The book Eating Animals, by Johnathan Safran Foer, is at once disturbing and compelling - the very subject matter (should we eat meat, do we have the right to treat animals the way we do?) are issues of note for a country like New Zealand for a variety of reasons.
A great deal of our history and financial wellbeing is absolutely related to the exploitation (not necessarily in the pejorative sense) of a variety of animals.
Historically, we have been absolutely about grass-fed and outdoors; these traits are essential components of both a nutritionally packed end product and a good environmental outcome.
Neither of these is at all well-served by the increasingly industrial approach to agriculture that the Western world is following.
The book delves deeply into the life that the industrial-raised, grain-fed animals endure and paints a very disturbing picture of the entire lifespan, culminating in a truly awful end.
The reason I promote discussion on this taboo subject is that, aside from agreeing with quite a bit of the book (not all), the discussion is being held elsewhere.
It WILL gain more traction and we can position ourselves on the right side of the inevitable outcome.
If you are interested, follow this link www.maramaorganics.co.nz and click on the news tab to read the full review on my website - please let me know what you think.
And now to the topic of the day: Wool.
Actually, I won't, other than to point out that despite the rather poor process the co-op promoters followed and, (in the minds of many) some dubious personnel selections, along with a very dodgy valuation of the assets being taken over by the proposed co-operative, something in the order of $35 million was committed by farmers supporting it.
It would seem that modest changes might deliver a proposal that would find favour, although now that wool prices are not far below where they were 25 years ago, we might be happy for a while.
Those who argue that there is not a strong desire for more involvement in the wool value pipe, probably also think New Zealand farmers should increase production in order to feed the world - in both cases they would miss the point that New Zealand produces top-end products that feed/cloth/upholster a handful of the world's wealthy.
We muck that up at our peril!
The plight of the world's hungry has little to do with New Zealand farming, though we may choose to do our individual bits from time to time, and a bit of Fonterra milk powder makes it to the door of the hungry, but only if a wealthy government purchased it at world prices first.
A senior citizen whose opinion I respect greatly (and who happens to be my father) commented I think in about 1987-88 that farming cycles tend to be about 20 years long.
May this be year one of the good 20.
Have a great autumn and feel free to comment.