pagan sophist, Libanius, summarised this sentiment in his orations.
“God did not bestow all products upon all parts of the earth, but distributed His gifts over different regions, to the end that men might cultivate a social relationship because one would need the help of another. And so, He called commerce into being, that all men might be able to have common enjoyment of the fruits of the earth, no matter where produced.” Libanius, Orations (III), fourth century.
By virtue of its large land mass and relatively small population, Australia is a large exporter of agricultural commodities. In 2020, Australia had the fourth lowest population density at 3.3 people per square kilometre.
While it makes a good story to talk about food security in the news, or as a political statement, the tale told by the data is far different. On a global basis, Australia is extremely food secure, and as a nation we need not worry.
That being said, there are many people on the breadline and individually struggling. That requires good policy to ensure that cost of living does not cause individualised food security issues like those being suffered by the poorest countries.
• Andrew Whitelaw is co-founder and director of Episode 3 (EP3)
