Learning from Australia

The last few weeks have been busy ones with many opportunities to speak to a regenerative food system future for Aotearoa, NZ. From farmers to small food producers, academics to hospitality legends there’s a sense that we need to collectively find a different way forward so more of us can thrive. New Zealand has some unique opportunities to lead the way given our size, innovative mindset and tendency towards collectivism.

I was invited to Australia by Sustainable Table to share where we’re up to, and to understand how our closest neighbours are creating food outcomes that support people and planet. I spent time in Tasmania where I was amazed at the number of small dairy producers and their pathways to eaters, but also understood the increasing issues they’re having with access to meat processors.

I came away with the sense that there is so much to be learnt from each other and great value in keeping these connections and communication growing. You can read more about my time at Grounded, a farm conference / festival here.

Ma te kotahitanga e whai kaha ai tātau - In unity we have strength.

Angela Clifford, CE Eat New Zealand. @eat.newzealand

The Ultimate NZ Made food List

The formidable sustainability queen Kate Hall, commonly known as Ethically Kate, has given us all the most delicious Christmas gift this year. She has spent the last three months pulling together a list of over 100+ New Zealand made food products to discover, support and purchase this festive season.

This incredible resource includes everything from dairy products, to oils and spices, beverages, snacks, bakery items, nuts, seeds and more. It was created on the back of her challenge to spend a year only buying New Zealand made food, preferably New Zealand grown too. You can read more about her experience here.

This is by no means an exclusive list, it's merely a way to encourage us all to make small changes to how you shop and eat. In turn helping to support a thriving local food system that feeds us all!

Show me this list of 100+ Delicious NZ Made Food Products!

Reimagining a food future at Lincoln

On the 27th November Angela also spoke at Lincoln University's Centre of Excellence in Transformative Agribusiness in Canterbury. It’s an exciting unit led by Professor Aland Renwick & Dr Wom de Koning. Their food systems approach has the potential to be transformative in Aotearoa and their global understanding promises an inspiring way forward.

This session considered approaches to climate-resilient land use from both a global and local perspective, and included economists Ada Ignaciuk & Katarzyna Zawalinska from the OECD and FAO, environmentalists Cerasela Stancu & Mark Fitzpatrick, as well as Angela and Alison Bentley from Tikitere Farm.

Watch this space!

See more from Lincoln University on Transformative Agribusiness

Boring Breakfast anything but...

A few weeks ago, The Welder played home to Canterbury’s version of The Spinoff’s Boring® Breakfast delivered in collaboration with Boring Oat Milk. It was the seventh and final conversation in a speaker series that explored the significant topic of 'Feeding Our Future'.

Angela joined Ross Milne from Leaft Foods and host Sophie Gilmour for a lively discussion on science, sustainability and the future of food in Aotearoa. The audience were caffeinated thanks to Coffee Supreme and fuelled by Grizzly Baked Goods. Check out how it all went down here.