An exciting time to be farming
Celebrity chef and healthy eating advocate Nadia Lim believes this is one of the most exciting times to be involved in farming. ‘‘We are on the tip of a wave. ‘‘New Zealand farmers are well placed to be the best at sustainable, ethical food production, especially after the Covid-19 crisis,’’ Lim said.
Lim was a guest speaker at the first-ever nationwide virtual ladies muster hosted by Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Lim said she felt a ‘‘deep responsibility’’ to be involved with the food that goes on people’s plates.
She’s now living the dream with husband Carlos and their two young sons Bodhi and River in Central Otago.
Just over a year ago they took over Carlos’ family’s 450 hectare sheep and cropping farm on the Crown Terrace near Arrowtown and they have big plans for diversification.
‘‘It’s bloody hard work to make a good dollar with so much uncertainty and unpredictability.
‘‘But I’m a big believer this is one of the most exciting times to be involved in farming.’’
Lim, a former Masterchef New Zealand winner and co-founder of My Food Bag has produced 10 best-selling cookbooks, including her most recent ‘Vegful’.
When it came to diets, she believed there was no one size fits all approach.
‘‘Everyone is so different genetically and geographically.
‘‘I’m very open-minded when it comes to food – I’m an omnivore – I eat anything and everything.
‘‘I love wild meat like goats, pigs and deer, it’s a delicious resource,’’ Lim said.
Lim believed people in the western world did not eat enough vegetables which were essential for good health.
‘‘Plant based diets are great, but equally I believe that there is a place proteins.’’
Lim said real food, that was as close to nature as possible, would never go out of fashion.
Although there was a move to synthetic foods, she believed it would never replace real food which she described as food that was close to the ‘‘ground, sea and sky’’.
‘‘We have supermarket.’’
Lim believed New Zealanders for
aanimal-based great outdoor needed to celebrate food more like they do in Italy with the Festival of Wild Boar and Fruits of the Forest.
She encouraged farmers to keep pushing, innovating, think outside the square and not be afraid to break the rules.
‘‘Everyone told me My Food Bag wouldn’t work because nobody wants to be told what to have for dinner, but now it’s the third biggest food retailer in New Zealand.’’
Lim said she was previously very hands-on, but she had since moved to a more advisory and ambassadorial role with My Food Bag.
She and Carlos recently produced a popular cooking show which was televised through lockdown.
Lim said the Covid-19 crisis had encouraged her to be a lot more resourceful with food.