At first glance, the menu at Chef Mark LaBrooy's upcoming opening of his butcher and pizzeria might look simply like a meat lover's dream. However, behind the wood-fired crust and rich flavors is a deeper mission rooted in helping Australia with the growing ecological challenges through the ingredients themselves.
One of the first items on the menu at Barney's Pizza and Wild Game Butchery isn't your typical meat-lover's topping. Instead, it features wild boar, an animal that's become one of Australia's most destructive invasive species. The goal is to turn a growing environmental problem into something people can better understand and even help fix.
In an interview with Good Food, LaBrooy explained that including wild boar on the menu is a way to give purpose to ongoing population control efforts.
"There's a property in NSW where they recently culled 13,500 animals," he said. "They were all left on the ground to rot. We want to create demand for the product."
According to PestSmart, it is estimated that wild boars cause over $100 million in damage each year by trampling native plants, digging up soil, and polluting waterways. Their numbers are difficult to manage, especially in remote areas, and they pose a threat to both biodiversity and farming.
That's why some conservationists support eating invasive species, when possible, not as a standalone solution but as a practical way to reduce waste and bring more attention to the problem. Using wild game in kitchens could help reduce demand for factory-farmed meat while also supporting local ecological balance.
This approach, sometimes referred to as "invasivorism," suggests that by eating invasive species, humans can help control their populations. In the U.S., chefs have been spotlighting species like lionfish, green crab, and nutria, bringing more awareness and new flavors to their menus.
LaBrooy's new restaurant offers a chance for restaurants to be part of a larger solution. Rethinking what ends up on our plates shows how food can play a role in tackling some of our biggest ecological challenges.
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