Article ID: CBB180830596

Eating Game: Proteins, International Conservation and the Rebranding of African Wildlife, 1955–1965 (2020)

unapi

Around 1960, leading figures in the international conservation circuit – such as Julian Huxley, Frank Fraser Darling and E. Barton Worthington – successfully propagated new visions about the value of undomesticated African mammals. Against traditional ideas, they presented these mammals as a highly efficient source of protein for growing African populations. In line with this vision, they challenged non-interventionist ideals of nature preservation, and launched proposals for active management through game ‘ranching’ and ‘cropping’. As such, they created a new socio-technical imaginary for Africa's future, in which the consumption of wildlife meat took up a central position. This article explores the motivations of Western conservationists for this drastic rebranding. It argues that the rationale of considering African wildlife in terms of protein played an important symbolical role at various levels. It was crucial in the reorganization of the transnational networks of conservation, but also in the boosting of their scientific reputation, in the restructuring of their institutional ties, and in their attempts to maintain an authoritative position for Western ecologists in a rapidly decolonizing world.

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Authors & Contributors
Margaret H. Friedel
Stephen R. Morton
Borghini, Andrea
Cox, Mary Elisabeth
Tarulevicz, Nicole
Death, Carl
Concepts
Nutrition; dietetics
Food supply
Food and foods
Wildlife conservation
Ranching; herding; pastoralism
Biological diversity; biodiversity
Time Periods
20th century, late
20th century
21st century
20th century, early
19th century
17th century
Places
Africa
Australia
Great Britain
Lesotho
Peru
Singapore
Institutions
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) (Australia)
United States. National Park Service
Rockefeller Foundation
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