Museum Lecture Series: Food for Thought

This lecture series complements the Auckland Museum's exhibition 'Kai to Pie' which celebrates Auckland's cultural diversity and natural environment through the lens of food.

A concession fee of $49.50 is available to Museum members, full-time students and the unwaged. The exhibition, entry to which is free, will be open from 5.30pm prior to each lecture.

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Cliona Ni Mhurchu, BSc, PhD

Tackling obesity and poor eating habits are national and international health priorities. This lecture will explore the evidence for a link between price and demand for different foods and ask questions such as:

• Should we use food taxes and subsidies to promote healthier diets?
• What evidence is there that they would be effective?
• Would this approach work in New Zealand?

Ken Jackson, PhD

What are the principle food security issues facing the world today and in the future?

In terms of mouths this lecture addresses the questions of how many people there are in the world, what they seem to want to eat and how rising incomes have and are altering preferences.

In terms of miles it outlines the globalisation of food production and some of the consequences of that.

In terms of morsels it considers how secure the supply of food is for the world, the nation and for the individual or family.

Peter Russell

These days much of our food is controlled by transnational corporations, however this food system is no longer meeting the needs of people on a local, national or global scale.

Those of us who live in wealthy countries are largely unaware of the decimation of the ecosystems and societies of poorer nations for the sake of extracting value through food arbitrage.

The emergence of localised food systems is correcting this disparity and reconnecting us to the true cost of food whilst reintroducing us to the joy of participating with the rhythms and cycles of nature.