Fruit and Vegetables in Australian Market Essay

Fruit and Vegetables in Australian Market - Essay Example Agriculture does not play a dominant role in the economy of the country and its share of Gross Domestic Product is only three percent. "Gross farm product (GFP), which is a measure of the value added in production contributed by businesses classified to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) Subdivision 01 (Agriculture). In 1999-2000 GFP was calculated to be $17.6 billion, or just under 3% of gross domestic product." (7113.0- Agriculture, Australia, 1999-2000 2006). Still the country produces a wide variety of crops including fruits and vegetables. Even though Australia is self sufficient in agriculture, the country also imports fruits vegetables and other agricultural commodities mainly due to rising process of domestic produce and increased demand. "The report says that the rising population and demand, low productivity growth and increasing Australian horticultural prices relative to world prices, will place considerable pressure on imports." (A ustralia: Imports Threaten Fruits and Veges 2008). It would be pertinent to find out how the producers from different parts of this vast country are able to market their produce to the local population. The backbone of the fruit and vegetable market in the country is handled by what is known as the Australian Central Markets. There are six central markets in the country and it is responsible for handling a majority of the fresh produce in the country. "The majority of Australia's fresh produce is either traded or transhipped through Australia's central markets." (About the Market). The concept was a recent one that started operations in 2001 with the purpose of streamlining the wholesale market of fruits, vegetables and flowers in the country. According the above mentioned website, the Central Market Association of Australia is the coordinating agency of the six central markets who are members of this nodal agency. The six member association spread representing nearly all of the fru it and vegetable market in the country are The Adelaide Produce Markets Limited, Brisbane Markets Limited, Melbourne Market Authority, Newcastle Market Pty Ltd., Perth Market Authority and Sydney Markets Ltd. The market is not open for business by individuals for domestic use. This study will focus only on the Melbourne Market Authority since it is representative of the whole country. This market comprises of nearly 600 producer and wholesaler outlets and 140 wholesale trading units. The website says that "Over 1800 individual fruit and vegetable buyers representing independent greengrocers, supermarkets, restaurants and food processors source their produce direct from the Market. Many more receive deliveries and consignments from the Markets." Hence this figure also represents the retail market of the country. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are available for purchase and resale. About 86 varieties of fruits and nearly eighty five varieties of vegetables are available here which is ultimately made available to the individual consumers. It includes apples to bananas, beetroot, breadfruit, Changko Manis, Chive (Onion Chives), Currant (Red Currant), Fig, Gooseberry, Hogg Plum, lemon, Loganberry, Mango, Olive, Pea Shelling, Potato, Strawberry, Turnip, Winged Bean etc. (Market Fresh News 2008). This list is just to show the wide variety of common and exotic fruits and vegeta

The Business of Beer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Business of Beer - Essay Example It must be stated then, that beer has a prominent place both in history and the present culture. Given its popularity and significance in society, it was only a matter of time before the profit-driven human being made a business out of this widespread drink. According to Wikipedia, the first breweries in history were actually the brewers' homes, specifically their kitchens.1 When brewing became industrialized, breweries were built as a different construction from the house. The brewery, Weihenstephan (in Germany) is believed to be the longest-standing brewery. While in Manhattan, Adrian Block and Hans Christiansen were the ones who established the first brewery in the New World. The year was 1612. Today, there is a long list of the current top breweries of beer. The Webtender index cites the following in its top 5: Aldaris, Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (brewer of Budweiser, Michelob and Busch beers), UK's Aston Manor brewery, BO's Brewery and Bistro and Brewerania. The success of beer companies in the U.S. shows how the country is a favorable market for the beer industry. Paul Gatza, director of Brewers Association, states: "The craft beer segment has grown steadily over the past ten years, but in 2004 it showed its biggest increase since 1996. The strong growth in craft beer sales shows American consumers' continuing interest in flavorful American beers." Below is the table2 of the Top 10 craft brewers in the United States: We can see the Boston Beer Co leading the pack of the top breweries. Headed by Jim Coch, the Boston Beer Company is the award-winning brewer of the popular Samuel Adams Lager among its many styles of beer. The Success of Samuel Adams The company's interactive annual report in 2003 gave us a preview of the tactics used by a powerful beer brewery to further solidify its place in the industry. First, it is important to establish what kind of beer does the company specialize in. In the case of the Boston Beer Co, the answer is Better Beer. Simply put, the Better Beer category is defined as the opposite of the regular, mass-produced beer. We can identify Better Beer by its contrast from the rest of the market-usually it is imported, highly advertised and more expensive. The Boston Beer Co aims to lock the top position in this product category. Innovation, commitment and meticulous evaluation have paved the way to success of the company. The company put fervent focus on its products and its marketability. Its flagship brand, Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Sam Adams Light are the company's standards, already guaranteed to appeal to the consumers because of its reputation and having passed the test of time. Then like a special treat, the company also came up with its "Limited Edition Beers", this includes Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Samuel Adams Triple Bock and Samuel Adams Utopias. These products were sold at a higher price due to its "in short supply" appeal. These strategies, along with venturing to other innovations (i.e. Twisted Tea), have helped the Boston Beer Co guarantee its place in the Better Beer competition. Having established its standard products (Samuel Adams Bosto

The Double Entry System Essay Example for Free

The Double Entry System Essay According to the double entry accounting system, a business transaction affects at least two accounts and the debit and credit amounts recorded for the affected accounts must be balanced. These transactions will be recorded in the appropriate books of accounts. Business entities develop a chart of accounts, a list of account titles with their corresponding account codes that the business will use in recording and posting in the books of accounts and in reporting in the financial statements. Double Entry System was invented for the first time by Lucas Pacioli’ of Italy in the year 1494 in Venice but it was developed in England. This system is based on the truth that every business transaction involves two .parties— (1) Receiver and (2) Giver. There can not be any business transaction by only one party. If one part is giver of any thing, there must be one more party-receiver. If one part is seller; there must be the other party purchases. Receiver of the transaction is debtor and the giver is the creditor. Thus the transactions take place between two parties, according to Double Entry System every transaction is recorded twice. One party is the debtor and the other party is giver. Receiver is the debtor and giver is the creditor. Accuracy of accounts. The greatest advantage of Double Entry System is that arithmetical accuracy of accounts can be checked easily. Since every transaction is recorded twice, a Trial Balance can be prepared and it can be known whether each transaction has been correctly recorded twice or not. By applying. Double Entry Principle every transaction is recorded twice. Trial Balance can easily be prepared and with the help of Trial Balance Trading and Profit and Loss can be easily prepared to ascertain the gross profit or gross loss or net profit or net loss of the business. Knowledge of Financial Position. Financial position of the business can be known easily. By preparing Balance Sheet one can know what assets are possessed by the business and what liabilities are due by the business. Chances of fraud meager. By applying Double Entry Principles chances of committing fraud is very much minimized. If fraud is committed, it can be easilychecked by verification and auditing of accounts. †¢Comparison of Expenses— Comparison of expenses of the current year with the previous can easily be made. The system of double-entry bookkeeping does have the capa ¬bility of making a positive contribution towards economic growth. Although the ability of double-entry to reveal the success or failure of a business enterprise for a specific period of lime was not valued by the early merchants, double-entrys capacity to accumulate data on individual performing activities, combined with its ability to bring order to the affairs and accounts of these merchants, rationalized the economic activities of the early English merchants

English Literature The Nuns Priests Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer

English Literature The Nuns Priests Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer The Nuns Priests Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer The use of animals in the narratives ‘The Nun’s Priest’s Tale’ by Geoffrey Chaucer and ‘The Company of Wolves’ by Angela Carter allows the reader to further understand the meaning that the composer has created within the text. ‘The Nun’s Priest’s Tale’ is an example of Chaucer testing the bounds of a beast fable genre. Beast fable is a tale where ‘animals are used as embodiments or caricatures of human virtues, vices, prudence’s, and follies and other typical qualities of mankind.’ (Coghill Tolkien 12). ‘The Company of Wolves’ is the reconstruction of the folktale Little Red Riding Hood. The female character in the narrative ends up in the wolfs arms instead of his stomach contradictory to the fairy tale which challenges the narrative of masculine desire. With these examples we can clearly see the animal influence within these texts. Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author who wrote many works, he is best remembered for his frame narrative The Canterbury Tales. ‘The Nun’s Priest’s Tale’ is a part of The Cantebury Tales which tells a tale of an old woman who had a small farm in which she kept animals, including a rooster named Chantecleer. Chantecleer had seven hens as his companions, the most honored of which was Pertelote. ‘Chantecleer does indeed represent abstarct ideas – and represents them in a way the is subtle, changing and often ironic – Chantecleer himself never becomes a mere abstraction. He is a very engaging creation in a very real world’ ( Stephen Coote 52). The idea of a rooster being able to hold such qualities those of human beings, reinforces Chaucer’s poem as a ‘particlar form of comic wisdom’ (Coote 33), through the use of barnyard animals. The poem begins with the romance between Chantecleer and Pertelote. Romance being a genre usually featuring noble knights and their ladies, evokes the comical view of such heroic traditions with the use of animals. Chantecleer’s first introduction is that ‘In all the land, at crowing he’d no peer’ (Geoffrey Chaucer 203). In this context, the description of Chantecleer evokes humor at the heroic traditions of that time on two counts. One is that ‘crowing’ (203) is not a heroic form and secondly that it is not particularly surprising that he does it well seeing as though he is a rooster, and that it is naturally what they do. The rooster is then described from his ‘comb’ (203) right down to his ‘nails’ with the colours of flowers and jewels. This is very strange when it is applied to Chantecleer, as this method is usually employed when describing a beautiful woman. Ironically this description of Chantecleer fits perfectly, reminding us of the swaggering beauty of this animal.

Arturo Islas Migrant Souls: The Lonely Effects of Assimilation Essay

The Lonely Effects of Assimilation The Europeans who claimed what was to become America chose to integrate the land's present inhabitants and future immigrants in order to become the dominating race and, consequently, made other cultures feel inferior to their own. The Angel family, Mexican-Indian immigrants and the subject of Arturo Islas' Migrant Souls, becomes victim to the Americans' forceful demands for conformity. While Sancho, the father, never complains about assimilation, yet never becomes fully "assimilated," his wife, Eduviges, strives to be a part of the American culture. These conflicting reactions and the existing prejudice in the community leave their daughter, Josie, uncertain of her true identity. In the early 1830's, Mexican-Indians, seeking a better life in the "land of opportunity," crossed the border into America only to find themselves and all who followed forced to assimilate to a new culture. The white Americans pushed their food, their beliefs, their clothing style, and the English language upon these immigrants. Some of the seemingly brainwashed Mexican-Indians saw the American actions as signs of kindness and acceptance. Yet, fearful others considered being caught by the strict American border patrol a "fate worse than death" (490). Immigration officers warned "foreign-looking" people to carry citizenship identification at all times, and they "sneaked up on innocent dark-skinned people, and deported them," possibly also "mak[ing them] suffer unspeakable mortifications" (484, 486). Those legally able to reach America became subjected to American ideals and customs. The whites relocated those unwilling to live the "accepted American lifestyle" to specified areas. Aware of this law, Sancho cynically w... ...the use of both the Spanish and English languages and the description of a meal of menudos, gorditas, and Coca-Cola symbolize Josie's two identities--Mexican and American. In the Angel family, as well as in the families of other immigrants, the power of assimilation results in feelings of despair, uncertainty, and inferiority. Eduvige's and Sancho's opposing thoughts on the American culture impact their family's events every day. Constantly in the presence of completely different opinions, young Josie wanders farther from the realization of her identity. And so, forcing families to conform to foreign societies may cause conflicts and destroy the child's sense of self. Works Cited Islas, Arturo. From Migrant Souls. American Mosaic: Multicultural Readings in Context. Eds. Gabriele Rico, Barbara Roche and Sandra Mano. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1995. 483-491.

Glorifying the Tudor Dynasty: Shakespeares Richard III and the Perfect

Arts in England flourished and prospered during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Furthermore, â€Å"The Golden Age† was characterized by the Queen’s patronizing of theatre, which lead it to gain popularity among England. The sixteenth and early seventeenth century witnessed a period of English nationalism, evidently shown through diffused texts in the English language, rather than in Latin. Additionally, the Queen supported playwrights such as William Shakespeare, which lead to depictions of Elizabethan society in his plays. Consequently, influences from London and the royal family influenced plays such as Richard III. Specifically, the play affected the glorification of the Tudors, leading to the villanization of former king Richard III. This paper discusses and argues the effects of Elizabethan England on the plot, villain, and gender roles- all leading to the glorification of the Tudor dynasty. Firstly, Niccollo Machiavelli’s influences on England during the Elizabethan Era transmit in the plot of the play. Machiavelli, an Italian politician, published Il Principe, which established guidelines on how a prince could get and secure his power. Machiavellian ideas diffused among the political elite of England during Elizabeth’s reign (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). Consequently, Shakespeare adapted these influences to produce the character of King Richard III. The principal influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare’s version of Richard is the Machiavellian concept of â€Å"the ends justify the means† (â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare†). When Richard outlines his plans that will lead him to the throne of the kingdom, Shakespeare shows the influence of this concept because he shows willingness to do anything in ord... ... plot, the characters, and the overall conflicts. Culturally London is present in the events and characters of the play, since Shakespeare manages to take influences from historians and his patron to target a historical figure. Finally, while embedding historical events in his plot, Shakespeare manages to legitimize the rule of the reining dynasty. Works Cited Mclean, Ralph. â€Å"The Influence of Machiavelli On Shakespeare.† Britain In Print, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Preis, Dorothea. â€Å"Richard III Society of NSW.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HSC History Extension, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Cambridge: U, 1954. Print. Shapiro, Susan. â€Å"Feminism in Elizabethan England.† History Today. History Today, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014 â€Å"The Richard III Society.† Richard III Society of NSW RSS. HRH. The Duke of Clougester, n.d Web. 07 Apr. 2014

Josephine Baker: Racial Refugee Comes Home

One hundred years ago a star was born, but its light, like that of real stars, took many years to reach us. Josephine Baker, dancer, actress and singer, shone on the stages of France long before she was accepted here in her native country. Having escaped from the poverty of her early childhood, Baker became a legendary performer in France only to be dismissed by American audiences of the 30s. Her story, fortunately, does not end there, as the changing social climate led to Baker’s eventual return and her efforts in the civil rights movement.Though it took decades, the â€Å"Black Venus† finally claimed her place in the history of American entertainers. Baker’s early family life was a world away from the life of glamour she was to later lead in France. Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906, Baker was subjected to the racial prejudices of the times as a result of her mixed Native American and African-American origin. Sources vary on the ident ity of Baker’s father, but the official version lists Eddie Carson, a vaudeville drummer, and Carrie McDonald, a â€Å"washerwoman,† as Baker’s parents.As an infant, Josephine was taken by her mother to winerooms and vaudeville houses where her father performed (Haney 1981, p. 6). St. Louis had an important music scene at the time, and this certainly had quite an impact on the young Freda. Carson soon abandoned mother and child, and Baker’s mother married another man, Arthur Martin, with whom she bore a son and two more daughters. Martin, often unemployed, could not support the household, and so Baker’s childhood was spent cleaning, babysitting and waitressing.Baker describes working for the â€Å"Mistress,† a wealthy white woman, in her autobiography, where she was required to get up at five in the morning (Baker and Bouillon 1977, p. 3): â€Å"There was coal to fetch, the stove to stoke, chamber pots and spittoons to empty, bed to make wo od to cut, the kitchen clean. † She did manage to go to school, but then worked after school as well, sleeping in the Mistress’s cellar at night. Baker was only seven years old. Haney (1981, p.10) suggests that Josephine’s mother harbored resentment against her daughter, blaming her for the loss of Carson; perhaps this, along with the family’s poverty, explains why Carrie McDonald sent her daughter to the Mistress. Josephine finally returned home after the Mistress was arrested for physically abusing her, but Josephine wound up living much of the time with her grandmother and aunt as her relationship with her mother deteriorated even further. Baker’s feelings for the country of her birth were always to be influenced by the experiences of her youth in Missouri.In her autobiography, she recounts the story of seeing her neighborhood go up in flames and seeing a black man beaten when whites decided to avenge the alleged rape of a white woman in July of 1917. Upon leaving her house to find the conflagration, Baker said she thought she was looking at the Apocalypse (1977, p. 2). Jean-Claude Baker and Chase (1993, p. 30) reject Baker’s claim to have witnessed the St. Louis race riots, arguing that she only learned the story later from others. In any case, such an event was to leave a lasting impression on Josephine.Not surprisingly, she was to leave St. Louis at a young age in search of a more promising future. In Josephine’s youth, a brighter future was not available to her through education – she could only escape through marriage. At the age of only 13, Josephine married Willie Wells, a man more than twice her age (Baker and Chase 1993, p. 36). The marriage was illegal and short-lived (to be followed by five more marriages over the years), and Josephine was destined to return to her mother’s house. Her true escape came when she joined the St. Louis Chorus line, where she was an instant hit.Baker was soo n touring with vaudeville troops, performing skits. Though audiences loved Josephine, she faced racism in town after town, where she faced the Ku Klux Klan and segregation (Haney 1981, p. 29). Baker continued her rise to stardom, though, when in 1921 she landed a role in the Broadway production of Shuffle Along, despite original concerns that she was too dark for the part. As the show became a hit, Josephine made an enormous salary for the time. When the production came to St. Louis, Josephine performed before a mixed audience, but the blacks were restricted to the balcony seating.Josephine’s biological father, Eddie Carson, reportedly showed up to ask to be hired for the show, only to be rejected (Haney (1981, p. 39). Baker followed up her success with a role in The Chocolate Dandies in 1924 and became a legend in connection with the Harlem Renaissance in 1925 at The Plantation Club. The real turning point came later in 1925, though, when Baker made her debut in Paris with J oe Alex and the Danse Sauvage in La Revue Negre at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. The audience loved Baker, who danced wearing only a feather skirt.From there, she went on to tour Europe and eventually star in La Follie du Jour at the Follies-Begere, often appearing with her pet leopard and dancing in a skirt made of bananas. She was to star in two movies, ZouZou and Princess Tam-Tam in the mid-thirties, by which time she was one of the highest paid entertainers in Europe (Official Site). In 1936, though, Baker was to be forcefully reminded of the barriers African-Americans were facing in her native country when she returned to the United States to star in the Ziegfield Follies.Unpopular with American audiences and critics, Baker was eventually replaced by Gypsy Rose Lee. In fact, Josephine met the realities of American racism as soon as she got off the boat from France, as she was refused a room in several New York hotels because of her color. Miki Sawada, Baker’s maid at t he time, was with her and described what happened (Baker and Chase 1993, p. 191): â€Å"I could not believe this could be the same woman I had seen in Europe, standing triumphant on the stage, showered with flowers.Here she was huddled before me on the floor, weeping. † In publicity photos for the production, Baker was lit so that she would appear lighter. She wrote to a friend, â€Å"†¦be assured, if I want to make a telephone call in the street, I’m still a negresse† (Baker and Chase 1993, p. 196). After the newspaper critics panned her performances, the show closed and Baker returned to France. Despite her experience in the thirties, Baker returned to America in the fifties and sixties to work to advance civil rights for people of color.The most famous instance occurred when Baker worked with the NAACP to protest segregation at The Stork Club. Animosity brewed as a result between Baker and gossip columnist Walter Winchell, which led to Baker’s nam e being tainted in the Red Scare of the McCarthy era. Baker found other ways to combat racism as well, adopting twelve multiethnic children who came to be known as the â€Å"Rainbow Tribe. † The first of her children, a son, was an â€Å"occupation† baby, a baby of mixed Japanese and Western race from Tokyo.Other adoptees hailed from Finland, Columbia, Canada and Israel (Baker and Bouillon 1977, p. 192-196). By the time of her death in 1975, Josephine Baker had accomplished more in her lifetime than anyone could possibly have imagined was possible for an African-American woman born at the beginning of the century. Not only did Baker manage to overcome the poverty and social limitations of her youth, she emerged as legendary entertainer, a champion of civil rights and a mother to so many who came from homes and situations as bleak as her own had been.Despite the many occasions on which her fellow Americans rejected her, Baker never gave up on her homeland and used her e xperiences as motivation to work toward a better society. The spate of biographies and the documentary of her life that have sprung up in the last two decades are a sign of the changing social climate and racial relations in America, as well as a sign of the longevity of Baker’s legacy. Bibliography Baker, J.and Bouillon, J. (1977) Jospehine. New York, Harper & Row Publishers. Baker, J. C. and Chase, C. (1993) Josephine: The Hungry Heart New York. Random House. Biography. Available from: The Official Site of Josephine Baker, Josephine Baker Estate c/o CMG Worldwide [Accessed 19 October 2006]. Haney, L. (1981) Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker. New York, Dodd, Mead & Company.