The Mana Kai Framework: a degrowth lens

Abstract

The Mana Kai Framework is a set of values, goals and objectives to improve the food provisioning system in Aotearoa New Zealand, developed through a round of nationwide consultations, with the ultimate purpose of informing a national food strategy. This article builds upon Mana Kai, finding that the consultation process assumed only a growth economy in future; a second round of consultation using a degrowth lens, it is argued, would produce a valuable alternative framework. This could prove fruitful towards the stated Mana Kai aspiration to ignite a social movement to drive significant systemic change, and could, alongside the existing framework, inform a national food strategy that is ready for growth and degrowth futures, both of which are plausible, thereby ensuring a more resilient food system in Aotearoa New Zealand.