The issue of war remembrance is being pushed as something Kiwis need to think deeper about ahead of ANZAC Day on Monday.

White peace poppies are being sold at the University of Otago's National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (NCPACS), to remember all casualties of war.

This is in contrast to red poppies, which commemorate the fallen soldiers of the British Legion - including New Zealand and Australian soldiers.

The poppies were started by the Peace Pledge Union in 1934. They were made because the union - made up of women who had lost sons and husbands in World War I - had felt red poppies had become "militaristic", according to National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies acting director, Professor Richard Jackson.

LISTEN ABOVE: Professor Richard Jackson on the importance of peace poppies.

"They felt that a white poppy, a peace poppy, better symbolises the purpose of remembrance, which was to remember war in order to ensure that it would never happen again," Jackson said.

The white peace poppies also support the idea that there are better ways to resolve conflicts than killing other humans.

The red poppy had become part of a bigger issue which was a culture that condoned and exacerbated violence and war.

Jackson said that the general consensus of war becoming inevitable, and the heroic and honourable portrayal of soldiers, made it harder for getting rid of militaries and the arms industries.

"What's happened with war remembrance is that it's become part of a broader culture which normalises the military and the use of military force in foreign policy, and the continuation of war."

The 'ANZAC tradition' was a way that war remembrance was a way of perpetuating war, he said.

As a result, he said we needed to consider different avenues. The white poppy was part of a wider perspective of remembering all people who died in wars.

Purple poppies were also available to commemorate horses and other animals who were slaughtered in war.

"Now more than ever we need to think about how we remember, and considering forms of remembrance such as the white poppy that point us in a different direction."

They are being sold at the University of Otago's National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies until Friday.

The poppies will also be sold at a special peace ceremony at the peace pole outside the Otago Museum at midday on ANZAC Day.