Thought Leadership

Our impact within New Zealand is to spearhead the conversations within the agi-food community and to create a world-leading, informed and engaged agri-food sector. Within the wider agri-food community, we highlight trends and opportunities in food for business and policy makers. We promote informed public debate on issues concerning food, its sustainable production and global food security. We endorse and support the critical importance of science, science education and innovation in a rapidly changing world.

Summits and Workshops

The Riddet Institute Summit 2018 Balancing People, Planet and Prosperity: New Zealand’s role as a World future food producer was held on 6th December 2018, at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand.

The 2018 Riddet Institute International Summit brought together recognised local and global thought-leaders to spark the conversation on the future of global food production. The Summit was a timely exploration of New Zealand’s place in this new future while balancing people, planet and prosperity.

With the world’s population predicted to increase to 8.5 billion over the next 20 years, the challenge is on for food producing nations like New Zealand. Yet arguably, primary industry food production has never been under greater threat owing to perceptions of the social and environmental costs of animal-based agriculture and the rise of synthetic or ‘clean meat’ and plant-based proteins. New Zealand is producing enough food and beverages annually for over five times our population but global food systems are being challenged to nutritiously and sustainably feed everyone.

Speaker presentations from the summit can be found below

A Call to Arms

A contribution to a New Zealand Agrifood strategy.

Our vision for New Zealand’s agrifood sector in 2025 is profitable overseas earnings of $60 billion, sustainably contributing to New Zealand’s social, environmental and economic well-being in a changing world and ensuring New Zealand continues to be a great place in which to live and pursue a career.

We have developed a high level agrifood strategy for New Zealand with particular focus on Future Foods research development and education needs that will support development of the agrifood industry in the years to 2050.

This report is a launching pad for New Zealand’s accelerated sustainable growth in agribusiness.

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