COMMENT:
I've been talking to a few growers and farmers lately: the people who produce our food. The other day one of them expressed a sentiment you might have heard: farmers are feeling under attack right now. Dairy and meat farmers in particular (this was even before the recent announcement of the proposed freshwater policy); but also vegetable growers. Farmers are feeling down.
It's easy to understand why. Farming is under scrutiny in light of conversations about climate change and sustainability; big global studies tell us we need to radically change the way we produce food if we want to have enough of it to feed the planet in coming decades. People are actively questioning their consumption of animal products in particular, with that in mind.
There's also, it seems, a simmering mistrust of what growers of food are doing on the farm.
This was highlighted in a recent conversation I was involved in on Newstalk ZB about organic produce, pesticides and farming practices. Many callers and texters expressed reservations about what was being "done" to the produce we buy. People reported washing their vegetables with vinegar to get rid of harmful residues; others were devoted buyers of organic produce to avoid the perceived "nasties" on conventionally grown food.