All we are left with is the realisation that our world may very well change – or it may not. Many people I have spoken to say that business is better now than it was last year, or the year before. While there have been redundancies and cut-backs and the occasional closure, there is still only scant sign of the supposed impending storm.
There is little doubt however, that food producers will continue doing what they do best – creating products that satisfy the world’s stomachs and appetites and New Zealand is still in a better place than many other countries to build upon the strengths we already have.
Particular aspects of food production that we must protect and nurture are the science and technology that underpins it. In times of economic uncertainty, research and development often end up being left behind and I firmly believe that New Zealand food scientists have been an amazing asset in creating products of real innovation and ingenuity.
Research packages need to be maintained across the board – to all of our CRIs, tertiary institutions, and private research companies.
While recessions may come around, they do not stay forever and we need to be able to maintain standards and progress so that when capital opens up again, we are in a place to move forward with products and solutions for both our domestic marketplace and for global export. New Zealand has long been known around the world for its food products as much as for its markers of national identity – rugby, films, travellers, etc. Those food exports are our key to surviving whatever global challenges the rest of the world visits upon us.
Best wishes,
Steve Best (editor)
 Steve Best
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