Crying over Spilt Milk: A Critical Assessment of the Ecological Modernisation of New Zealand’s Dairy Industry

Abstract

Ecological modernization theory holds that capitalist economic structures can be transformed to avoid long-term environmental damage, through the introduction of modern environmental technologies and reforming modern institutions. Empirical evidence, drawing on ecological modernization practices in some European and North American contexts, lends support to this view. However, it is not clear yet whether the practices of ecological modernization can be applied with equal success to agricultural industries (such New Zealand's dairy sector), based on farmers as multiple producers. The New Zealand dairy industry faces political and commercial pressure to improve its environmental performance while maintaining commercial competitiveness in a global marketplace. In response to such pressures, the industry's main umbrella organization (Fonterra) has taken steps to improve the environmental management practices of the farmers who supply milk. The New Zealand dairy industry offers an example from which to assess the relevance of economical modernization theory.