As food fraud continues to grow around the world, Otago researchers have begun a ground-breaking project aimed at protecting the New Zealand wine industry from imposters.
University of Otago food science senior lecturer Dr Biniam Kebede is developing an artificial intelligence-powered hyperspectral imaging technique to test wine authenticity and traceability — all without opening the bottle.
University of Otago agricultural innovation student Aaron Hewson has learned a lot about apples since he started researching one of our favourite fruits.
There is an old English proverb: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. When we walk into a supermarket or go to the farmers market, we might get a choice of 10 different kinds of apples to shoo away that dastardly doctor. Perhaps this seems like a lot of options compared to the single choice of Cavendish banana we get, but it pales in comparison to the 20,000 named apple varieties found throughout the world.
Free markets do not respond well to things that are slow to change – we need to set deep and long-lived national research, science, and technology goals
Authors: Janice Lord, Sara Walton, Viktoria Kahui, Joel Hjelte, Matthew Larcombe, Craig Bunt
Publication date: 2023/10/24
We are a multi-disciplinary team at the University of Otago researching the opportunities and implications for rural communities of Aotearoa New Zealand’s journey towards a net zero carbon future. Our research is rooted in farmer perceptions, responses to policy and behavioural drivers within the context of wellbeing, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity. For example, we recently conducted a study about conflicts between what it means to be a ‘good farmer’and changes in freshwater policy (Walton et al. 2023).
An important insight from our engagement with farmers is that managing freshwater quality and native biodiversity is foremost about managing people. Farmers and other landowners are experiencing multiple pressures from changes in freshwater management (National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020), biodiversity directives (National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity 2022) and the requirement to measure emissions on farms (He Waka Eke Noa 2019, 2022). This is leading to tension between biodiverse practices and productive land use on privately owned land in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally. Protecting native biodiversity on privately owned land has regional and national benefits but establishment costs, compliance costs and opportunity costs from forgone income (Clough, 2000) are borne by the landholder. These opportunity costs are often overlooked and land practices that protect and enhance biodiversity on privately owned land currently lack both financial incentives and financial establishment support for their uptake.
Authors: Juliet Gerrard, Chris Hendersen, Miranda Mirosa, Craig Bunt, Nicki Solomon, Hamish Conway, Deborah Manning, Kaitlin Dawson, Grace Clare, Luke Chapman
Publication date: 2023
Publisher: Channel 39
Food waste is a wicked problem and requires a collaborative effort to address it. In this panel discussion hosted by the University of Otago’s Food Waste Innovation Group, you will hear from leaders in four of the key sectors in this mission: government; research; industry; and non-profit. Each panelist will explain how they are addressing food waste in their world, and what the public can do to support this mahi with time for audience questions. Panelists include the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor Dame Juliet Gerrard and the University of Otago’s Professor Miranda Mirosa, Prof. Craig Bunt – Researcher, Agricultural Innovation, Chris Henderson – Group Manager Waste and Environmental Solutions, Dunedin City Council, Hamish Conway – Research & Development Director, Goodman-Fielder, Nicki Solomon – Business Development Manager, NZ Food Innovation Network, Kaitlin Dawson – Executive Director, Champions 12.3 + Kai Commitment, Deborah Manning – Founder & Director, KiwiHarvest + NZ Food Network.
