Let’s Hope The Weather Holds

Podcast live. The campaign against meat. In this episode I speak to Prof. Dr. Frédéric Leroy about the campaign against meat. Frederic is part of a research group in industrial microbiology and Food Biotechnology at the Department of Bioengineering Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels. He talks about the the intricacies and politics of the EAT Lancet diet and its stakeholders, he tells m...

In this episode I talk to Sean Andrews, founder of the New Zealand based Category 3 Fly Company. C3 supplies flies world wide. He tells me about ice fishing for trout with flies and a hand line in Sweden, how he learned to fly fish on chalk streams in the UK as child on the same rivers Frank Sawyers was a river keeper, how difficult it is to find a tying partner, who the greatest fly tyers in the...

I speak to Ben Kepes from Cactus Outdoor about making hard wearing outdoor gear locally, how climbing bums become business owners, 30 years of Cactus Outdoor, their ethos of gear that last vs. gear that has to be constantly replaced, a ethical business model that is not seasonal, his outdoor missions, other companies he admires, how to make profit when you make quality and not quantity, what is le...

I speak to Corina Jordan, chief executive of New Zealand's Fish & Game. She tells me about shotguns that kick, training deer and pheasant dogs, the work Fish & Game does to rehabilitate create and save habitat for fish and game birds, what type of horse she wants for hunting, taking time out to get outside, the type of people Fish & Game has in its arsenal of talent, hunters as example...

Artist, fly fisherman, fly guide and conservationist Johann du Preez talks about fishing mad spots like Sudan, Sette Cama and Guyana. We talk about conservation, tropical diseases, having your passport taken, sucking as a client, the Indifly Corps, creating livelihoods for small communities and of course his amazing art and the techniques he uses.   Follow him on instagram @johanndupreez_art https...

In this episode I talk to Navigate founder Anna Benny about her view that precision fermentation is a threat to the New Zealand dairy industry.   We talk about how changing climate policies play a role in the possible disruption of the dairy industry. We talk about why meat possibly won't face a big disruption from novel proteins. We praise milk for its nutritional properties. We talk about how sh...

Ferreter James Curry tells me how he uses ferrets to catch rabbits in New Zealand where rabbits are an introduced pest. He talks about how he got into ferreting, training ferrets, how an obsession became a job, getting permits to transport ferrets, that are also an introduced pest and why his ferrets are named after psycho killers.   Find him at www.jimsbunnyhunters.com    

I speak to Prof. Emmanuel Bobobee from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in Ghana. We talk about his cassava harvester, the challenges smallholder farmers face with cassava production, the need for governments in Africa to support mechanisation and processing. We talk about the perception of cassava and perceptions about smallholder farmers. 

General manager for the New Zealand Game Animal Council Tim Gale speaks to me about the days when his dad used to supply deer farms with wild caught hinds. He gives me tips on training a dog to hunt deer. We lament that we don't get out enough. He tells me about his horse wrangling and hunting guide days overseas. We discuss working with people with opposing views and diplomacy. We discuss the cha...

In this episode I speak to Fish and Game field officer Cohen Stewart about research done in Southland in New Zealand about how native eel thrive in hunter created duck ponds. Cohen talks about how the study came about, the methods they used, and their findings. He also talks about his passion for hunting deer over his German Short Haired Pointer, how he joined Fish and Game, and how he began fishi...

Andrea Mattioli quickly became a legend under fly fisherman in Auckland when he began working at a local shop Rod and Reel. When the shop closed everyone missed his no nonsense approach, humour and willingness to talk fishing for hours. In this podcast he tells me about growing up in Italy and fishing in the traditional 'al tocco' style since he was a kid. He tells me how in the region where he gr...

I speak to editor and founder of Project Upland magazine A.J. DeRosa about bird hunting in the USA, his dogs, how he started the magazine despite being told it won't work and how punks can also hunt. He talks about hunters getting involved in politics, how to use climate change to get funding to secure more bird habitat, how denying climate change is not helping, how being a hunter does not automa...

In this episode I speak to Pelham Jones, president of the Private Rhino Owners Organisation about what it takes to conserve rhinoceros in South Africa, the sale of almost 2000 rhinoceros by John Hume, the human and animal toll rhino poaching takes, why South Africa is not allowed to legally sell rhino horn, how the sale of rhino horn is similar to trading deer antler in the way New Zealand does, w...

Homesteading in New Zealand is growing, especially after recent floods and the Covid pandemic. I speak to Michael Andrew, editor of Lifestyle Block magazine about homesteading in New Zealand. We ask are preppers crazy? (No they're not!) We talk self sufficiency, hunting, fishing, bartering, permaculture and how he is building his own homestead in Raglan, New Zealand. Note; the interview was done l...

The De Winton’s golden mole was last seen in 1937 and was declared lost to science. But a team of researchers recently used environmental DNA to find it again and also managed to get hold of one of the moles and take DNA sample swabs. I speak to Dr. Samantha Mynhardt, a Conservation Genetics Researcher, about their discovery on the South African West Coast. We talk about the potentials of the use...

What is better than a weekend hunting mission with mates? So, in this episode I speak to Riley Meason and Gabe Ross from The Weekend Mish. They talk about how they started hunting, building a YouTube channel brand, their participation in the reality TV show Tracked, how they handle criticism, their recent hunt in the USA and why it rocked, big missions and taking risks, what a trophy is, the futur...

In this episode farm nutrient advisor Melinda Turner and Barrie Riddler talk about their theory that using less fertiliser on New Zealand farms will mean more profit for farmers and better animal health. They talk about their deep frustrations with the idea that maximum production means maximum profit. Some of what they say might be triggering to anyone who does not understand the curve of diminis...

In the 1800's New Zealand sheep thief James Mackenzie became a legend for stealing large flocks of sheep with just the help of his dog, he took them over 100's of kilometres of mountains to a piece of land he wanted to stake a claim on. He later had a whole area of the country named after him: Mackenzie Country. In this episode I speak to curator Sean Brosnahan and exhibition developer William McK...

The fight against wool - a story of lawsuits, bad science and political kowtowing In this episode I speak to Greg Smith, CEO of wool carpet manufacturer Bremworth, about how regulations and selective science is showing wool is somehow worse for the planet than synthetic materials. We delve into government intervention and how politicians appease voters and their climate views. The lawsuit against...

In this episode I speak to CEO of Eat New Zealand Angela Clifford. We talk about why New Zealand needs a food plan and strategy, how introduced species like deer and trout play a role in a food plan, we touch on food waste, regenerative agriculture, we bemoan how white bait is managed, and we talk about the role of the export market, the supermarket duopoly, Supie, the role consumers have to play...

In this episode I talk to Dr Nic Rawlence director of the University of Otago's Palaeogenetics Laboratory and PhD student Lachlan Scarsbrook, based at Oxford University in the UK, about the extinct New Zealand grayling. I also talk to Ross Bailey, an Australian fly fisherman who has in the past caught Australian grayling as bycatch. The Australian grayling is protected and you are not allowed to t...

I speak to Professor Ian Shaw an international expert on food safety. We talk about glyphosate as an environmental estrogen, estrogen mimicry, ideas on non-genotoxic carcinogenicity and how former research was right and then turned out to be completely wrong, long term inflammatory effects and possible environmental impact of glyphosate through avenues that were not previously considered. Shaw is...

How do you build a social media community that shares recipes of food they harvested? How would you market wild meat to a townie consumer? How do you give wild meat value in a country like New Zealand that declares some sources of game as pests? What is ethical spearfishing? How does the outdoors connect to mental health?  I speak to brand strategist, creative, photographer and foodie Tim Kaverman...

Cam Henderson started the Hunter's Journal magazine in a time when print is supposedly dying. He kicked that theories behind. We speak about getting a magazine started. Being cold outdoors. How good Kiwi hunters have it. Why hunt photography has become so freakn good. And how awesome that first time you see a tahr bull is.

I talk to Francesco Formisano from Altitude and Trails about the ethics of hunting. We explore how we lost our spiritual connection to the animals we hunt and eat. Why some cows are clever. We talk about tahr in New Zealand. His project to study animal pathologies in the New Zealand tahr population. And we forget to talk about how animals full of adrenaline taste like crap and why is a good reason...