milk
A cow gives milk only after she's had a calf. That one fact runs the dairy industry. The yearly pregnancies, the calf taken within a day, the bobby calves killed at four days old, the cow culled young, all of it happens out of sight. Not hidden. Just never said.
cheese
I went looking for cheese set the old way, with calf rennet, and walked into a trap. At the supermarket the traditional enzyme comes with conventional milk, and the clean organic milk comes with the lab one. Which sent me past the rennet entirely, to what's in the milk.
cheese
New Zealand calls itself GE-free. But the enzyme that sets the cheese in nearly every fridge is made by genetically modified microbes, and has been for 25 years, with nothing on the label to say so. It arrived before the GM crops we actually argued about. Here's how, and why.
places
A curated map of 128 places across New Zealand where you can buy food you can actually trust — organic shops, farmers' markets, growers, refilleries, and suppliers worth knowing about. Not crowdsourced. Hand-checked.
eggs
New Zealand produces over a billion eggs a year. Fewer than 20 farms produce every certified-organic egg among them. This is a map of what actually exists — and how to find the eggs that match what you're looking for.
eggs
There's a five-character stamp on most NZ supermarket eggs. Here's the story behind the programme that puts it there, who runs it, and what it actually tells you.
beef
I picked up a packet of beef and noticed a sticker I hadn't seen before. Two hours later I was still reading. Here's what's hiding behind the label — and why regenerative verification might be the most important food standard you haven't heard of yet.
Organic Week Challenge
Ten days. The questions don't have clean answers. But noticing is where fixing it starts. Here's how the challenge closes.
Organic Week Challenge
Not ten things. Not a whole new way of shopping. Just one organic thing, from one place near you. That's the challenge.
Organic Week Challenge
The word "organic" has no legal protection in New Zealand. Anyone can put it on a packet. Here's what the certification mark actually means.
Organic Week Challenge
70% of packaged food in NZ supermarkets is ultra-processed. Imports of ultra-processed food rose 550% in one generation. A few facts worth sitting with.
Organic Week Challenge
You maintain your car. You insure your phone. But your body — the one thing you can't replace — what are you putting into it?
