The Green Party supports everyone’s right to food that is safe, accessible, and affordable. For Māori, this includes the right to access and prepare food in traditional ways. Aotearoa New Zealand needs a national strategy that incorporates the whole food system. This includes local resilience, reducing waste, and protecting the climate. When there is enough food, and it is nourishing, it supports our health and wellbeing. We want to prepare and share meals with our family and friends. This will sustain and strengthen our family traditions and cultural practices.
Vision
Nourishing food is always local, affordable, safe, and sustainable for future generations.
Values and Principles
Food policy must follow these values and principles:
- Whakamana: Central and local government must support Māori to restore their food practices.
- Rangatiratanga: Everyone should have the right to autonomous decision-making over nourishing food systems.
- Puawaitanga: Nutritious food should be affordable for all, via a fair and robust supply chain.
- Manaakitanga: Everyone should have access to enough good food wherever they live.
- Tikanga: Food should be safe and nourishing. All steps of the food supply chain should be transparent and support cultural safety.
- Ngā Hapori Tōnui: Those who work within the supply chain should be the first to benefit.
- Kaitiakitanga: Food systems should promote healthy and biodiverse ecosystems and a safe climate.
- Hauora: Food should improve wellbeing for family and community. “He kai te rongoā, he rongoā te kai.”
- Manawaroa: Food systems must be resilient and sustainable during natural and human-made disasters.
Strategic Priorities
The Green Party’s strategic goals include:
“...regenerative practices in all areas of economic activity, including land use and food production, will predominate…”
Actions in this policy that will work towards this goal include:
- Create a national strategy for the whole food system that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It should prioritise the health of people and the planet over economic goals. (1.3.)
- Provide free nutritious lunches for every school child, emphasising wholefood and plant-based options. (4.2.)
- Update the Eating and Activity Guidelines. Take a 'whole system' approach to food. It must include climate change and environmental, social, and cultural issues. (4.3.)
- Set up a cross-government body with iwi, academics, and non-government organisations. This should oversee and lead food-related policies. (5.4.)
- Amend the food processing and selling regulations. Make them fair and affordable for small local suppliers. (6.3.)
- Support higher levels of nutrition education of all healthcare providers. They should improve their application of that knowledge in response to individual health requirements. (8.2.)
Connected Policies
See also our policies on:
- Ensuring sustainable and resilient commercial food production (Agriculture Policy; Climate Change Policy; Land Use and Soils Policy, Marine Policy, Trade and Foreign Investment Policy);
- The wider economy (Government in the Economy Policy; Sustainable Business Policy);
- Food-related technologies (Research, Science and Technology Policy); and
- A holistic, wellbeing-centred approach to health and wellbeing (Health Policy).