Climate Concerns Form Over New Zealand Dairy Boom
UK - As New Zealand's dairy industry continues to profit from increased prices, politicians have hit out at the environmental impacts of the resulting rise in production.
8 August 2007
2 minute read
"Dairy farmers are also incurring no charge for any losses of biodiversity, landscape and shelter, and the use of the atmosphere as a dumping ground for methane and nitrous oxide, while others pick up the costs of a changing climate,"
Jeanette Fitzsimons, co-leader of the national Green Party
Jeanette Fitzsimons, co-leader of the national Green Party said that the industry was being "subsidised" to meet increased demand from processors at the expense of both the environment and the country's tax payers, and should be charged for its impacts.
The criticisms come as dairy processors are put under pressure to ensure that both their supply and production methods are sustainable, with the possibility of increased penalties if they are found to be affecting climate change.
Fitzsimons pointed to the free use of publicly owned and scarce water as a key example of the benefits the industry is currently receiving, during a speech made Sunday at a public meeting.
"Water is a part of our collective wealth," she said. "It is not privately owned, and farmers and other commercial users are using it for their own ends."
However, it is not just the issue of water use where the country's dairy industry has been profiting that concerns Fitzsimons. She also said that increased land use is an area for worry.
"Dairy farmers are also incurring no charge for any losses of biodiversity, landscape and shelter, and the use of the atmosphere as a dumping ground for methane and nitrous oxide, while others pick up the costs of a changing climate," she added.
