Loomio
Fri 28 Jul 2017 3:22AM

Stop the export of dairy and red meat.

TH Tane Harre Public Seen by 85

According to the OECD the contribution of New Zealand's agricultural sector accounted for 49% of our climate change emissions in 2014. The highest share in the OECD. This is for a sector that accounts for 5% of our GDP.

Stopping the export of dairy and meat (no export in ten years) is the only way I can think of to meet this target and still remain out of recession. I have done some initial calculations here. They are incomplete, but I wonder whether the party should support this as a policy.

CE

Colin England Fri 28 Jul 2017 10:36PM

How much of the livestock sector is actually exported and how much is used here. This will tell us how much we can reduce our livestock numbers without increasing our imports and that will tell us how much stopping exports of dairy and meat will reduce our GHG emissions.

TH

Tane Harre Sat 29 Jul 2017 1:21AM

In 2012 we exported 741787 tonnes of red meat and ate 92568 tonnes at home. So this would cut the red meat market to 12% of it’s size. Dairy exports 95% of it’s output so that would cut it to 5% of it’s size.

Reduction in emissions for New Zealand as a whole would around 30%.

BK

Bruce King Sat 29 Jul 2017 12:40AM

"the only way I can think of to meet this target"

Tane, which target are you referring to?

TH

Tane Harre Sat 29 Jul 2017 1:30AM

Kyoto, below 1990 level.
Graph refuses to link here for some reason. Go to the bottom of the page here.

IA

idiom axiom Sat 29 Jul 2017 3:11AM

It would be easier to ban fossil fuel based fertilisers. Then Dairy farming becomes carbon neutral.

TH

Tane Harre Sat 29 Jul 2017 3:56AM

I was under the impression that the fertiliser used was additional to the GHG produced using the data I used. I have also been unable to find a reference supporting dairy farming becoming carbon neutral with the removal of fertiliser from the mix. If you have a reference it would be much appreciated.

CE

Colin England Sat 29 Jul 2017 11:59PM

No, that would probably drive dairy into bankruptcy. It can only survive ATM because of artificial fertilisers.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of banning artificial fertilisers as they're inherently unsustainable and we should be disallowing anything and everything that's unsustainable.

BK

Bruce King Sat 29 Jul 2017 4:44AM

That's right. Just briefly, the bulk of GHG's from dairy production is methane from the cows, which of course are ruminants.

IA

idiom axiom Sun 30 Jul 2017 5:46AM

Where do the cows get their carbon from?

No closed system is sustainable.

CE

Colin England Sun 30 Jul 2017 7:18AM

No closed system is sustainable.

So, where does Earth import from?

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