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economy and culture to focus on singular places, disregarding the multiple places of

ecological and economic support (2008a, p. 139).

In the context of the dominant global consciousness, ideals of dwelling compound
this by encouraging us to direct our honouring of place towards an “official”
singular idealised place consciously identified with self, while disregarding the
many unrecognised, shadow places that provide our material and ecological
support, most of which in a global market are likely to elude our knowledge and
responsibility. (Plumwood 2008a, p. 139)

Through the framework of following I would like to extend the notion of shadow

places in several ways. First, I will consider how sustainable tinned tuna products,

certification and campaigns function to conceal and disregard the many other places that

provide material and ecological support for the product in its entirety. This theme begins to

examine the differences between following and popular food traceability schemes, which

have pre-determined agendas that stop at the fishery. Secondly, I would like to expand the

notion of shadow places to include shadow things. In sustainability discourses there are

things that are promoted and made obvious, such as skipjack species, and pole and line

technique. And there are those things that fall into the shadows of the discourse, such as tin,

water, crude oil and energy. These are what I refer to as shadow things. When attention is

drawn to particular practices such as pole and line or traditional fishing, then other things,

places and people becomes obscured and out of the frame: they become the shadow places

and shadow things. The obvious response to this idea would be – well of course this is a

sustainable seafood issue, which is about stock decline and marine ecosystem destruction.

This is a fair point, but it highlights the particular framing of seafood sustainability

discourses, which I analyse in chapter three.

Following the Coles eco tin further along its supply network to its place of canning,

reveals shadow places, people and things that are disconnected from the sustainable tuna

discourse but are nonetheless part of the global assemblage that makes this product possible.

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