Constructing the Social life of the Kangaroo: A Commodity Study

Abstract

There is an increasing awareness of the need to match agricultural production systems to their environments and recognition, in the case of the kangaroo, that this animal is well adapted to rangeland ecosystems, encompassing 81 per cent of Australia’s landmass. There is also recognition that kangaroo is a healthy protein source, but Australians associate this particular meat with low economic and cultural values. For this reason it has not been widely embraced as part of a healthy and sustainable diet. By following the trail of kangaroo meat from remote Queensland to the supermarket shelf and the menus of European factory workers, a complex web of intersecting factors surfaces to explain the conundrum for the low valuation accorded to kangaroo meat. Historically kangaroo harvesting has been a very lucrative form of resource extraction when overseas markets have accepted the product. Over many decades, it has also returned healthy profits to those in the kangaroo leather trade and the pet food industry. Interestingly, major profits are to be made for kangaroo meat processors when kangaroo management is not integrated within grazing enterprises, thus negating broad ecosystem benefits. In the face of a lack of domestic demand, particularly from smallgoods processors, and the small number of processor-controlled abattoirs, there is little incentive or government support for rangeland graziers to invest as kangaroo producers. The stories of those involved in the marketing and distribution of kangaroo meat provide insights into multiple aspects of kangaroo meat production and consumption, and the mechanisms through which both the value chain and the institutional responses have been formed. What emerges is the key role played by animal welfare movements in shaping both the government’s regulatory approach and the industry’s timidity when it comes to promoting itself or its products. The inclusion of kangaroo in our food supplies is supported by ecologically based arguments relating to the conservation of the Australian rangelands, and the need to reduce carbon emissions. The thesis highlights the need for an institutional response, which can incorporate pluralist objectives. It also identifies a particular approach—designation of origin systems or geographical indications—for product marketing which could re-embed this food into Australia’s culinary culture as part of eco-gastronomy. I argue that we need stories that are built around concepts of human identity that symbolise ecological respect and relationships. For a ‘conservation through sustainable use’ strategy, I suggest that eco-gastronomy could be integral to improving rangelands ecosystems, which would require government reform to the kangaroo industry regulatory systems, including the strengthening of the oversight of quality control. In addition, any regulatory reform will have to secure involvement by the new custodians of the land, rangeland graziers. This study demonstrates the utility of a modified commodity chain analysis for exploring connections between supply-chain dynamics and ecological systems. In particular the focus on institutional frameworks adopted from the GVC approach was critical for mapping the social with the ecological and identifying the barriers and opportunities for creating more sustainable food systems.