Considerations for the ethical commercialisation of bush foods from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

Abstract:

Individuals, companies and governments have exploited the cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for more than two centuries, often with little regard to the interests of hereditary custodians. The commercialisation of bush foods is a case in point. This paper explores that commercial context to offer information and analysis that informs an ethical model for bush food enterprise development. The paper looks at a range of issues that may impact such a model, many of which arise in other commercialisation contexts. These include issues of informed consent and benefit sharing; participation by traditional custodians; regulatory requirements; intellectual property (IP) management; product research and development procedures; approaches to marketing; and the international transfer of plant genetic resources, materials and products. The impact, shortcomings and policy implications of the current legal framework are also discussed. Both the issue discussion and suggestions for ethical bush food commercialisation have application to other cultural heritage commercial development contexts.