An urban farm sounds like a contradiction in terms but actually it may well be a way of the future, a new economic, ecological and social sector.
Increasingly we want to know where our food has come from and how it was made. Many of us feel that "Made in NZ from local and imported ingredients" is not enough, although often it’s all the information we get on packets.
Now we’ve emerged from more rigorous levels of lockdown, the Otago Farmers Market is back in business, although in its leaner winter mode.
Charmian Smith talks to Assoc Prof Miranda Mirosa of the University of Otago’s department of food science about the rapidly growing vegan trend.
How many times do you find you can’t finish what’s on your plate when you are eating out?
Charmian Smith talks to Prof Rachael Taylor about her research into children, sleep and the risk of obesity.
Carbohydrates have had a bad press recently. However, we shouldn’t be afraid of carbs, Dr Bernard Venn tells Charmian Smith.
Generally speaking, ultra-processed foods are high energy and lower in nutrients. They are cheap and tasty and easy.
Many people are aiming to reduce their meat and dairy intake as we realise their harmful environmental and health effects, writes Charmian Smith.
When people find themselves putting on weight after dieting they blame themselves, rather than realising that diets don’t work in the long term, says Otago Uni's Associate Prof Caroline Horwarth.
When we consider food sustainability, most of us probably think of food miles and wastage, pesticides and maybe getting rid of single use plastic bags, writes Charmian Smith.
Knowing what's in food, its nutrients, where it comes from, as well as having basic skills to prepare it is necessary to function healthily and sustainably in today's world, writes Charmian Smith.
I was reading the small print on a carton of milk recently. It claimed to have ''no added permeate'' and because it was ''less processed'' it claimed it had ''more goodness''.
Learning to cook is beneficial - whatever your age.
Meat and milk from animals grown on farms may well be a thing of the past for many people when the new products of cellular agriculture come on stream in an estimated four or five years, Charmian Smith writes.
At the Otago Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago, stallholders were wearing brightly coloured hats to celebrate the market's 15th birthday.
We've all heard about supersizing, how portion sizes have crept up and we find we are eating much more than we used to, Charmian Smith writes.
These days, Christmas and New Year have become such important celebrations and holidays that it's strange to realise that they weren't always so, Charmian Smith writes.
There has been an enormous amount on social media and a little bit of science around the story that low carbohydrate diets are good for diabetes and the world, Prof Jim Mann, professor of medicine...
Fermented foods are becoming increasingly trendy, and there's evidence the fermentation and the compounds produced are linked with physical and mental health.
