Australian Greens Deputy Leader Christine Milne has called for more stringent and accurate labelling for locally produced and processed food, based on a strong response in the latest Roy Morgan poll on food labelling. “The poll results released this week show 90 percent of Australians are more likely to buy food that is labelled as ‘Made in Australia,” she said. “At face value, this groundswell of support for local food is encouraging, but as our struggling producers know, it... ...Read more »

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh last week launched a new initiative, in conjunction with  Woolworths, designed boost to primary producers in North Queensland. Woolworths has introduced “Nth Qld Grown” labelling in its supermarkets across North Queensland, so that customers can easily identify locally grown produce. “This is a fantastic initiative by Woolworths to promote locally grown produce and make it easier for consumers to identify North Queensland produce in North Queensland stores,”Bligh... ...Read more »

Woolworths and the Tasmanian Government yesterday launched a new ‘Tassie Grown’ initiative to identify Tasmanian-grown produce on local supermarket shelves. Tasmanian Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Bryan Green, said the move was a boost for Tasmanian farmers, and encouraged other retailers to follow suit. “Shoppers will be able to quickly identify locally grown food which is a great opportunity to show support for Tasmanian producers,” he said. “There is strong demand... ...Read more »

Western Australian Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman today unveiled the new Buy West Eat Best campaign, with the support of local food producers. The campaign, which includes television and newspaper advertisments, encourages Western Australian consumers to buy products grown, farmed, fished or produced in WA by looking for the Buy West Eat Best logo on packaging.  More than 90 companies are part of the program, which is a collaboration of growers, producers, manufacturers, retailers and... ...Read more »

ABARE, Australia’s leading commodity research group, has disputed the widely held belief that local food is better for the environment, labelling food miles as a “misleading indicator” that could in fact increase carbon emissions. The term food miles has been bandied around a lot in the press over recent years and has led to a steady increase in consumer demand for locally grown produce. However, despite consumers demanding more local food, research has also suggested that most... ...Read more »

The Victorian Government is urging Victorians to buy local produce in a new campaign launched this week. Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan said the campaign would be supported by a $400,000 Government sponsorship and will highlight the high quality produce that can be found in Victoria. “The Brumby Labor Government is taking action to secure jobs across Victoria and to continue to protect and grow our tourism industry,” Ms Allan suggested. “Victoria’s food... ...Read more »

As the debate about local food and the concept of food miles heats up in Australia, new research from Mintel shows that “buying local” still has many fans to earn in America. According to Mintel’s exclusive consumer survey on local shopping, just one in six adults (17%) buy local products and services as often as possible. These ‘True Locals’ are willing to pay a higher price and they’ll even buy local if competitive products are better. This figure has been found... ...Read more »

The Federal Government is planning to introduce a “Grown in Australia” label for packaged food but progress is stalling due to the number of people involved in the process, Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has advised. “In terms of the labelling issue, I’ll say at the start that I think all of these processes on labelling move way too slowly. There’s so many ministers involved, so many different levels of government involved,” he told Adelaide’s 5AA radio... ...Read more »

In a sign of the times, South Australian Premier Mike Rann has announced a new campaign encouraging South Australians to buy and spend locally. The promotion follows on from the ‘Buy South Australian, it’s better for you’ campaign and is indicative of a growing trend towards ‘local’ food in many other regions across the world. “Now that the frenzy of Christmas is over, we have a chance to catch our breath and really consider the impact of our purchasing,”... ...Read more »