Many groups have been calling for it and now the first step toward a national food strategy has been taken.

The Aotearoa Circle is a voluntary initiative bringing together leaders from the public and private sectors to promote guardianship of natural resources in New Zealand. The Aotearoa Circle has appointed global consultancy group KPMG as secretariat to facilitate a National Food Strategy (NFS). This has come after much discussion about the frailties of New Zealand’s food system, highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hoped a NFS will protect and restore New Zealand’s wealth of natural capital, which is currently ranked eighth in the world.

The first phase of the NFS work is taking place until January 2021 and will consist of:

• Research identifying key issues
• Leading practice from national/global examples
• Identifying stakeholders and how to engage with them
• The process of setting up a NFS

Phase 2 is expected in 2021 and will be preparing the NFS.

In their pursuit of sustainable prosperity, the Aotearoa Circle has identified six domains needing urgent attention:

• Sustainable finance
• Land and Soil
• Freshwater
• Climate Change
• Biodiversity
• Marine

A National Food Strategy has the potential to positively impact all domains.