Cultural Attributes of Ngāi Tahu Food and the International Consumer Cultures that Will Recognise Them Matthew Rout John Reid Research Report No. 358 August 2020 1 Research to improve decisions and outcomes in business, resource and environmental issues. The Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) operates at Lincoln University, providing research expertise for a wide range of international, national, and local organisations. AERU research focuses on business, resource, and environmental issues. The Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) has four main areas of focus. These areas are wellbeing economics, trade and the environment, economic development, and non-market valuations. Research clients include Government agencies, both within New Zealand and from other countries, other international agencies, New Zealand enterprises in the private sector, and community groups. AERU MISSION To exercise leadership in research for sustainable well-being. 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Printed copies of AERU Research Reports can be requested from the AERU Administrator. © Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit. Lincoln University, New Zealand, 2020. This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence. Suggested citation for this report: Rout, Matthew and John Reid (2020). Cultural Attributes of Ngāi Tahu Food and the International Consumer Cultures that Will Recognise Them. AERU Research Report No. 358, prepared for the Unlocking Export Prosperity Research Programme. Lincoln University: Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit. ii Cultural Attributes of Ngāi Tahu Food and the International Consumer Cultures that Will Recognise Them Matthew Rout John Reid Research Report No. 358 August 2020 Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit PO Box 85084 Lincoln University Lincoln 7647 Canterbury New Zealand Ph: (64) (3) 423 0372 http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/AERU/ ISSN 1170-7682 (Print) ISSN 2230-3197 (Online) ISBN 978-1-877519-80-2 (Print) ISBN 978-1-877519-81-9 (Online) iii Abstract There is a general consensus that significantly more export dollars can be earned by Aotearoa agri-food products if their underlying qualities are better communicated to consumers. Among Aotearoa’s high- quality producers and processors, Māori agribusinesses are emerging as national leaders. Among these leaders is Ngāi Tahu Farming, a subsidiary of Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation owned by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. This report demonstrates that food produced by Māori agribusiness has attributes substantively different from Western approaches, but which resonate with a number of cultural traditions and food movements around the world. The report aims to identify consumer markets that value cultural attributes that Ngāi Tahu has to offer in their food products, which may represent premium markets for Ngāi Tahu food. Although the focus is on Ngāi Tahu, the findings have wider relevance for Māori agribusinesses in Aotearoa. Keywords Ngāi Tahu; Māori Agribusiness; Value Chains; Credence Attributes; Māori Cultural Attributes. ANZSRC Fields of Research International Business (150308); Organization and Management Theory (150310); Studies of Māori Society (169904). Acknowledgements This Research Report has been prepared as part of the research programme Unlocking Export Prosperity, funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (LINX1701). The authors wish to extend their thanks and gratefulness to all the Ngāi Tahu participants that shared their wisdom, stories, and insights in this study. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. iv Contents ABSTRACT IV KEYWORDS IV ANZSRC FIELDS OF RESEARCH IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV LIST OF FIGURES VIII LIST OF TABLES VIII INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES OF FOOD 7 1.1 Culture 7 1.2 Food 8 1.3 Cultural attributes versus credence attributes 8 PART ONE: UNDERSTANDERING THE CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES OF FOOD PRODUCED BY NGĀI TAHU CHAPTER 2 THE CORE CULTURAL CONCEPTS OF NGĀI TAHU KAI 11 2.1 Beliefs: the Ngāi Tahu worldview 12 2.2 Values: Ngāi Tahu kaupapa 20 2.3 Synthesis – Core concepts underpinning beliefs and values 22 CHAPTER 3 BEHAVIOURS: NGĀI TAHU TIKANGA ABOUT FOOD AND FOOD PRODUCING, HUNTING AND GATHERING, TRADING, PREPARATION, CONSUMPTION, FLAVOURS AND TYPES 27 3.1 Ngāi Tahu food producing, hunting, and gathering 27 3.2 Ngāi Tahu food preparation 32 3.3 Ngāi Tahu food consumption 33 3.4 Synthesis – Traditional food practices and cultural credence attributes 34 v CHAPTER 4 NGĀI TAHU KAI, CONTACT, AND COLONISATION 37 4.1 Impact of contact and colonisation on the Ngāi Tahu food beliefs, values, and behaviours 38 4.2 Post-contact Ngāi Tahu food and food producing, hunting, and gathering 40 4.3 Rāhui 49 4.4 Post-contact Ngāi Tahu food preparation 60 4.5 Post-contact Ngāi Tahu food consumption 64 4.6 Analysis and synthesis 67 4.7 How to convey Ngāi Tahu food in markets 68 CHAPTER 5 PART ONE CONCLUSION 71 PART TWO: CREDENCE ATTRIBUTES CHAPTER 6 GLOBAL RESONANCE WITH NGĀI TAHU VALUES 75 6.1 Introduction 75 6.2 Mauri 75 6.3 Mana 77 6.4 Noa 79 6.5 Utu 80 6.6 Tino Rangatiratanga and Tūrangawaewae 81 6.7 Kaitiakitanga 88 6.8 Manaakitanga 93 6.9 Whanaungatanga 94 6.10 Kaihaukai, Cultural Regeneration and Indigenous Investment 95 6.11 Self-sufficiency and seasonality 97 6.12 Kīnaki 100 6.13 Modern vitalism 102 vi CHAPTER 7 EVOLVING FOOD SUBCULTURES/TRENDS 105 7.1 Vegetarianism, Veganism and Flexitarianism/Reducetarianism 105 7.2 Organics 112 7.3 The Food Pyramid 115 7.4 Alternative food networks and short food supply chains 116 7.5 Provenance, authenticity, and traceability 119 7.6 Low-Carbohydrate, Atkins and Ketogenic Diets 121 7.7 Ancestral health 124 CHAPTER 8 PART TWO CONCLUSION 127 BIBLIOGRAPHY 135 vii List of Figures Figure 2.1: Interconnections between Food and Culture 11 Figure 2.2: Core Concepts in Relations to Credence Attributes – Positive Cycle 22 Figure 2.3: Core Concepts in Relations to Credence Attributes – Negative Cycle 23 Figure 6.1: Google Trends for ‘Food Miles’, ‘Sustainable Food’ and ‘Food Sustainability’ 92 Figure 7.1: Google Trends for ‘Vegetarian’, ‘Vegan’ and ‘Flexitarian’ 111 Figure 7.2: Worldwide Sales of Organic Food, 1999 to 2018 (Billions of U.S. Dollars) 114 Figure 7.3: Classic US Food Pyramid 115 Figure 7.4: Google Trends for ‘Atkin’s Diet’, ‘Keto Diet’ and ‘Paleo’ 123 List of Tables Table 2.1: Traditional Credence Attributes 35 Table 5.1: The Cultural Credence Attributes of Ngāi Tahu Food 71 Table 6.1: Motives for Luxury Consumption 100 Table 7.1: Consumer Attitudes towards Red Meat, United States and China 109 Table 7.2: Contrasting ‘Networks’ of Food Provision 118 Table 8.1: The Cultural Credence Attributes of Ngāi Tahu Food and Aligned Consumer Attributes 127 viii Introduction There is a general consensus that significantly more export dollars can be earned by Aotearoa agri-food products if their underlying qualities are better communicated to consumers. In comparison to many other countries, Aotearoa’s food-producing and processing conditions are of a high standard. Typically, the resulting premium quality products are not explicitly differentiated in markets from those produced and processed in inferior conditions. Among Aotearoa’s high-quality producers and processors, Māori agribusinesses are emerging as the national leaders. Many are implementing production protocols that embrace indigenous values emphasising environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Among these leaders is Ngāi Tahu Farming (NTF), a subsidiary of Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation, which is owned by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (TRoNT) – the elected tribal representative body of the Ngāi Tahu people who are indigenous to Te Waipounamu, the South Island of New Zealand. NTF operates according to a kaupapa (philosophy) of three guiding principles: economic sustainability (He Tau Pōike), environmental sustainability and social sustainability (He Tangata Marae). Despite operating according to these protocols, the food that NTF produces, including milk, beef, lamb and venison, currently enters orthodox supply chains to international markets and remains undifferentiated from other foods. Within NTF there is recognition that their products do contain unrealised value, and there is strong interest in exploring alternative food production, processing and supply-chain arrangements to capture premiums. However, this would require the establishment of processing facilities and supply arrangements that would entail substantial financial risk to the iwi. NTF is not alone in this scenario. Other Māori agribusinesses and other primary producers across aquaculture, horticulture and apiculture are also seeking