The Guides
A growing collection of guides to real food in New Zealand. Each one maps the producers worth knowing, sorts them by how they farm, and shows what's hiding behind the supermarket labels.
The guides break the food system down by category — eggs, water, chicken, bread, dairy — and answer the same questions for each one: who produces it, who owns them, what the labels actually mean, and where to find the genuinely good stuff.
They're working documents. New producers keep turning up. Brands change hands. Regulations shift. Consider these the current state of what's been found.
Live guides
→ The Guide to Eggs in New Zealand Organic, pasture-raised, regenerative, and federated egg producers. Two companies dominate the supermarket shelves. The certified organic share is around 1% of egg volume. Here's the rest of what's out there, plus what the stamp on the shell actually means.
→ The Guide to Water in New Zealand Reverse osmosis, fluoride, chlorine, tank water, bore water, and city-by-city breakdowns. The whole water series, anchored in one place.
→ The Guide to Chicken in New Zealand Two companies control 90% of the market. The certified organic share is around 0.8%. Free-range is around 2%. Everything else is barn-raised, eating imported GM soy. Here's the picture, the producers worth knowing, and links to the deeper investigations.
Guides in progress
These are next on the list. They'll appear here as they go live.
- Bread — Glyphosate, ownership, sourdough, wholegrain. Who mills, who bakes, and what's actually in the loaf.
- Dairy — Milk, butter, cheese producers. Raw milk. Who supplies the supermarket private labels.
- Meat — Beef, lamb, game. Certified organic producers. Regenerative claims and what they're verified against.
- Produce — Vegetables, fruit, growers. The certified organic farms, the spray-free claims, the supermarket private labels.
How the guides work
Each guide starts with the structural picture of the category — how many producers, who owns them, what the standards mean. Then it lists the producers worth knowing about, sorted by how they farm. Some are tiny farm-gate operations. Some are family-owned mid-sized businesses. Some are supermarket-distributed brands.
The format is the same across categories so once you've read one, the others are quick to navigate.
A note on what's missing
Every guide is incomplete. New producers keep turning up. If you know one worth adding, or you run one, get in touch.
