A: When a country sells a product overseas it is called exporting. Some countries are better at growing certain foods than others, so they sell those foods to other countries. For example, Kenya is good at growing coffee beans, so sells them overseas.
Australia is good at raising cattle, sheep and goats and we sell and transport some of these animals to other countries for either food or breeding. This is known as livestock exporting.
A: CATTLE - Milk and dairy products (butter, cream, ice cream, cheese, yoghurt), meat (veal and beef), leather.
SHEEP - Meat (lamb and mutton), wool, sheepskin, lanolin.
A: Some countries are better at growing certain foods than others, so they sell those foods to other countries. Here are some examples of foods that Australia buys from overseas.
- France: Cheese
- Italy: Canned tomatoes
- Greece: Olives
- Canada: Maple syrup
- Switzerland: Chocolates
- Kenya: Coffee
A: Have you ever gone on holidays overseas? Did you notice that the land looked different to that in Australia? Maybe it was really green, or perhaps it was very sandy and hot. Or maybe there were big cities and no countryside.
Australia is lucky to have plenty of countryside with grass and water for animals to eat and drink. This makes it perfect for raising cattle and sheep. Other countries don’t have good farming land, so they have to buy Australian-raised animals instead.
Some countries with big populations also need to bring in food from other countries to feed everyone. Many of these people want live animals for cultural and religious reasons.
Other countries aren’t as wealthy as Australia and many homes don’t have refrigerators. This means they need to buy fresh meat every day, instead of chilled meat like we buy at the supermarket.
A: Ships are the most practical way to transport large numbers of animals overseas.
Animals are kept in pens during the trip. This is so they don’t slide around or hurt each other – just like you have to wear a seatbelt in the car. But every animal on Australian ships has space to move around as well as to lie down and rest.
The animals are cared for at all times. They have access to food and water at all times. Every ship travelling a long distance has a vet who helps look after the animals. If animals become unwell, they are looked after in a special ‘sick bay’.
A: Yes! Farmers are proud to raise healthy cattle, sheep and goats. They care about animal welfare and know that people won’t buy unhealthy animals.
A: Australia is best in the world at caring for animals that are being exported.
A: There are many different religions in Australia and across the world. In Australia, we are tolerant of other people’s religions. We believe that people should be able to practise their religions, even if they are different to our own.
Some religions have rules about what foods can be eaten and how they should be prepared.
- Muslim: Many Muslims require food to be prepared in a way which is described as ‘Halal’. This means ‘permissible’ in Arabic.
- Jewish: Food which is prepared according to Jewish dietary laws is called ‘Kosher’.
Jewish people consider that some foods are not to be eaten at all. This includes pork and shellfish. Rules for preparing Kosher food include not mixing meat and milk, and even not using cooking utensils which have previously been used for non-kosher food.
- Hindu: Hindus do not eat cattle because they consider cows to be sacred.
- Buddhist: Many Buddhists are vegetarians.
- Catholic: Some Catholics do not eat meat on Good Friday and Ash Wednesday. These days are holy days in Lent, the 40 days before Easter when Catholics give up ‘luxury’ items such as meat and chocolate. Until the 1960s, the Catholic Church had rules against eating meat on any Friday.
A: Many Muslims require food to be prepared in a way which is described as ‘Halal’. This means ‘permissible’ in Arabic.
For meat to be Halal, the animal must be killed according to Islamic religious practice. This includes saying a prayer to Allah.
A variety of foods are considered forbidden in ‘Halal,’ such as; pork, blood, and animals who have not been prepared in a humane way.