Food Staples
What factors affect countries having different food staples?
What is a food staple?
Factors that can affect food staples
- Climate- The food staples can vary from country to country depending on the climate, whether it is hot, cold, wet or dry and all be factors that affect food staple. Cultures indigenous to polar climates, where fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce, rely on meat and fish as food staples. Often, seafood provides the majority of their energy and nutrient needs. For example, Eskimo tribes of Alaska and northern Canada have traditionally eaten seal, walrus, and whale meat in addition to many kinds of fish. In tropical climates, people often rely on starchy fruits such as plantains and breadfruit. In parts of Africa and Asia, especially India, legumes such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas are staple foods.
- Native Plants- Since most food staples are plant based, the staple can vary it each country. come country might have certain foods that are actually adapted to the climate and conditions in that country
- Advancement in technology- Especially in developing country the advancement of technology could be able to change the was that foods are transported, manufactured and how they are stored and therefor could lead to come changes in food staples around the world
Rice
Rice is a food staple for more than 1.6 billion people around the world, particularly in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. Rice has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. Scientists believe people first domesticated rice in India or Southeast Asia. Rice arrived in Japan in about 100 BCE. The Portuguese most likely introduced it into South America in the 16th century.
Today, the world’s largest rice producers are China, India, and Indonesia. Outside of Asia, Brazil is the largest rice producer. Rice grows in warm, wet climates. It thrives in waterlogged soil, such as in the floodplains of Asian rivers such as the Ganges and the Mekong. “Floating rice” is a variety of rice that is adapted to deep flooding, and is grown in eastern Pakistan, Vietnam, and Burma.
Corn (Maize)
China, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina also produce large amounts of corn. There are many factors that affect the growth of corn that can lead to affecting the food production, climate, fertilisation and moisture. These factors all have a great impact on the production of corn.
Wheat
Wheat grows well in temperate climates, even those with a short growing season. Today, the largest wheat producers are China, India, the United States, Russia, and France. The majority of breads are made with wheat flour. Wheat flour is also used in pasta, pastries, crackers, breakfast cereals, and noodles. Starting in the 19th century, wheat joined corn as a popular ingredient for making tortillas. Wheat can be crushed into bulgur, which has a high nutritional value and is often used in soups and pastries in the Middle East. The Conditions that are good to grow wheat, is that they need about 31-38 cm of water and they thrive in damp whether so they grow really well in countries that have a low humidity because they grow better. they grow best when temperatures are about 21-24°C, they also need a lot of sunshine.
How this affects food production
Changes in the world's climate will bring major shifts in food production. In some places, temperatures will rise and rainfall will increase; in others, rainfall will decrease. In addition., coastal flooding will reduce the amount of land available for agriculture. In general, food crops are sensitive to climate change. Such change, which affects soil temperature and moisture levels, also determines the vitality of both beneficial organisms and pests. Due to the enormous uncertainties surrounding global climate change, estimates of cropland reductions vary widely from 10 to 50 percent. But this much is clear: global warming is likely to alter production of rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, and potatoes which are staples for billions of people and major food crops in both North America and Africa.