Right now NZ is at a cross roads. We could keep on the path of industrial food production, selling bulk commodities at low prices. Or we could position ourselves as an organic nation with a determined strategy to support our growers to produce and market the highest quality clean green food, making our reputation a reality before we lose it. The production of pesticide-resistant insect pests, creation of new plant and animal viruses and the gradual pollution of the gene pool with unnatural genetic material will eventually make it impossible for any NZ production to comply with internationally recognised organic standards. In other words, we have to choose, and we have to choose soon.
Food policy is also about democracy.
Citizens have a fundamental right to know what is in their food, and to participate in decisions about what will be allowed. We cannot allow the imposed rules of a world trade club most New Zealanders did not choose to join to override our rights to information or to health. We recognise that the Green Party will have to work with whatever other parties we are sharing government with. The policies below are those we will advocate for in any post-election agreement. We recognise we will be a small player in the next parliament, but our support for any other party will be conditional on some progress towards these policies.