healthy food – Soil and Health Association of NZ

Media release

29 April 2026. New Zealanders are invited to take part in Organic Week 2026, a nationwide series of online events running from 1 to 10 May, focused on healthy food, healthy soil and healthy people.

Led by the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, this year’s programme brings together farmers, health experts and food advocates for a week of webinars, interviews and community discussion.

The online series is designed to make organic knowledge accessible for everyone, from seasoned organic growers to those just starting to explore organic living.

Soil scientist Charles Hyland, chair of Soil & Health, says a key part of this year’s Organic Week is helping people understand the connection between soil, food and wellbeing.

“Healthy soil supports everything – from the food we eat to the resilience of our environment. Organic Week gives people the chance to hear directly from those working with nature and within our food systems to learn practical ways to apply that knowledge,” he says.

The programme begins with an online Organic Café on Saturday 2 May at 10am, offering an informal space for people to connect, share ideas and hear what is ahead for the week.

A webinar on Monday 4 May at 7pm will focus on dung beetles, with experienced pastoral farmers including Stephen Newman, founder of Kaipara Regenerative Farming Group and Paul Candy from Future Ready Farms sharing how these insects improve soil fertility, manage animal waste and reduce nutrient run-off.

On Wednesday 6 May at 7.30pm, a session titled “What’s behind the label?” will help consumers better understand food labels, ingredients and certification. The speakers are Alison White from the Safe Food Campaign and Sarah Reddington from Low Toxin Rabbit, with facilitation by Organic NZ editor Philippa Jamieson.

Health and wellbeing are also part of the line-up. On Thursday 7 May at 7pm, nutritional therapist Paula Sharp will discuss gut health and how to support the microbiome through food and lifestyle.

The final session on Friday 8 May at 7pm features Hawke’s Bay artist and advocate Kate White, offering a fresh perspective on rooks and their role in farming systems, challenging the view of the birds as pests and exploring their place in a functioning ecosystem.

In addition, others have come on board offering in-person events including workshops and film screenings around the country.

The Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, established in 1941, is one of the world’s oldest organic organisations and continues to advocate for systems that support long-term environmental and human health.

“Organic Week is about connection – between people, ideas and the natural systems that sustain us. We welcome anyone who wants to be part of that conversation,” says Philippa Jamieson, editor of Organic NZ.

All interviews will be screened online and later made available via the Soil & Health Association’s YouTube channel, with webinar recordings released in late May.
ENDS

About us
The Soil & Health Association is the largest membership organisation supporting organic food and farming in New Zealand and one of the oldest organic organisations in the world, established in 1941. We are committed to advocating our maxim “Healthy soil – healthy food – healthy people, Oranga nuku – oranga kai – oranga tāngata” and to creating an organic New Zealand.

More information

More information on Organic Week 2026 available here.

Full schedule available here, including links to register for events.

Please reach out for interview opportunities with our spokespersons!

Media contact
Rebecka Keeling
Communications, Soil & Health Association of New Zealand
rebeckakeeling@gmail.com

MEDIA RELEASE

3 AUGUST 2025

Aotearoa New Zealand – Consumers have just lost a fundamental right to informed choice about the food they’re eating, says the Soil & Health Association.

New Zealand Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard and his eight Australian state counterparts have approved a decision to allow genetically engineered food ingredients enter unlabelled into the food chain of both countries.

“This is an alarming and unscientific move that removes our right to know what’s in our food,” says Charles Hyland, chair of the Soil & Health Association.

“New Zealanders want to know what they’re eating, and be able to avoid things they don’t want.”

“Allowing unlabelled GE ingredients that have no novel DNA ignores the fact that changes can and do occur as a result of all types of genetic engineering – whether it introduces novel DNA or not.”

Gene edited cattle in the USA were heralded as a success and claimed to have no novel DNA. However it was then found that bacterial DNA had been introduced, conferring antibiotic resistance, and the cattle were withdrawn from the market.

Similar situations could happen with food that supposedly has no novel DNA.

Our knowledge of the risks to health from GE foods is still very limited, and there is very little long-term independent research to draw from.

“What happens if there is a health issue from GE food? How could we pinpoint it to that GE food? If it’s unlabelled, authorities won’t be able to trace it or issue a food recall.”

The onus will now be on consumers to ask retailers and food companies whether there are any GE ingredients in their food.

“The best ways to avoid GE food ingredients are to eat organic food, grow your own, favour whole foods and avoid ultra-processed foods.”

ENDS

FURTHER INFORMATION: Soil & Health’s submission to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 10 September 2024

Contact:

Charles Hyland, Chair, Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, 027 707 0747
Philippa Jamieson, Organic NZ editor, Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, 027 547 3929

Email: editor@organicnz.org.nz
Website: www.soilandhealth.org.nz