Food issues & ethics

Food issues are in the news every day: how the food was produced, how far it’s travelled, how it’s packaged. From use of pesticides to factory or battery farming, genetically engineered/modified (GE/GM) food to food miles, there’s lots to give us food for thought every time we put something on our plates.This page is a guide to recommended resources on these topics.

Food issues and ethics resources

Our online resources

• Grow your own fruit and vegetables – and be sure of what you’re eating
• Alternative diets – information and tips for vegetarians, vegans and those who want to reduce their meat intake.
• Keeping Poultry - our guide to resources about keeping poultry.

Our Internet Gateway recommends

• See our dedicated section on genetic modification
• Organics
• Animal welfare web sites
• A special report on GM food by NewScientist.com with a comprehensive selection of articles on the issue
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) – an independent statutory authority developing food standards for composition, labelling and contaminants, that apply to all foods produced or imported for sale in Australia and New Zealand.
• Zero Waste New Zealand explores how NZ can reduce the amount of packaging it uses.
• Food Miles Briefing paper from Landcare Research explains the origins of the food miles issue and its implications for New Zealand exporters in the context of international trade.
• Local Food A Wikipedia article on the philosophy of local food and related sustainable food movements. Good links to explore developing international attitudes to food miles.

Browse the resources in our libraries

• Search the catalogue for Organic farming, Pesticides, Factory farms or Genetically Modified Foods