Honey from Bees on Line. 7 October 2005 Herald on Sunday Photograph by Chris Skelton SUN 16mar08 - Manuka honey assists both digestive processes and external healing.CHRIS SKELTON &#
Honey from Bees on Line. 7 October 2005 Herald on Sunday Photograph by Chris Skelton SUN 16mar08 - Manuka honey assists both digestive processes and external healing.CHRIS SKELTON &#
I HAVE often wondered if New Zealand has been a bit too smug for its own good about its green image and now we're getting a backlash.
When I lived in London in the 2000s, I was able to get a lot of kudos by remarking how the Lord ofthe Ring film location for Rivendell was "just down the road" from where I lived and that, yes, the New Zealand scenery really does look like that. The 100 per cent Pure brand was alive as well. The All Blacks weren't winning the Rugby World Cup at the time, but were always acknowledged as the best. The best parties in London were in New Zealand House. Workers on the building sites I managed were genuinely freaked out by Once Were Warriors, but apart from that, people thought New Zealand was the bomb.
And you learned quickly not to rub it in people's faces.
We've weathered, with some difficulty, the Fonterra milk crisis and now we've got a somewhat vague hit against our manuka honey exports. The NZ Herald hit the message home a bit hard with its headline "The land of bad milk and fake honey", but consumers do have a right to know products they spend money on are safe or genuine - especially if you're going to be spending 35 ($69) for a jar of manuka honey at Tescos in UK.
At the same time, it seems a bit petty for the UK to get sniffy because some honey products sold in their country don't have the manuka proportions they claim to have. Anyone who has bought on-line knows perfectly well there are fakes everywhere, and I would suggest those who want to import honey for sale should do their research. New Zealand honey has a good reputation; it's not hard to find the real deal.
But New Zealand is horribly vulnerable to bad publicity. We're not a rich country. But we have been a country content to enjoy the Peter Jackson ride-along. The saying "trouble in paradise" is a cliche, but it's an angle media will latch on to - and delight in the chance to put us down. Perhaps it's a lesson we can keep in mind in Wairarapa, often touted as the playground of the Wellington region. We're also vulnerable to perception, and other parts of the region won't hesitate to give us stick if drunken antics get over the top at the next Toast Martinborough.
