95bFM The impacts of junk food on individuals and communities
8 April, 2026
Interviews by Thomas Malone, adapted by Chloe Porter
Ultra-processed food imports into New Zealand have increased from 1990 to 2023. Recent reports from Health Coalition Aotearoa and Healthy Families South Auckland show that food security issues are severe in South Auckland, and have similarly increased in recent years.
University of Auckland Senior Research Fellow Dr Kelly Garton conducted a study tracking food and non-alcoholic imports into New Zealand over three and a half decades beginning in 1990. “We found that the proportion of food and beverage imports by weight that were ultra-processed rose from about 9% in 1990 to 22% in 2023.”
Garton says the findings are concerning, given the impact of an ultra-processed diet on the body. These include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, depression, unhealthy weight gain, and increased risk of early death.
Health Coalition Aotearoa Boyd Swinburn found that these foods are directly exploiting specific communities, with places like South Auckland becoming “swamped with fast food outlets and junk food outlets.” Companies make calculated location decisions by building in low-income areas, where demand is greatest.
“People in poverty might be working two jobs, then time becomes of the essence. This is where fast food and easily prepared food come into it, and where people get exploited.”
Gartons' research also shows that ultra-processed foods are made to have addictive properties “in terms of flavours and textures, but also colours, shapes, and smells.” Companies bombard children with marketing for these products on food packaging, bus stop ads, billboards, TV, and social media. This constant exposure is engineered to influence children to consume more.
“New Zealand only has a voluntary advertising code that research has shown to be ineffective in protecting kids from harmful marketing, so we need our government to step up and regulate this properly.”
Currently, Health Coalition Aotearoa have devised a series of policy responses to present to local and central government. First is boosting the whole, healthy, and local food system in South Auckland. “Our focus is the community being able to lift the whole food production through community gardens, urban farming, access to social supermarkets.” These proposals give people greater access and choice to whole foods.
Council also plans to support the growth of urban agriculture through home and community gardens, which Swinburn describes as “a big focus for the community.” It aims to improve the school food programme, an initiative with significant potential to improve food security. The current model relies on centrally produced meals, limiting opportunities for local food production. The original version supported more locally sourced food, prompting calls to return to that approach.
Health Coalition Aotearoa also advocates for reducing the impact of the industrial food system. At the moment, the council and the community have no say in where fast food outlets are placed, and they have no say in whether there are already enough in an area, raising concerns about over-saturation.
These proposals give communities a greater say in the food coming into their neighbourhoods as well as greater access and choice to whole foods. Communities want to lift their own skills and have greater urgency over what they consume, “such as learning to grow their own food, cooking and working with whole foods.”
Swinburn critiques the system that pushes certain households into eating unhealthy foods, noting that “almost all of this poverty is amongst working families. And this has been designed into our economic system. We've seen it develop since this neoliberal economic system started in the mid 80s. And it's just getting worse and worse.”
Food security is a significant issue that has been building over decades. Because of the depth and scale of the issue, Swinburn says a quick fix is impossible. Instead, it requires “a turnaround in our economic thinking." Instead of prioritising measures of economic prosperity like GDP, Swinburn says we should look at how the economy can generate benefits for people and communities.
"How can we get people fed from a country that produces enough food for 40 million people, and yet we have so much hunger and starvation in this country.”
