Account for the spatial distribution of food gathering as main economic activity around the world.
Food gathering is the lowest order of economic activity. This occupation today persists largely in the equatorial and tropical areas. The chief areas where food gathering survives as a mode of life even today include:
- Amazon basin (parts of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela)
- Parts of tropical Africa (including the Zaire basin)
- The northern fringes of Australia
- The interior of New Guinea and some pockets in the interior of Southeast Asia (parts of Myanmar, Thailand and China).
Though food gathering requires least effort and investment among all economic pursuits; yet a large area is required to support even a small population by this mode of living. It is thus an extensive activity and yields per unit of area and per person are extremely low.
Topics: GS-I: Factors Responsible for the Location of Industries in Various Parts of World