Thirteen young New Zealand horticulture leaders visited world-leading innovative growers, researchers, and business in the Netherlands to expand their horizons and bring back valuable insights to New Zealand. This is part of arguably the most collaborative industry-driven program ever seen in the primary industries. The inaugural international horticultural immersion program (IHIP) Is supported by AGMARDT…
From the first day I stepped off the plane and visited the breathtaking Agriport A7 growing centre, cooperation and collaboration between businesses was startling. These state-of-the-art greenhouses spanned a staggering 30 hectares. It became clear the owners alone could not have achieved this in isolation. With its self-driving carts doing the hard yards and the…
Fast facts Name: Charlotte BowanAge: 37Location: South CanterburyWork: General Manager at Heartland Potato ChipsGrows: I don’t actually grow the potatoes these are grown by my father and brother. I manage the family owned business where we use the potatoes we grow and turn these into – Heartland Chips. How did you first become involved in…
It’s cold out there! All of a sudden, it feels like, winter is upon us. And with that comes the urge to head inside and hibernate somewhere warm and cosy. We also crave different foods in winter. I don’t know about you, but I lose my interest in crisp, cold salads around about now, and…
By Niki Bezzant Last week I attended a fascinating workshop called ‘The Genomic Kitchen’, focusing on the science of nutrigenomics. This emerging science explores how different foods may interact with our genes. It investigates how common food chemicals in the diet could affect our health by altering the expression of genes and the structure of…
Fast facts Name: Robin Oakley Age: 49 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Work: Oakleys Premium Fresh Vegetables Grows: Potatoes, Candy Beetroot, Pumpkin, Broccoli How did you first become involved in the potato industry? We all had vegetable gardens at home from a very young age and were encouraged by parents and grandparents on how and what to do. There…
The newest blockbuster research report on diet and health to be published in medical journal the Lancet is out. Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 is not the most catchy of titles. But its findings caught the headlines. “The diets cutting one in five lives short every year”, promised…
By Niki Bezzant Vegetables are so hot right now. And it’s not just because, we’re told, one in ten kiwis is now always or mostly eating a vegetarian diet. That’s according to a recent Colmar Brunton report, Better Futures. That shift to plant-only eating, the report says, is a sign of an increasing commitment towards sustainable living. What else are…
By Gemma Carroll, Communications & Engagement Officer As PNZ plans for 2019, the opportunity to get support the ANA (Activity Nutrition Aotearoa) conference https://ana.org.nz/ came up, so I started reading about Sport’s Nutrition. It got me thinking about how great spuds are – again! 😊 For the past 40-50 years we have known through research, that carbohydrates are the best macronutrient for physical performance, both sustaining…
By Niki Bezzant These days we hear many trends are driven by the millennials – that generation of people born between the mid-80s and early 2000s. They’re influencing what we see on our screens, what we wear, what we listen to and, more and more, what we eat. This is something I’ve heard from researchers and…