Drivers of wild meat consumption
drawing on an international literature review &
fieldwork in Cameroon
Dr. Stephanie Brittain
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Oxford
@StephBrittain
Credit: Emiel de Lange

IIED carried out a literature review in April
2019 (Booker, 2019)
1800 articles reviewed.
1. Very little that specifically deals with the
drivers of wild meat as a food choice in
rural and urban areas
2. Availability and affordability seen as
primary drivers; health benefits and
cultural motivations secondary
3. More research is needed to investigate
why people choose to eat wild meat
Literature Review: Key drivers of wild meat as a
food choice
@StephBrittain

@StephBrittain
Semi-structured interviews
in four villages with differing
characteristics
Interviewed 542 people
from 177 households
Interviews included
questions on:
1. Responder
sociodemographics
2. Importance of wild meat
3. Food preferences &
dislikes
On-the-ground research: site & methods

Results: Wild meat consumption & alternatives
Current rates of wild meat consumption
o People in village 1 eat wild meat more frequently than in the other villages
o Older participants eat wild meat less frequently than younger participants.
o Men eat wild meat more frequently than women
o Hunters eat wild meat more than people with other livelihoods
Availability and seasonality of wild meat alternatives
o Alternatives exist in all four villages, regardless of the presence of formal alternative projects
o Alternatives are available seasonally, but
o village location in relation to roads, market access and the reserve may influence the availability of
alternatives, and peoples’ ability to ensure their food security throughout the year.

@StephBrittain
Results: preference & avoidance
o Key drivers of preference: Good taste, ease of access, and perceived health benefits
o Key drivers of avoidance: A bad taste, health concerns, traditions, and in some cases, the
appearance of the meat.
o Village and individual level differences in avoidance and the drivers of avoidance
Preferred Avoided

@StephBrittain
o Culture, taste and availability are important drivers of
consumption.
o Future alternatives should be easy to access, taste good and
be perceived as healthy.
o Alternatives project designers should consider the
importance of tradition, in particular gendered and ethnicity
based differences in consumption.
o Fish is a preferred alternative to wild meat; but only
seasonally available.
o Village level differences in availability of wild meat and
alternatives, as well as access to roads and markets may
affect participation in alternatives projects.
o Results were used to guide design of next phase of research
Conclusions