TO GE OR NOT TO GE THE VACCINATION QUESTION

After two years without widespread community transmission of Covid-19, Aotearoa is now experiencing what it’s like to have the virus. A key health measure promoted by the government is immunisation, which in the case of the Pfizer vaccine is a product of GE technology in the lab. Because GE-free produce is a cornerstone of organics, we wanted to know how people within the organics world have made decisions on managing their health and well-being. We spoke to organic growers about this, and about how business is going during these difficult and uncertain times.

More focus on nutrition and health

Everyone we spoke to is hopeful we emerge from the pandemic with a new commitment to local healthy food production. Dom Ferretti, of the pandemic has been a mixed bag: “In some ways it’s been challenging. Managing staff interactions to stop the spread, and with the markets closed, we’ve had to change how we work. But we’ve also benefitted. Vege box sales have gone up. People are thinking more about local food and eating at home. We’ve built our profile and connected with more people who are coming to us instead of buying from supermarkets.”