Health Check for NZ's land and water use - Public Lecture

FOURTH EDWARD GOLDSMITH LECTURE

Earth Sciences Seminar Room (CO304), Cotton Building

Victoria University of Wellington (Kelburn Campus)

5.30-6.30pm Thursday 27 October 2016 – All welcome

Health Check Time for NZ's land and water use

Alison Dewes, One Health Professionals, Cambridge

NZ livestock farming is facing a multitude of challenges

                        - Pollution of rivers and ground water supplies

                        - Climate change and more volatile seasons

                        - Pressure for carbon emissions reduction

                        - Increasing biosecurity incursions

                        - Competition from milk and meat substitutes

Also the wellbeing of farm animals is increasingly important to consumers, who want food from sources they can trust.  It’s time for a health check on traditional but increasingly intensified farming models now being followed. We need to think about being fit and able to change. Gains in increased efficiency and reduced risk of pollution can be found in using more land for non-animal protein sources. We also need land use practices that lead to a substantial reduction in air and water pollution.

Alison is a fourth generation dairy farmer and second generation veterinarian, She is a firm believer that our future food production systems have to be profitable and resilient while maintaining ecological health. She was elected to the NZ Veterinary Board in 2015 and is on the National Environmental Reference Group for Landcorp.

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