Can New Zealand afford for the world to give up meat eating, and go fully vegan? Can the planet afford for that not to happen? Here are the key issues around whether or not the world should make that choice. This piece by Emma Cropper was originally published on Newshub. While some have declared 2019 … Read more
Keen to choose ethically produced meat, but feeling thoroughly confused by the options in the butchery aisle? Here, Jane Lyons attempts to shine some light on the murky world of meat labelling, and shares some tips for making better choices. This story originally ran in Stone Soup There isn’t really a guide for meat terms … Read more
EAT-Lancet’s edict that we should eat only half a bacon rasher a day and one egg a week has upset pretty much everyone. Where does it leave New Zealand’s farming-based economy? The release of the EAT-Lancet Commission’s report last week kicked off a global debate on food, health, and what we should be eating to save … Read more
Environmental limits, changing tastes and a redefined social licence are driving consumers away from animal proteins. In part two of a series on the rise of veganism, Daniel Eb looks at what New Zealand must do to get on board. There is a sense of impending transformation ahead for agriculture in New Zealand. The world’s … Read more
Trees with red trunks and apples that are red right the way through and flower all year round. Should we back or block the genetically changed plants New Zealand scientists are growing? Charlie Dreaver reports for RNZ. At a Plant and Food Research greenhouse in Auckland, one of the sections is filled with $300 apple trees, … Read more
A horror week for intensive farming continues as the government promises action on slack regional councils following the release of disturbing footage, writes Don Rowe. The government has promised to take action on intensive agriculture, with funding approved to set up a group that will “assist and at times embarrass” regional councils failing to enforce … Read more
Beef + Lamb New Zealand says farmers care just as much about the environment as everyone else, and with its new Environment Strategy and Implementation plan, it plans to help sheep and beef farmers promote reduced carbon emissions, cleaner water, thriving biodiversity, and healthy productive soils. I recently spoke at a farmer’s event in Christchurch with … Read more
The typical Kiwi farmer is swapping their roll of Number 8 wire for a smartphone and robotics. At Fieldays 2018 Angela Cuming discovered the technology and science solving many of the challenges facing the industry. It’s 4am on your average Kiwi dairy farm, a time when most farmers are up and out of bed and … Read more
Inside the cutting edge Waikato farm technology hub which makes our pastures greener and impregnates up to 80% of New Zealand’s dairy herd. The inside of a cow’s anus is warm and cavernous, and getting your hand inside is a breeze. After smearing a dollop of lubrication to a sleeved glove you simply beak your … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: EU gives go ahead for trade talks with NZ, marijuana referendum could be held next year, and Auckland’s mayor is under scrutiny over report secrecy. The European Union has given the go–ahead for free trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. The story was broken by SBS yesterday across … Read more
Joshua Hitchcock is looking to Māori businesses to help solve the problem of Māori unemployment. In mid-February I travelled to Tauranga to attend Te Hekenga – The National Māori Business Networks and Māori Enterprises Conference. It was an uplifting experience. For two days we heard stories from successful Māori business men and women who have … Read more
Beef + Lamb NZ’s Nick Beeby responds to a recent Spinoff column predicting that synthetic proteins will lay waste to our farming sector. Food strategist Dr Rosie Bosworth is not wrong in her comment piece about the challenge ‘synthetic’ proteins pose to New Zealand’s agricultural sector – but sheep and beef farmers, and our exporters, … Read more
‘Fake’ animal proteins are set to disrupt world markets – and much faster than our agriculture industry is anticipating, argues food strategist Dr Rosie Bosworth. New Zealand’s agricultural sector has been having a rough time of late. If waking up to a centre-left government wasn’t enough of a nightmare for most Kiwi farmers, then the … Read more
As emitter-in-chief Donald Trump pulls out of the Paris Climate Accord, the time has come for a top-down approach to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Jack Close explains. Environmentalists are quick to sing out about New Zealand’s excessive greenhouse gas emissions – and rightly so. In the large part, we are a gas-guzzling, river-polluting, plastic-bag-wasting … Read more
Jonathan Cotton goes to Techweek’17’s Future of Food event in Christchurch to find out how New Zealand can innovate our way to a bigger slice of the $1 trillion global food market. It’s the brutal hour of 7:30 in the morning and I’m at the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce on Kilmore Street for The … Read more
A new public discussion series explores the link between primary products – dairy, meat, wine and wool – and New Zealand national identity. Victoria University’s Prof Lydia Wevers introduces the series. Every Kiwi baby-boomer remembers having to drink quarter-pint bottles of warm milk at playtime, which at my school had been left outside on the … Read more
Gina Williams’ family has owned the Waikato dairy farm she grew up on for generations, and today they still tend the land with pride. She writes about the other side of the dairy industry, where care for animals and the environment remains paramount. Earlier this month, the current affairs show Sunday aired a segment called … Read more
Winston Peters is up in arms about fake meat products, accusing them of ‘ripping off’ names traditionally associated with the real thing. Instead of quibbling about labelling, why not seize the opportunity presented by non-meat alternatives, writes Kathryn van Beek. Most of us have our own ways of trying to make the world a better … Read more
The row over Jacqueline Rowarth’s strange suggestion that the Waikato River is one of the world’s five cleanest reveals a need for more scientists to be heard in public, not fewer, writes Shaun Hendy. In post-Brexit Britain, failure to heed the warnings of economists on the risks of leaving the EU has spawned many a … Read more