Decolonising kai to end food insecurity
Imagine a diet rich in forest foods, tuna, kaimoana, birds, berries and aruhe (fern roots). Imagine too, harvesting guided by mātauranga Māori and kaitiakitanga, and surplus kai traded between hapū and iwi.
This was reality for Māori before colonisation, when long-established, sophisticated and sustainable food systems supported strong health and collective wellbeing. But land dispossession, restrictive laws and marginalisation dismantled these systems over generations and still shape what is on people’s dinner plates today.
In this talk, Dr Madeline Shelling will explain the impact of global patterns of colonisation on Indigenous food systems past, present and future. She will talk about food insecurity, how it affects health and how Māori-led food sovereignty initiatives are key to a food-secure future for Aotearoa. Lastly, you will hear about a new tool she is developing that decolonises food security statistics by including important aspects of Māori kai systems.
Bio
Kia ora, ko Madeline tōku ingoa! He uri tēnei nō Ngāti Porou. Dr Madeline Shelling is a postdoctoral fellow in epidemiology and biostatistics in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. She has a PhD in Māori food security from the University of Auckland and is currently researching the development of a food security assessment tool for Māori.
Event
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 7:30pm – 8:30pm @Good George North Wharf, 1 Jellicoe Street, North Wharf, Auckland 1010
The other talk at this location is Trade in a turbulent world: tariffs, Trump and geopolitical risk at 6:00pm – 7:00pm
