Feeding Aotearoa New Zealand people better: From farm to fork

Abstract

Our food system is complex. Within Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa-NZ) there are interdependencies and interconnections that span the environment, the food supply, health, housing, culture, governance, socioeconomics and intergenerational equity. This Special Issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand touches on cross-cutting research which increases our understanding of nutritional health, equity, te ao Māori, environmental sustainability and socioeconomics. It does not cover all that was originally intended (Royal Society News 2023). Nor can this editorial attempt to evaluate our complex and rapidly changing food system. Instead, it will briefly touch on each of this Special Issue’s contributions. It will also identify some gaps and tensions that need addressing for a fairer, more accessible, and more sustainable supply of good food for Aotearoa-NZ people now and in the future. We live in a geographically isolated and food-exporting nation, with Aotearoa-NZ’s food system contributing significantly to the market economy with over $57 billion total food and fibre export revenue generated for the year to 30 June 2023 (Ministry for Primary Industries 2024). However, at the same time, the fiscal economic advantage of an export-led economy can be at odds with other dimensions of the food system, with some describing the current system as being ‘broken’ causing harm to both people and planet (Smith and Hutchings 2024).