QAAFI is committed to working respectfully and reciprocally with Indigenous peoples and communities, on the unceded Indigenous lands upon which we undertake our work.
We acknowledge the problematic histories and legacies of colonial agriculture and land management practices in Australia, and the negative impacts that unsafe academic research has had on Indigenous peoples, knowledges, and cultural heritage. As a research institute, we are dedicated to being a leading example of working meaningfully and collaboratively with community, including benefit sharing, and finding ways to support Indigenous peoples’ needs and aspirations within the food and agriculture sector.
QAAFI works in accordance with the high standards outlined in UQ’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). We have significant expectations for Indigenous Engagement and employment within both our operations and research teams. As we undertake this future-centred work, we are growing our community of Indigenous researchers and professional staff, and are continually seeking opportunities for community-led and engaged projects.
We value the enormous contributions that Indigenous peoples and perspectives bring to the broader UQ and QAAFI community. If you are an Indigenous person looking to connect with QAAFI for either employment, future study pathways or to be involved in community projects, please get in touch with our Indigenous Engagement Team at qaafi.indigenous.engagement@uq.edu.au.
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Research in collaboration with First Nation's people
- The collectivist practices of Aboriginal communities over tens of thousands of years could help solve the problems facing global food production systems, according to author, farmer and educator, Bruce Pascoe.
- Australia’s increasingly diverse food culture is benefitting from the wider recognition of Indigenous bush foods, which University of Queensland Professor Henrietta Marrie AM said must be brought to the mainstream in ways that combine traditional knowledge systems with science.
- A native Australian nut has the potential to be part of the burgeoning Indigenous bushfood industry, according to research led by The University of Queensland.
- 26 July 2021Indigenous communities can now assess the quality and sweetness of their wild-harvested native bush fruits in the field, rather than sending samples off to food science laboratories.
- Indigenous rights activist and expert in Indigenous intellectual and cultural property and heritage, Professor Henrietta Marrie AM has joined the ARC Uniquely Australian Foods (UAF) Training Centre, based at The University of Queensland.
- 17 February 2021A journey to Australia’s red centre changed me forever. I visited Alice Springs for my first industry placement as part of my PhD research on Australian native wattle seeds.
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Uniquely Australian Foods
Celebrating Australia's unique food identity
QAAFI's Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences (CNAFS) supports enhanced health outcomes and economic benefits for Australia, by conducting integrated fundamental and applied research to improve the taste, quality, appearance, nutritional value and safety of food. We aim to understand the fundamental characteristics of food that influence processing, food quality, consumer perception and nutritional value.
Sitting within CNAFS is the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods, which aims to change the way Australians – and the world – thinks about Australia’s cuisine and food products. They do this by partnering with and supporting Australia's First Nation's people, the traditional custodians, of native foods and plants. We are collaborating with First Nations communities across Australia, food industry entrepreneurs with a research team spanning law, engineering, food science and the social sciences, to promote research and development on uniquely Australian foods.