The food story is complex....

As I sit in the airport to return home to NZ, and reflect on the learnings of the last while, tereis much to take home.The three main things are:

1. Firstly, the impact of regulation on farmer behaviour in relation to up-take of innovation;
2. secondly the disconnect between consumers and where their food comes from;
3. thirdly, the challenge that confronts NZ farmers to meet the market with their products and the systems that support that production.  

There is an inter-relationship between all these factors and the current trajectory is somewhat discomforting. Consumer perception will drive food and farming regulations, yet, consumer perceptions are increasingly mis-informned about these food systems.  Farmers can continue to take a business-as-usual approach which is somewhat detatched from the consumer concerns about the environmental and social footprint of farming (remember I am talking abour perception being reality, not necessarily the truth of the matter).  It reminds me of the saying "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got".

It's a big challenge but one that must be tackelled or we aren't going to be able to feed 9 Billion people by 2050.

Country of origin is a popular practice for locally based food outlets in the Uk, rather than bigger supermarkets.  Food miles listed on a blackboard next to the various products also appeared around the UK also.