The Craft Meat Co of Dunedin, for example, has 100% plant-based No-Meat Mince. Sunfed Meats offers Chicken Free Chicken Wild Meaty Chunks made from premium yellow pea protein – high protein, high iron, high zinc.
Air New Zealand has served Impossible Burgers to its business class travellers.
Green Vie’s dairy-free delight is mozzarella flavoured and free from dairy, gluten, soya, lactose and palm oil.
And there’s lots of mylk available now – almond, coconut, oat, rice and soy included.
Kiwi quinoa grows high protein, Andean superfood quinoa on its Central Plateau farm, distributing it to stores throughout the country.
A new study by a global consultancy based on expert interviews predicts that 60% of the meat we eat by 2040will either be grown in vats or replaced by plant-based products.
And if that’s not enough, I discovered recently another dairy farmer friend with 50 years on the land under his belt is now following a vegan diet. Things are, indeed, changing.
The most significant of dietary changes is a move away from animal products for reasons of personal health and care for the environment.
Red meat has long been known to increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer. Newer research implicates animal protein of all sorts.
It’s now known we don’t need animal protein for a healthy diet.
In fact, a whole food, plant-based diet is arguably healthier. Credible research and practical experience support this.
The impact of livestock farming on the environment ups the ante.
A study published last year in the journal, Science, thoroughly documents the effects. Five environmental indicators including land use, water quality and greenhouse gas emissions were examined.
Grass-fed beef, obviously of interest to us, is shown as responsible for higher environmental impact than a range of plant-based alternatives.
Similarly, the impact of producing milk is significant, with that of soy milk, or mylk if you like, modest by comparison.
So, how do we do things differently to protect a rapidly deteriorating planet and to meet changing consumer demand?
We can start with a change in mindset – by no longer considering ourselves dairy farmers or beef farmers or sheep farmers but as food producers.
This opens doors – to converting to or at least diversifying into the likes of kiwifruit, avocados, apples, berries, quinoa, hemp, almonds under certain circumstances, bananas and possibly other tropical fruits.
Climate, terrain and soil type will be among the factors farmers need to consider in weighing their options along with conversion costs and incentives and investment returns.
An open and flexible attitude will be important.
Dan and Jacqui Cottrell of Kiwi Quinoa were on to it when expanding beyond their traditional sheep operation.
Reflecting on their efforts with quinoa and the complementary and crucial role they feel livestock play in its production, Jacqui said “Every move is an experiment. It’s hugely rewarding to try something new.”
Hugh Rose, of Tallyman Bananas, agrees.
New Zealand imports about $140 million worth of bananas annually and he contends we should be producing more here at home.
He notes interest in the crop is growing in Northland, Bay of Plenty and down to Gisborne.
“It’s a great complement to dairying. Dairy effluent is high in nitrogen and phosphate, exactly what bananas love,” he says.
One commentator says “A more diversified pattern of land use would make for a more resilient, shock-resistant economy.”
It will make for more resilient and shock-resistant individual farmers, too. And a healthier planet.
But change will not be easy.
To increase production of plant protein, more chemical-dependent, monoculture cropping isn’t the answer. Transformative change is needed on many agricultural fronts. Support for farmers keen to play their part will be crucial.
The climate is our biggest challenge – a crisis now because we have done so little for so long to address it.
We can help turn the tide by enacting a strong and appropriate Zero Carbon Bill.
National’s climate-change spokesman Todd Muller is asking us to push for less.
Our children and grandchildren will not thank us if we heed his call.
Pamu Farms chief executive Steven Carden summarises things nicely, saying we need to move on from traditional farming practices to a new, yet to be fully defined farming future.
He envisions a future for Pamu that should be embraced industry wide: One, he says, with more crops and trees in our soil and fewer hooves on it.
