Food Archive

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  Full story on food - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  Yesterday’s Herald editorial implied that former Green MP Sue Kedgley would be completely happy with new labelling laws and that I should be uncritically supporting them. This totally flies in the face of all that Sue worked for as an MP, which I am continuing to work on, to achieve the food labelling that people [...] read more
  April 10, 2013 9:37 am - 14 Comments
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  Government panders to food industry - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  The Minister of Food Safety has just released her Advisory Group on front of pack labelling’s final report. The report is disappointing and its proposed labelling scheme will do little or nothing to improve our high rates of diet related diseases, which are highest in disadvantaged groups. There is plenty of research which shows that [...] read more
  December 17, 2012 10:01 am - 3 Comments
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  Irradiated tomatoes? No thanks. - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  Our supermarkets could soon be stocking irradiated vegetables coming from Queensland. The Queensland Government has applied to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to irradiate tomatoes and capsicums, as a biosecurity control. Australian tomatoes and capsicum are imported into New Zealand, as the vegetables are staple fare for many, regardless of the season. Irradiation is [...] read more
  November 6, 2012 10:36 am - 75 Comments
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  Fed Up with FSANZ - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  Tuesday was World Food Day, a day set to acknowledge the founding of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and issues such as food security. In Australia and New Zealand the day was justifiably used to point out the slack approach to food safety by our trans-Tasman food regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand [...] read more
  October 18, 2012 12:39 pm - 4 Comments
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  Making the most of GE Free NZ – Tour - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  I am bringing over two Australian farmers with first-hand experience of Genetically Engineered (GE) crops in their communities to tour New Zealand, share their stories and warn New Zealand farmers about the risks of GE crops. The last Green Party GE tour was in 1999, during the time of the Royal Commission into Genetic Engineering. [...] read more
  July 27, 2012 2:02 pm - 5 Comments
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  A pig of a decision - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  The High Court last week upheld MAF’s (now MPI’s)  decision-making processes for deciding on new import standards. This means that the import of untreated pig meat from countries infected with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) will be allowed. This is a major issue for New Zealand Pig Farmers. The Green Party has long held [...] read more
  May 7, 2012 6:26 pm - 5 Comments
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  Food industry free to feed us what they like - by Mojo Mathers

  
  
  
  My concern about this recent study is not so much that our fast food has more salt than other countries, but that our food industry has such unconstrained power to influence our diets. The Food Industry Group’s position to maintain a self regulatory approach to levels of salt, sugar and fat in our food is [...] read more
  April 20, 2012 3:30 pm - 22 Comments
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  Food Bill update - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  I have been busy attending and hosting meetings around the country about the food bill. While there is some unintentional misinformation circulating, there are many valid concerns about the bill. We do need rules to protect people from unsafe food, but not at the expense of a diverse and resilient food supply or civil liberties. [...] read more
  March 15, 2012 10:10 am - 2 Comments
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  Fat, fate and disease – giving up on a generation? - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I’ve just seen Andrea Vance’s Dompost piece concerning planned changes to the types of nutrition programmes to be funded by the Ministry of Health. This follows the publication of Professor Peter Gluckman and Professor Mark Hanson’s new book Fat, Fate and Disease: Why exercise and diet are not enough. I’ve just dashed out and picked [...] read more
  March 13, 2012 5:05 pm - 16 Comments
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  Kaimoana, Motiti, and the oil - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Yesterday I was on Motiti Island, where the hapu have borne the brunt of the oil and debris from the grounded Rena. You can clearly see the Rena really from the coast. The hapu are extremely well organised with clean-up crews. They have all the protective gear and they are sending teams out every day. [...] read more
  October 19, 2011 1:31 pm - 14 Comments
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  An end to Seed Exchanges? - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  I have had many queries about the Food Bill, with some suggesting it is a ghastly plot to make seed saving and seed exchange programmes illegal, and even activities such as the Willing Workers on Organic Farm systems (WWOOFing). These concerns, unfortunately, were never raised during the submission stage of the bill, when they can [...] read more
  August 5, 2011 12:43 pm - 21 Comments
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  Food is politics: the implications of what we eat - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  This is my latest article for Auckland University’s student magazine, Craccum. It was tense and difficult but when I was 18 I came out to my parents. I was now a vegetarian. For my small town, conservative, lifestyle-block farming family it was a surprisingly strange thing for their provincial boy to do, soon after moving [...] read more
  October 12, 2010 8:06 am - 72 Comments
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  38 Genetically engineered ingredients in our food - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  Over the past decade four large multinational corporations -Monsanto, Aventis, Syngenta, Dow Agro Sciences, have been quietly applying for approval to add more and more genetically engineered ingredients into our food. read more
  December 10, 2009 10:09 am - 6 Comments
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  The brand vs battery cows - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  This is how we present our butter to the world: “Only our cows are free to roam all day long. Anchor – the free range butter company”. And this is cubicle factory dairy production – the battery cow. Or this: Cognitive dissonance anyone? read more
  December 9, 2009 7:56 pm - 62 Comments
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  Herd homes vs cubicles like home vs prison - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Have you ever felt that after a long day inside a building you just have to get out and feel the sun and breathe some air? I guess not being able to do that is one  of the punishments the prison system imposes on offenders. But even they get an hour or so out in [...] read more
  December 9, 2009 3:35 pm - 11 Comments
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  Think our native forests were safe? Think again. - by frog

  
  
  
  “Agricultural intensification over the past 10 years has led to the highest rate of native vegetation loss since European colonisation.” Landcare Research Annual Report read more
  November 2, 2009 11:29 am - 18 Comments
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  Mohaka needs you! - by frog

  
  
  
  The Dompost on Saturday reported that a debate about landuse and water quality is deepening in the Hawkes Bay. The Mohaka River has a Water Conservation Order on it. However its quality is declining. One tributary comes from the volcanic plateau where land has been converted from forests to industrial-sized dairy farms. read more
  September 21, 2009 3:30 pm - 11 Comments
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  World Bank Goes Green? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Sometimes something really good happens. The World Bank has withdrawn funding for the palm oil sector including the Wilmar company that supplies [PDF] palm kernel to Fonterra. The World Bank is not satisfied that the palm plantations they loaned to in parts of the developing world met acceptable standards for sustainability. Congratulations to the Forest [...] read more
  September 14, 2009 12:22 pm - 77 Comments
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  Feds’ selective with the science on water quality - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s one that left me speechless with incredulity… Fed Farmers Dairy chairman Lachlan McKenzie addressed the organisation’s AGM  yesterday and made some quite ridiculous and irresponsible comments on the progress that farmers have made in cleaning up waterways. This time last year, Fish and Game New Zealand was calling on the government to regulate production [...] read more
  July 2, 2009 1:35 pm - 9 Comments
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  Reports a reminder of need for action on freshwater - by frog

  
  
  
  Two important studies revealing the state of our freshwater came out last week, and the news is disappointing. The first comes from NIWA, and updates water quality trends at the 77 National River Water Quality Network sites, which have been monitored over the last 20 years. The study confirmed that waterways flowing through farmland have [...] read more
  June 25, 2009 3:40 pm - 5 Comments
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  Whaling, redefining the verb - by frog

  
  
  
  The International Whaling Commission is meeting this week in Portugal. NZ is ably represented by former Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and, according to news reports, he is “respectfully urging” Japan to lift its threat to hunt humpback whales in the Antarctic. The ODT reports he told the IWC: new evidence about the endangered status of [...] read more
  June 25, 2009 9:41 am - 5 Comments
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  Greenpeace’s new fishing video - by frog

  
  
  
  This new vid from Greenpeace features TV fishing personality and extreme stunt fisherman Matt Watson talks about fishing and sustainability, echoing what Metiria Turei wrote on World Oceans Day. read more
  June 23, 2009 3:03 pm - 2 Comments
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  100% Pure ‘Clean Green’ GE llamas? Um, no. - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Just over a week ago, the High Court ruled that ERMA breached the law in accepting applications from AgResearch to import and experiment on a range of genetically modified animals. I described the application at the time it was lodged as: A huge application to genetically engineer a wide range of animals, plus human and [...] read more
  June 17, 2009 9:21 am - 4 Comments
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  What does the Act say? - by frog

  
  
  
  The Sunday expose on intensive pig farming has pushed the shadowy world of indoor pig farming firmly into the spotlight. TVNZ’s Close-up this evening pitted Mike King (and Safe‘s Hans Kreik) off against Chris Trengrove, the Chair of the Pork Board, resulting in a commitment to random visits of other pig farms to see if [...] read more
  May 18, 2009 8:57 pm - 125 Comments
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  Nice words, but where’s the action? - by frog

  
  
  
  The release of a Strategy for New Zealand Dairy Farming slipped quietly under the public’s radar this week, with few media picking it up. At the Strategy launch, the PM and Ag Minister David Carter mooed in the direction of the environment: the PM said, “It is important that farmers step up and take leadership [...] read more
  May 9, 2009 8:05 pm - 6 Comments
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  Eat local on ice - by frog

  
  
  
  I have long been a fan of Grist.org, an online portal of environmental news and humour out of the USA. One of my favourite regular columns is Ask Umbra, where readers write and ask Umbra to solve some of the quirkier questions that plague those who wish to tread more lightly on the world. I [...] read more
  January 22, 2009 1:01 pm - 14 Comments
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  Endosulfan Tip of the Toxic Iceberg - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  It is a great day for worms, tomatoes and humans. The toxic pesticide endosulfan has finally been banned. This seriously toxic chemical was banned in 55 countries but 18 Councils around Aotearoa have been using it regularly on sports fields to kill worms that made bumps in the turf. Tomato and citrus growers have been [...] read more
  December 16, 2008 5:46 pm - 16 Comments
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  Michael Pollan on Food, Energy and Health - by frog

  
  
  
  Hat tip to O’Reilly Radar for leading me to this video of Michael Pollan speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit last month. Pollan tells it like it is – that agriculture is the key to tackling climate change and many other modern ills. Food is the shadow problem if they [the politicians] hope to deal [...] read more
  December 16, 2008 4:39 pm - 11 Comments
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  Does John Key read Michael Pollan? - by frog

  
  
  
  With new MPs in our caucus and a general parliamentary reshuffle underway we Greens are on the move out of our offices.  While it’s still not certain where we are off to, this time it looks like we’re big enough to warrant two rather than one floor of Bowen House. Gerry Brownlee was wandering about [...] read more
  November 12, 2008 2:12 pm - 25 Comments
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  Good night - by frog

  
  
  
  As I understand the electoral law, I’m not allowed to post new web content tomorrow until the close of polling booths at 7pm. And from 7pm onwards I intend to be at the Green Party Party, not in front of a computer typing.  So this is me signing off for the day.  Expect coverage to [...] read more
  November 7, 2008 8:29 pm - 18 Comments
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  Powering our farms with sunshine not oil - by frog

  
  
  
  Graham Harvey, the author of The Carbon Fields, has a good opinion piece here, where he talks about our lack of food security: Our food supply is now more dependent on globally traded grains than at any time in our history. This makes it inherently unstable and vulnerable to the kind of catastrophic meltdown that [...] read more
  November 5, 2008 3:06 pm - 15 Comments
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  Horticulture NZ launches new CoOL campaign - by frog

  
  
  
  Horticulture New Zealand and others have launched a new campaign for CoOL, or Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling of food.  It notes that the campaign is pretty simple really – it’s about consumers’ right to know that they are buying: We believe Kiwi shoppers deserve the right to choose. CoOL is not a ‘buy local’ [...] read more
  November 4, 2008 4:19 pm - 10 Comments
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  Peak phosphate - by frog

  
  
  
  I followed the link to Farmgeek’s blog this afternoon and came across this fascinating post on phosphate asking if we have time to mitigate before we run out. It’s a month old now but incredibly important to our food security: Graphic from The Oil Drum NZ currently uses about a million tonnes of phosphate fertiliser [...] read more
  October 30, 2008 4:42 pm - 8 Comments
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  Eat the view - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems Michael Pollan was not alone in calling for the next US president to lead the way on self sufficient food production by growing his own food on the White House lawn. There is a whole movement at Eat the View focused on the fact that today American food travels an average of 1500 [...] read more
  October 28, 2008 12:19 pm - 12 Comments
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  Food matters - by frog

  
  
  
  I haven’t seen this movie yet but its trailer suggests it could provoke some important debate about the links between our food industry, diet and our pharmaceutical industry. According to the website the film starts from the premise that: With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what’s [...] read more
  October 22, 2008 9:48 am - 5 Comments
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  A diet of contemporary sunshine - by frog

  
  
  
  Food guru Michael Pollan has another must read article –this time an open letter to the next American president explaining why food is the political issue he will be spending most of this time in the White House on – including its integral relationship to climate change, peak oil, foreign and trade policies, health care [...] read more
  October 17, 2008 6:40 am - 11 Comments
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  Finally, some support for Country of Origin Labelling - by frog

  
  
  
  I’ve just noticed on the Hand Mirror that at least one Labour Party candidate disagrees with his party’s policy on refusing people the right to know where their food comes from – Paul Chalmers from Whangarei: Question 10. Women do the vast majority of cooking and shopping, and increases in food prices are a burden [...] read more
  October 15, 2008 3:42 pm - 11 Comments
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  Monsanto and Michael Pollan discuss food production - by frog

  
  
  
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  October 13, 2008 8:39 am - 1 Comment
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  Impoverished food - by frog

  
  
  
  There is a vibrant food debate going on between New Zealand blogs Object Dart and In a Strange Land on the politics of food. It began last week when No Right Turn pointed to this Guardian article about Jamie Oliver’s latest television show, where Oliver attempts to teach people to cook and eat healthy food. [...] read more
  October 10, 2008 1:14 pm - 50 Comments
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  Knowing about your food - by frog

  
  
  
  This is something a bit ironic.  Here in New Zealand we are not allowed to know where our food comes from because it could undermine our trading ambitions. Yet the country we harbour the most lust and ambition to trade with, and with whom we are about to enter trade negotiations, has just bought into [...] read more
  October 1, 2008 2:25 pm - 6 Comments