New Zealand is famous for its “Clean, Green” countryside, an image pushed in part by Tourism New Zealand’s mythmakers.
In the era of social media and (virtual) viral spread, New Zealand is increasingly infamous for the lie that underlies the tragedy.
“100% Pure? New Zealand's clean, green image took a beating this summer as tourists travelling through the countryside posted pictures of lakes and rivers off limits due to contamination by farm effluent, garbage and human faeces.”
The expanding dairy industry has a lot to answer for:
“What goes in must come out - a cow produces the equivalent waste of 14 humans. Therefore the approximately 10 million cattle in New Zealand create as much waste as 140 million people.”
And that doesn’t even take into account the slimy methane farts and belches, the 1000 litres of water needed to make each litre of milk, and the 410,000 tons of coal NZ’s biggest dairy company burns each year to turn milk into milk powder.
The list goes on for quite a while if you’re looking for the downsides to dairy farming.
Though kiwis profess to be shocked at the pollution of their waterways, they’re a pretty passive bunch. When it comes to bad shit happening but living standards increasing because of it, they’re quite adept at just zipping it shut.
Looking at the bigger picture, it’s almost tragic: all of this environmental horror for something that represents only 3.5% of the country’s GDP!
Batshit crazy if you ask me.
Is it worth it?