Who here identifies as farmer or foodie? And what does that mean to you as an ID? Me, I’m an urban progressive leftie journalist who happens to be farming because I wanted to get closer to my food source. First for professional reasons — I made an audio doc abt the future of food

And then I wrote a book about my experience in farming and the trouble we have as a society talking calmly and productively about the future of food (it’s out 2021). But I also use food as a tool to heal my body — from iron deficiency mostly (esp post pregnancy) so farming

Allows me to get under the hood of the food production system. To learn who’s pulling the levers. And when I read reference to us vs them (farmers vs consumers) I get a little dismayed ‘cause the ideological divide is I believe (based on my reporting) a fabrication.

We farmers & we consumers are basically after the same thing — good food for a fair price. Where it falls down is in the middle. NZ and Aus have the highest supermarket concentration in the world — 2 big players control 80%+ of food retail. That puts producers at a disadvantage

And limits choice for consumers. The idea we can shop our way to change is a myth within this system. Unless the market concentration is somehow diluted. So my question for the URBAN FOODIES on this feed is this: are you willing to shop outside the big 2, to get closer to ur food

+ form community with farmers and even buy and eat quality grass fed beef that happens to have yellow fat ‘cause the animal is a dairy x beast? Or nah? Too hard? Too $$? I’d like to see improvements in our food system but not sure what that looks like. Any ideas?