Agriculture is one of the cornerstones of human civilisation. This practice includes cultivating soil, raising livestock and planting crops that provide sustenance for everyone on Earth. With increasing global food needs comes increased importance in this field of study – therefore having access to an education in sustainable agriculture production is imperative. New Zealand offers several universities which offer such courses.
The findings from this survey demonstrate a need for greater sustainability-related topics to be included in advisory services for producers (Duncan and Kirk, 2020). However, advice regarding such issues has been limited due to advisers prioritising financial issues over considering environmental and societal considerations when prioritising clients’ needs.
Overall, the majority of respondents agreed that sustainability characteristics should be included in FBDGs; however, health and environment sector respondents were more in agreement than agricultural respondents regarding inclusion of certain characteristics; dairy consumption being one area with lowest agreement. It appears that while more sustainability characteristics should be added to FBDGs, better understanding motivation for behavior change is also key for their success in New Zealand.