The Food Crisis: The urgent, timely documentary every Kiwi voter should watch
Last financial year, the price of fruit and vegetables went up by 23%, while meat, poultry and fish all rose 11%, states award-winning documentary maker Bryan Bruce in his latest investigation The Food Crisis, which debuts on Sky Open tonight, Sunday at 8.30pm.
“Why is it – in a land of plenty – does food cost so much? And what can we do about it?” the Scottish-born septuagenarian asks.
As he warns us right at the start of his hour-long deep-dive, there’s a “nest of issues” at play and not just the obvious, oft-cited recent factors like Covid, the war in Ukraine and the increasing effects of climate change. There are things that are more historic, systemic.
Bryan Bruce is the only TV journalist left making actual documentaries in NZ.
60% of the news rooms are female now and the focus is identity politics and ‘you-go-girl’ feminism.
I’ve argued previously that this journalism using only the lens of identity is intellectually weak and petty.
Remember when Carmel Sepuloni who has done so little in Welfare was feted by the NZ on Air groupies over at Spinoff?
Read The Spinoff, Stuffs and NZ Heralds review of her appointment and it’s all identity politics soaked ‘you go girl’ feminism that champions her being the first Pacific Island Deputy.
There is no reflection whatsoever on her time as Minister presiding over the very weak and vulnerable that those woke newsrooms profess to care about, because when we do that, the gloss strips away very quickly.
That’s why Bryan Bruce’s documentary is so different. It’s not the low hanging fruit of identity politics journalism, it’s an actual journalistic examination of the economic dynamics of why our food prices are so high, and quite frankly it’s the kind of journalism that NZ on Air should be funding, not the woke identity politics junk.
He points out the free market structures that stops NZers enjoying the food grown here.
He points out the harm to our environment and animal welfare.
He points out the damage to our health.
He links the ongoing food prices to neoliberal changes in the economy.
He points out how the big players have manipulated the low regulation environment in NZ to cement into place their market dominance.
He points out climate change and the selling of our productive land.
He points out how the Trucking Industry have fucked us.
He points out how free trade has fucked us.
Christ he even talks the solutions TDB has been championing: A subsidy to NZ Farmers for domestic sale, a sugar tax, free food in schools, protecting our productive land, pushing more community gardens – the list of good ideas keeps coming!
Bryan has done more journalism in one documentary than The Project and Seven Sharp has managed in 3 years.
Why can’t we have actual documentaries that point out the economic and class failures of the system that can lead to common ground and broad based solidarity?
The middle class woke want pure temple politics that excludes through its inclusion, where as Bryan’s journalism is Broadchurch politics that seeks class solidarity.
Jesus we need more NZ on Air funded journalism like this! You know, actual Journalism not another dreary waste of money on another angry feminist sex positive emotional journey of queer mommy blogger podcasts on the Spinoff with support from Stuff and RNZ.
Well done Bryan.
5 Stars
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media
TVNZ doesn’t do journalism, it does ratings and cheap. Look elsewhere for journalism, current affairs, news. . .
All NZ MSM simply does the bidding of Ray white and Harcourts…. end of story.
Right on point Martyn. Be careful about highlighting the gender of the newsrooms.
You will be labelled a misogynist.
Brom. Men have had years being labelled male chauvinist pigs, the sole source of violence, and congenital dimwits, because of their gender. Now it’s the girls’ turn. We’re all in this together.
“Men have had years being labelled male chauvinist pigs, the sole source of violence, and congenital dimwits, because of their sex. ”
There, fixed it for you.
Gender is not real, it’s a role we play. Sex is real.
https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/when-asked-what-are-your-pronouns
Ditto
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of New Zealand journalism.
Unfortunately the luvvies in the feminist news room would luv fhat that another scalp they can remove from the media. Almost point scoring.
Agree 100%, as will all victims of identity politics, as well as mums struggling to feed kids decent food, and persons with brains appalled at the dreadful dumbing down of the education system which has enabled much of this crap. But Nicky Hager is another good man who deserves to be up there with Bryan Bruce and you.
Bryan is a gem who has battled away at the ruling class and establishment neo liberals for many years, and never succumbed to tin foil, MAGAism, or mind boggling conspiracy theories. Like on school lunches, he actually travelled to Scandinavia and investigated the universal free school meals for himself rather than parroting sources.
Sounds great, I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the info Martyn
Bryan Bruce is one of the best documentary-makers this country has produced.
Belying his 75 years, he continues, as he has done for at least four decades, illustrating starkly and with convincing argument and evidence, the ever-growing inequities suffered by the vast majority of his fellow New Zealanders. His understated style nevertheless paints an increasingly grim picture for our future.
Professional and truly prophetic! But when will we listen, look and learn – if ever?
Bryan Bruce is very well respected for his insights. I’ve yet to see him espouse anything even remotely stupid.
You go man! Your work stands scrutiny.
Bruce is a legend. His excoriating analysis of the neoliberal takeover of NZ was epic – so of course TVNZ canned it.
” Bruce is a legend. His excoriating analysis of the neoliberal takeover of NZ was epic – so of course TVNZ canned it ”
We have censorship being practiced by a state run broadcaster and the other MSM parasites but no protest against this like we had over free speech.
Kiwis have the right to free speech as they have to non biased censorship of the the real truth behind this neo liberal plutocracy that lays waste to so much of our economy and country for the privileged few.
Great piece of journalism.
It’ll never get onscreen in MSM because there’s no bikinis and drama! No mind-numbingly dumb ho’s and bro’s being cruel and acting narcissistic. You know, the kinda shit a whole generation that has been brought up on. The other ‘Hunger Games!’ The made up one.
What the fuck’s with the orange vest? God I hate that shit. It bellows acquiescing to the Neo-Liberal rogernome and his national party overlords. Orange became the new Red ( read weak pink) back in the day from about 1984 on.
And tomatoes!? What about Pot? Pot’s also edible you know. https://hempnz.co.nz/recipes/hemp-hearts-and-orange-cake/
How about rebellious? How about anti-conservative-establishment? How about a T Shirt that reads FUCK LUXON AND NOT IN THAT GOOD WAY, TO BE CLEAR!
We have a crisis on our hands and we’re in a societal free-fall. We swallowed milton friedmans scam peddled by roger douglas and his greedy cronies. The neo-liberal scam was inseminated up the natzo’s and hatched out of Labour and all we’re left with now are greedy rackets most can’t afford.
If you don’t hear those words out of Hipkins and sooner rather than later, then we’re all fucked.
Good summary. Hipkins opposed Cunliffe’s quixotic enterprise for us. But all he has to do is turn to reality and he can block the short-term Right people. He thinks he can get away with not talking reality. Like the US Democrats.
As ever, love your stringency. I do the dopiest low-level logic, so I can’t understand the cats wandering around my flatblock and visiting, my Filipina age-peer of 15 years and, of course, you. But I appreciate all your truths.
This is what journalism was before the woke took control.
Journalism used to be learned inhouse and on the job in news rooms around the country taught by seasoned journos who’s editorial integrity would never have put up with the bullshit that passes for news today.
The day journalism died was when academics got involved and media studies courses taught identity politics as part of journalism.
Most so called journalists now days are millennial snowflakes who wouldn’t know hard news or impartial commentary if it bit them on the arse.
So much of what passes for news now is either state controlled propaganda or woke misinformation.
Bryan Bruce is a national treasure and its been a while since I have seen him and his contribution. I look forward to watching and saving this documentary.
Good work with this Bomber.
And let us not forget Byran Bruce’s 2 wonderful child poverty documentaries, 2011 and 10years on, 2022.
When did child poverty even get a mention this election launch except for Labour to gloat about how many children it had lifted out of poverty- while the foodbanks business soars, homelessness is rife and the official measure are so far out of date and are so selective they lack credibility
” When did child poverty even get a mention this election launch except for Labour to gloat about how many children it had lifted out of poverty- while the foodbanks business soars, homelessness is rife and the official measure are so far out of date and are so selective they lack credibility ”
Yes Susan its become an indictment of us as a first world country that it is hidden from view while we concentrate on how to make the rich and upper classes even more wealthy at the expense of so many of our people who aren’t part of the “squeezed ” middle but are the forgotten victims of this evil economic system and its receipents and enablers.
One really obvious and hugely important point missed by Bryan Bruce – the need to drastically change our diets away from animal proteins.
No mention of the multiple UN reports on this, urging a move away from animal agriculture and towards plant-based proteins.
A few facts to consider; humans and their farmed animals make up 93% of terrestrial biomass, leaving only around 7% for wild animals. NO wonder we are in an extinction crisis with the rate of extinctions now around 100% higher than the background rate. You couldn’t make this up if you were making a fictional film about a distant planet peopled by Avatars.
Methane, produced by ruminant animals as they chew their cud, the type of animals favoured by humans to produce their steaks and milkshakes, is a powerful greenhouse gas that is about 82% more able to trap the sun’s heat. And though it doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere as CO2 that is a moot point since we have such vast numbers of animals producing the stuff.
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/food
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet
avoid the word greedflation at all costs
Comments are closed.