Hello 2016! What a crazy few weeks it has been since I last posted - ham; swimming; ham; presents; ham; boxing day sales; ham; and all the while, the requirements of this summer school paper have loomed...
In addition to pork products, the other thing on my mind lately has been waterways, and more importantly the impact dairy farming has on New Zealand's waterways. This Christmas break, as I made my way through the stunning scenery of the dairy belts of the Waikato and Central North Island, it struck me so shocking that something as beautiful as healthy cows grazing on lush green grass, can have such a sinister impact on our waterways and beyond.
But the reality is that despite central and local Government efforts to better manage the dairy industry and its environmental impacts, water quality continues to decline. Disappointingly, dairy farms continue to pop up all over the country. The rate at which land is being converted into dairy has already exceeded predictions and our water quality continues to decline, despite efforts to reduce the amount of nitrogen leaching into groundwater and ending up in streams, lakes etc.
For Assignment 2, Team 1 has chosen to take forward the issue of dairy farming and its environment impacts for our group report. This means I've had the chance to delve even deeper into the topic and I've made some interesting discoveries. Looking at dairy industry breaches of Resource Management Act 1991 has highlighted those farmers who are actively working against measures to protect our environment, in addition to their own industries efforts to support natural resources. It leads to a consideration of justice and sustainability, two ethical principles that underpin the recommendations we have made in our report. These farmers who deliberately 'dirty dairy' destroy the habitat of many native species, make waterways unsafe for drinking and recreational activities for others and ruin the reputation of all farmers.
I feel very lucky to be working in a team with 3 fantastic women - working on a group assignment as a distance student has been challenging at times but I think we've made the best of the situation. Regular Skype meetings and setting action points has kept us moving forward and I'm happy to see it all coming together now. There's just over a week till the deadline and I'm confident that we will submit a report that reflects our hard work.
Better get back to it!
Of all the issues that our team has investigated for this assessment, water quality is the one that I have a passionate opinion about. I was appalled to find out (years ago) that the river our family frequented in summer for a swim was of "poor" standard. We had been taking our young children there for a swim!!! Since then the river has received a "very poor" standard. The water quality is not improving in the rivers and lakes of New Zealand. The government gets a big "BOO" from me over this issue.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine now how the juggernaut of dairy farming might be turned around. But hopefully our highly persuasive report will do the trick...
ReplyDeleteThrough your research and looking into the topic a bit myself, I feel I now understand it a bit more and am horrified by how it all works. The rolling green paddocks with cows happily munching on the lush grass looks so 'beautiful' as you say, but it's awful for the environment and us New Zealanders now have polluted fresh water sources because of our country's push for Dairying - and money. I find myself becoming less and less proud of being a kiwi the more I learn about how we treat our environment. Pure NZ? I wish!
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