National food strategy needed

31 March 2026 - Research done today at Massey University’s Riddet Institute will help avert the world hunger of tomorrow, according to global food system and sustainability experts.

Nine speakers presented the challenges for the global food system at the 2026 Riddet Institute Agrifood Summit in Wellington in February.

Protein expert and Riddet Institute Acting Director Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan called for a cohesive national food stategy in his presentation. He said for the agrifood sector to continue to advance, there needed to be co-operation between sectors and government as well as sustained investment in scientific research.

“Very few developed economies worldwide maintain high living standards embedded in agriculture.

“New Zealand does this through a sophisticated network of farming, science and business, based on competitive advantage: a good natural environment for growing agricultural products, world-class research and a well developed agricultural trade sector.”

Riddet Institute Board Chair Sir Lockwood Smith also pointed out the importance of scientific leadership.

“In two decade’s time the world will need to feed a quarter more people and meet their nutritional needs, while improving the environment. Planting trees won’t do that.”

He said emissions from ruminant animals should be linked to the production of nutrition. New Zealand produced far more food than it needed, and in a more efficient and sustainable way than other countries, but was under pressure to reduce methane emissions.

“What is being measured and how it is measured matters.”

Several speakers flagged a future population approaching 10 billion in 2050, and a globe hungry for more and better food. Among the challenges facing humanity were the two sides of lack: malnutrition from food scarcity, and nutrient deficiencies – often accompanied by obesity or type 2 diabetes – from eating too much of the wrong foods.

Other problems facing the food system were climate change and the need for science investment into research to find ways to future-proof food supply.

Act Party Associate Minister of Agriculture and the Environment Andrew Hoggard also spoke at the event and said one in every seven people worked in the food or fibre industry in New Zealand. He said agrifood exports were expected to reach a record-breaking $62 billion next year and the Government wanted to double that figure by 2034.

The Global Dairy Platform’s Mr Moore said New Zealand was well positioned to contribute to food solutions as it was uniquely export-driven and had achieved significant pasture-based production efficiency. New Zealand was also a leader in genetic research and in finding scientific answers to the problem of ruminant animal-derived methane emissions.

But health span, not just life span, needed to be a key consideration of food intake, he said. Meat and dairy were essential components as they provided highly bioavailable nutrients.

“In low- and middle-income countries the challenge is about nutrient sufficiency not sustainability; in high-income countries the challenge is healthy aging. The common denominator is that nutrient density matters.

“Adequacy is not just nutrient presence but nutrient utilisation. Small amounts of animal-sourced food can make a huge difference in population health; it plays a meaningful and measurable role.”

He said the Riddet Institute’s iOTA Model® was a world-leading example of how computational models could be used to show the trade-offs in the global food system. Food production did have a cost to the environment, but nutrition needed to come from somewhere.