2GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEMS AND FOOD SECURITY
Modern Australian cuisine is influenced by the agricultural sector. This calls for abundant
availability of food items like grains, meat and poultry, dairy and fresh vegetable and fruit
produce (Rhea 2017). Globalisation has resulted in the infiltration of novel food items and
catering establishments resulting in abundant availability of processed foods and international
cuisines in urban Australia, which is in contrast to the poorly developed and sparsely populated
remote bush areas characterised by reduced food and transport access. Such regional contrasts in
terms of development have been criticised as a major contributor of food insecurity across
remote regions (Ferguson et al. 2017).
Services and products pertaining to healthcare undergo deliverance, operation and
funding by the federal government of Australia, various local, territorial and state governments
as well as numerous organizations which are private and not-for-profit. Approximately 67% of
the medical expenses are funded by Medicare and Medicaid programs (Willis, Reynolds and
Keleher 2016). The Australian healthcare system is considered as one of the best globally, with
the nation denoting a steep rise in life expectancy rates of 70 to 82.50 years from 1970 to 2016
respectively (Stephens et al. 2017). However, as per the Department of Health (2017),
approximately 50% of the population continues to suffer from diseases like cardiovascular and
pulmonary disease, cancer, arthritis, asthma, mental health issues and diabetes, especially the
elderly and Indigenous groups.
According to the World Bank’s Development Indicators, Australian citizens have been
reported to possess 100% access to hygienic sanitation and water facilities (Hall, Shannon and
Jagals, 2016). However, as reported by the Western Australian Government, approximately 80%
of Aboriginal communities residing in the remote regions like Pilbara, Goldfields and Kimberley
had access to water contaminated by microbes like Escherichia coli at unsafe levels. Further, one

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