Science Media Centre

Unchecked climate change will hit food production so severely that an extra half a million people could die through changes in diet and bodyweight in 2050, compared with a world where emissions are curtailed. The figure comes from a new UK study published today in the leading medical journal the Lancet. Taking into account projected […]

Jacqueline Rowarth, Professor of Agribusiness at the University of Waikato, highlights New Zealand’s importance as a food producer in a hungry world, writing on the Idealog site (originally published in Primary Magazine). An excerpt (read in full here): As demand grows, so can NZ’s role in food production Populations are increasing, resources are being depleted, […]

Christmas is coming, and while for many New Zealanders the festive season does involve a feast, there will be many others struggling to feed their family even the most basic meal. Food insecurity is on the increase. Results from the latest Adult Nutrition Survey published earlier this year showed that  from 1997 to 2008/09 the […]

New Zealand’s latest nutrition survey shows the nation’s obesity epidemic surged ahead over the past dozen years — even though the population’s energy intake levels have dropped. Researchers who conducted the 2008-2009 Adult Nutrition Survey (NZANS) say they suspect this means many people are exercising less than they did when the comparable 1997 National Nutrition […]

British scientists are calling for billions to be invested in crop research and for the development of genetically modified crops to meet the estimated 50 per cent increase in production that will be required to feed the world in 2050. The Royal Society of London report Reaping the Benefits: Science and the Sustainable Intensification of […]