consumptive tourism
It was stated in the WWF SA
Report that the way in which we
currently produce food threatens the
environment and human health. The
global movement to the more natural
methods of not only producing food
but also changed living conditions,
standards and including medical care/
treatment have opened the doors
for the full-scale utilisation of South
African game meat to not only curb
medical conditions but also minimise
the impact of food production on
the environment.
Furthermore, according to Dr Gert
Dry (2019) more than 21 million head
of game animals are on privately
owned land, creating innovative
and entrepreneurial space with
sustainability guaranteed. An average
of 80% of the registered certified
game farms in SA (12 000 certified
game farms) have slaughter facilities
and are in the process of developing
this niche market to supply to the local
market (Van der Merwe et al., 2011).
“In the past few decades, millions
of people across the world have been
lifted out of poverty. This has led to
a rapid growth in the middle class,
particularly in developing economies,
with resultant lifestyle changes. These
macro-trends are expected to continue
to 2050, when a projected global
population of more than nine billion
will need to be fed through a foodsystem that right now is fraught with
challenges. These include accelerating
climate change, rising input costs,
ecosystem and resource degradation,
shifting dietary preferences, social
inequality and resource constraints
and conflicts. Population and income
growth, which are inevitably linked
to a more resource-intensive diet
and greater waste, intersect withenvironmental challenges to add
further stressors within the fixed limits
of planetary boundaries. Given these
multiple drivers, food security cannot
be understood in isolation; it has
economic, social and environmental
implications and must be viewed
within the framework of the intersecting
resources of land, biodiversity, water
and energy.The following abstract from the WWF Report highlights the need to increase production and also to legally guide
game meat production in South Africa:
The low carbon footprint of
game ranching, profitability per
hectare and the health benefits
of a diet that mainly uses game
meat as protein source, have
been researched and reported
on to the fullest.