In general I am a 'don't care where it is from as long as it is quality'...but of course this only applies to things where it is easy to see the level of quality (clothes, shoes, mechanical stuff)
Food is a bit different as it is biological (you would hope!)- It is a product of it's environment. Crappy environment, crappy food. Im not singling out China here because there are other regions of the world where the environment has been mistreated (including NZ).
I don't agree it is neccesarily an issue of 'culture' par se- Im sure if the controls that are forced apon our farmers and horticuluralists in NZ were removed tomorrow, it wouldn't take long for some to start using dodgy growing/spraying/environmentalist practices in order to make things cheaper to undercut their competitors. It is a case of creation of standards and enforcement of standards....smaller countries should find these easier to implement I would think?
So yeah- Many people are surprised at just how much stuff is made in China (it is funny when you tell people who are wearing 'premium' brands going on about 'Chinese crap' to check their label to see where it was made).
Growing good food is something that NZ is in one of the best situations in the world to achieve (excepting things we can't make)- So if I can, I buy NZ produce.