Researching wild meat consumption in contemporary Nanxiong, South China: a social practice approach

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of COVID-19 reminds us of the urgency of reducing wild meat consumption (WMC). It is important to investigate why some people prefer wild meat. Using in-depth interviews (n = 19), group interviews (n = 9), and participant observation, this study conducted fieldwork in Nanxiong in South China in 2015–2016 and 2020, where WMC is considered a historical and cultural tradition. This study updates understandings of people's need for WMC in recent years and is likely the first attempt to apply social practice theory to investigate WMC, which provides an integrated and promising tool for theoretically summarizing the "motivations” in everyday life and dynamic relations behind this collective and conventional consumption. This paper offers new understandings of wild meat consumption through an exploration of how the related practices of preparing, cooking and tasting are changing. It explores materiality of taste and texture and the agentic capacity of wild meat. Additionally, the concept of practice memory is used to examine the development of WMC practice. In the context of COVID-19, some policy implications against WMC are provided. © 2023 Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS).