Kai anamata mō Aotearoa – exploring future food system scenarios and impacts
Our food production and consumption must achieve sustainability for our environment and people. It is imperative that equitable and resilient food systems are developed to reduce Aotearoa-NZ’s vulnerability to changing environmental, economic, and social pressures, while enhancing the wellbeing of people (tangata ora) and the environment (taiao ora). To ensure that the Aotearoa-NZ food system delivers nourishment to all our communities, enhances the wellbeing of Te Taiao, and supports economic prosperity, a computational model of our food system will be developed by the Sustainable Nutrition Initiative® of the Riddet Institute, hosted at Massey University, in co-leadership with Wakatū Incorporation who represent the hapū land owners in Whakatū, Motueka and Mōhua rohe. The model will help transition our food sector to a carbon-neutral economy, underpinned by field trials and data collection in Te Tauihu.
The ability to simulate national and regional outcomes from changes in agricultural practises will enable climate and trade resilience to be built into decision-making alongside economic consequences. This system-unified approach is not currently possible. Understanding the current characteristics of our food system, including new data generation applied to advanced modelling, will enable prediction and assessment of the impacts of future change and aid food sector enterprises in planning and implementing production transitions.
The programme will support hapū-led research including assessment of the food system in Te Tauihu; developing a pathway towards a knowledge-intensive regenerative and resilient food system; and testing the scalability of current, new, and indigenous crops and species through a tikanga-led, customary approach which supports the momentum towards climate positive food production systems. The programme will inform evidence-based decisions leading to sustainable change to the Aotearoa-NZ food system that supports a resilient food sector and enhances tangata ora and taiao ora nationally and regionally.
Science Leaders: Prof Warren McNabb and Dr Nick Smith
Leader: Miriana Stephens
Milks Mean More (3M)
A particular aim will be to develop new products for babies, very young children and elderly people in New Zealand and, especially, for export. Other research partners are Massey, Otago and Auckland universities, AgResearch and Plant & Food Research. And it has the backing of Miraka, Fonterra, Synlait, A2 Milk Company, Maui Milk, Spring Sheep Dairy, NIG Nutritionals, Pamu and the Dairy Goat Cooperative.
Project Leader: Professor Warren McNabb
Dairy Products for Smarter Lives
There are some dairy-based ingredients with known effects on gut function, able to improve brain development and performance, in young, adult and ageing humans. The research team are testing these ingredients and their influence on ‘gut-brain axis’ pathways to see if they have an effect – either alone or with probiotics. This new knowledge will be used by the NZ dairy industry to develop new premium NZ dairy products with proven functionality for Asian markets.
Programme leader: Dr Rachel Anderson
New Zealand Singapore Future Foods Research Programme
Riddet Institute investigators are involved in four collaborative projects exploring the potential for novel foods and food technologies, funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore.
• Cooking and processing of seaweed to improve consumer acceptance, protein digestion and nutrient bioavailability.
• Te Rangahau Taha Wheako mō ngā Kai o Āpōpō: The Consumer Dimension of Future Foods.
• Realising the value of algae as a source of alternative protein.
• Understanding the interactions between plant-based protein and cellular agriculture.
More information on the above four projects can be found here.
Pictured below: Riddet Institute Director Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh welcomes a group of researchers from New Zealand and Singapore from one of these projects, the Proteins and Algae project, to the Riddet Institute in September 2022.
Accelerated evolution: a step-change in food fermentation
The research team are using the evolution of microbial strains and multi-strain communities, coupled with directed deep phenotyping, to control of the diversity of molecules produced during fermentation, to deliver safe and innovative flavours and textures.
Programme Leader: Dr Li Day (AgResearch)
