Tai O, located off the northwest coast of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, has a distinct socio-economic and cultural character premised on its position at the centre of an aquapelagic assemblage within the broader Pearl River Delta area. The area is well known as a centre for cultural heritage tourism within which culinary heritage, and particularly shrimp paste production, is a key element. Recent developments in Hong Kong fisheries policy have curtailed shrimp fishing around the island and required its shrimp paste operation to realign its production and manufacturing operations. In tandem with these changes, the island has recently developed as a centre for dolphin-watching tourism. The article examines the nature of Tai O’s contemporary use of marine resources, the nature of community adjustments to external circumstances and the likely longevity of its livelihood activities and distinct culinary products.

While the ecological, economic, and social benefits of entomophagy are well documented, adoption of this food source in many Western countries has been slow. Understanding consumers’ attitudes towards entomophagy is important in determining if and how edible insects will be accepted as a food product in the future. This research determined the dominant discourses that exist towards entomophagy in New Zealand. Q methodology, which provides both a technique and philosophical principles for studying individuals’ judgments, attitudes, and points of view about a topic, was used to identify dominant consumer discourses. The objective of the study was to describe representations of different dominant participant viewpoints. Thirty-four participants living in Dunedin sorted a set of statements about entomophagy. The comparison of sorts across participants in a factor analysis enabled the identification of statistically similar participant viewpoints, which were then interpreted using the rich qualitative data obtained in interviews after card-sorting. Five different discourses were identified: ‘Enthusiastic adventurers’, ‘Benefit seekers’, ‘Disgusted disavowals’, ‘Tolerable but restrained’, and ‘Secure resolute’. In addition to practical insights about how insects could be positioned in the marketplace, the identification of these discourses adds to a limited literature on entomophagy attitudes. Future research that measures the prevalence of these discourses via a nation-wide representative survey would allow researchers to determine who holds these viewpoints, which would have useful implications for developing an insect industry.

Mildura, in northwest Victoria, is the hub of the dried fruits industry in Australia. This small agricultural industry has a remarkably interesting but little-known history. The development of the industry was due to irrigation (which resulted in environmental degradation), entrepreneurialism combined with powerful, persuasive marketing and the tyranny of the distance to markets. Soldier settlers, Alfred Deakin, Justice Henry Higgins and several cookbook authors all played their part. In its infancy, the industry looked to the United States for inspiration but then returned to its natural friends in the Commonwealth for help when markets were bloated and prices were low. Apart from two celebratory, anniversary publications, the history of the industry has been largely overlooked. This paper addresses this oversight by highlighting how the dried fruits industry has influenced some of the key themes and important events in Australia’s cultural, political and legal history.