Thursday, 31 October 2013 10:31

High time the city caught up

Written by 

MAINSTREAM MEDIA cries of crisis over the so-called buttermilk lake near Taupo again shows how far our townie cousins are from the real world. A lake of buttermilk seems to be perceived as a national environmental disaster up there with the MV Rena.

 

As the sensible man from Waikato Regional Council pointed out, this is no big deal, it’s simply the dairy industry disposing of waste in a responsible way. Fonterra does this every October when milk production peaks, but this year’s exceptional milk supply requires huge dumping of by-products. Yet city people are told it’s pollution and a threat to civilisation as we know it.

In the city, pouring discarded engine oil or paint down a stormwater drain is sort-of acceptable, regardless of these pollutants showing up on a pristine beach. City folk never pollute – yeah right! Visit any city landfill and you will see all sorts of nasties about to leach into the soil and end up in a nearby stream or on a beach. 

This latest incident highlights the gap between town and country and shows that city folk need to be educated in what is normal in the country. 

The phrase ‘dirty dairying’ rolls off the tongue easily, but its perpetrators include those who have spread didymo from stream to stream and lake to lake. It could be called ‘dirty fishing’ but dare we criticise these ‘environmentalists’? 

The dairy industry is doing the right thing and disposing of waste in a responsible way, yet city journalists don’t get it, perceiving a legitimate practice as an environmental disaster. The reality is all industries produce waste and the primary sector is no exception. 

It’s time city folk caught up by acknowledging the farming sector has by and large got its act together.

More like this

Editorial: Agri's mojo is back

OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.

Editorial: Sense at last

OPINION: For the first time in many years, a commonsense approach is emerging to balance environmental issues with the need for the nation's primary producers to be able to operate effectively.

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

Featured

LIC ends year with $30.6m profit

Herd improvement company LIC has ended the 2024-25 financial year in a strong position - debt-free and almost quadrupling its net profit.

National

Machinery & Products

Fliegl offers effluent solutions

Founded in Germany as recently as 1977, today, the Fliegl Group employs more than 1100 workers, offering an expansive range…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

It's all about economics

OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter