title: Shared Lunch: An Ethnography of Food Sovereignty in Whaingaroa and Beyond

authors: Ritchie, Isa Pearl

subjects: Anthropology

abstract: Food presents complex interconnectedness between inner and outer; social and political; culture and biochemistry; values and practices; tradition and innovation; wealth and poverty; the global, local and highly personal. Amid this multifaceted intersection vast bodies of contemporary academic literature have emerged. This study is an ethnography of alternative food networks; of food sovereignty and social economics. More specifically it is an ethnography of a community of small-scale local food providers in Whaingaroa, a small coastal township in Aotearoa [New Zealand].  Through the lenses provided by perspectives of these food providers, the global corporate food system is critiqued. Through their everyday practices, alternatives have been developed which offer potential solutions to widely recognised problems associated with environmental and social exploitation. These problems are largely attributed to the current dominant global systems of corporate capitalism, including the dominant systems of food production, consumption and disposal.  
A theoretical framework has been woven together in order to aid understanding of participant world-views and values. This framework is constructed around ontologies of connectedness and the negotiation of paradox. Ethnographic participant observation was carried out as the primary research method alongside in-depth interviews with key participants. Further information was gathered from the internet, largely from websites and blogs, in order to further assist in locating the framework of food sovereignty within a New Zealand context.  Much of the fieldwork was carried out in Whaingaroa. Several other sites were also included in order to gather understandings from a broader range of settings within the New Zealand context. The initiatives and groups of focus during participant observation included community gardens, small scale organic and permaculture farms, and other community groups and businesses focussed on producing and distributing local food, as well as minimising waste and environmental harm. Key participants were chosen to represent the diverse range of people involved in aspects of local food activities.
This research suggests that these small-scale local food initiatives are often connected, especially as they are responses by people and community groups to the tensions of exploitation, struggle, and scarcity created by the perceived globalising corporate system. They present a rational response to the sense of powerlessness engendered by this system, whereby personal and community agency is channelled into ‘focussing on solutions’. In doing so, a range of alternative economic systems are implemented at a community level, largely based on relationships and trust. These relationships potentiate greater sharing of resources which result in greater agency for participants, particularly those who would otherwise lack access to land for food production. Strong similarities between participants are evidenced in the ethical values expressed, as well as in the tension they negotiate in their daily lives. These also resemble the values and tensions of focus in the global campaign for food sovereignty. Participants present a deliberate focus on solutions, and on what is possible and achievable by small groups of people with minimal resources, and they reflect a protest against the alienation experienced under the dominant power structures of the global corporate system.

text: Shared Lunch: An Ethnography of Food Sovereignty in Whaingaroa and Beyond Food presents complex interconnectedness between inner and outer; social and political; culture and biochemistry; values and practices; tradition and innovation; wealth and poverty; the global, local and highly personal. Amid this multifaceted intersection vast bodies of contemporary academic literature have emerged. This study is an ethnography of alternative food networks; of food sovereignty and social economics. More specifically it is an ethnography of a community of small-scale local food providers in Whaingaroa, a small coastal township in Aotearoa [New Zealand].  Through the lenses provided by perspectives of these food providers, the global corporate food system is critiqued. Through their everyday practices, alternatives have been developed which offer potential solutions to widely recognised problems associated with environmental and social exploitation. These problems are largely attributed to the current dominant global systems of corporate capitalism, including the dominant systems of food production, consumption and disposal.  
A theoretical framework has been woven together in order to aid understanding of participant world-views and values. This framework is constructed around ontologies of connectedness and the negotiation of paradox. Ethnographic participant observation was carried out as the primary research method alongside in-depth interviews with key participants. Further information was gathered from the internet, largely from websites and blogs, in order to further assist in locating the framework of food sovereignty within a New Zealand context.  Much of the fieldwork was carried out in Whaingaroa. Several other sites were also included in order to gather understandings from a broader range of settings within the New Zealand context. The initiatives and groups of focus during participant observation included community gardens, small scale organic and permaculture farms, and other community groups and businesses focussed on producing and distributing local food, as well as minimising waste and environmental harm. Key participants were chosen to represent the diverse range of people involved in aspects of local food activities.
This research suggests that these small-scale local food initiatives are often connected, especially as they are responses by people and community groups to the tensions of exploitation, struggle, and scarcity created by the perceived globalising corporate system. They present a rational response to the sense of powerlessness engendered by this system, whereby personal and community agency is channelled into ‘focussing on solutions’. In doing so, a range of alternative economic systems are implemented at a community level, largely based on relationships and trust. These relationships potentiate greater sharing of resources which result in greater agency for participants, particularly those who would otherwise lack access to land for food production. Strong similarities between participants are evidenced in the ethical values expressed, as well as in the tension they negotiate in their daily lives. These also resemble the values and tensions of focus in the global campaign for food sovereignty. Participants present a deliberate focus on solutions, and on what is possible and achievable by small groups of people with minimal resources, and they reflect a protest against the alienation experienced under the dominant power structures of the global corporate system.

year: 2017

title: Isolation and characterisation of a new caldoactive filamentous bacterium

authors: Hudson, J. Andrew

subjects: Thermophile

abstract: A novel caldoactive filamentous bacterium was isolated from a New Zealand hot spring. Optimum conditions for growth were pH 7.0 and 73°C in aerobic conditions. Growth also occurred anaerobically. Acetamide, lactose, nitrilotriacetic acid, succinate and starch could all act as sole carbon source. Carotenoids could be extracted and had a peak absorbance at 450 nm. The organism was Gram-negative.
Long chains of cells were formed and showed characteristic coiling, necridia, and bulbs. The organism is compared to other caldoactive filamentous organisms and is sufficiently different to make it probable that it represents a new taxonomic group capable of life at high temperatures.

text: Isolation and characterisation of a new caldoactive filamentous bacterium A novel caldoactive filamentous bacterium was isolated from a New Zealand hot spring. Optimum conditions for growth were pH 7.0 and 73°C in aerobic conditions. Growth also occurred anaerobically. Acetamide, lactose, nitrilotriacetic acid, succinate and starch could all act as sole carbon source. Carotenoids could be extracted and had a peak absorbance at 450 nm. The organism was Gram-negative.
Long chains of cells were formed and showed characteristic coiling, necridia, and bulbs. The organism is compared to other caldoactive filamentous organisms and is sufficiently different to make it probable that it represents a new taxonomic group capable of life at high temperatures.

year: 1984

title: Kaupapa Māori framework and literature review of key prinicples

authors: Kennedy, Nathan

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: The literature review in this report was the starting point for the development of a Māori research strand within the Planning Under Co-operative Mandates (PUCM) research programme. The original purpose of this report Kaupapa Māori Framework and Literature Review of Key Principles was to establish definitions of environmentally significant concepts of kaupapa and tikanga Māori. In  addition,  the  review  sought  to  identify  and  briefly  describe  significant  variations between  understandings of the key concepts without attempting to reconcile these. As the purpose of the review in 2005 was to inform the development of a kaupapa Māori methodology for the identification and development of Māori environmental outcomes and indicators, we paid particular regard to Māori perceptions of the environment and the relevance of each concept in environmental terms.

text: Kaupapa Māori framework and literature review of key prinicples The literature review in this report was the starting point for the development of a Māori research strand within the Planning Under Co-operative Mandates (PUCM) research programme. The original purpose of this report Kaupapa Māori Framework and Literature Review of Key Principles was to establish definitions of environmentally significant concepts of kaupapa and tikanga Māori. In  addition,  the  review  sought  to  identify  and  briefly  describe  significant  variations between  understandings of the key concepts without attempting to reconcile these. As the purpose of the review in 2005 was to inform the development of a kaupapa Māori methodology for the identification and development of Māori environmental outcomes and indicators, we paid particular regard to Māori perceptions of the environment and the relevance of each concept in environmental terms.

year: 2009-06-30