Butter Rights

I’m not sure you noticed, but a large grocery retailer recently announced they will start supplying US butter for $6.99. This is not good news for NZ dairy. In an election year, New Zealanders will be wondering why we can import butter cheaper than we can make it ourselves, and the questions won’t stop there. That $10 Kiwi butter sits on the shelf right alongside news of the dairy industry windfall courtesy of Fonterra’s capital payout.

Meanwhile, Kiwis will cast their votes with affordability front of mind with environmental limits likely to be a hot election topic.  This year marks one of the most significant overhauls of our resource management system in decades and could be a turning point on how we manage land to improve water quality. When a teacher or nurse needs to think twice about buying a basic staple like butter, they probably won’t be too sympathetic about the cost of environmental regulation for a dairy farmer.

We all know the rough story behind our free-market, unsubsidised food prices, but the reality bites hardest when basics are priced out of reach. Dairy products are at the centre of so many “Kiwi as” foods: cheese scones in the community hall, Christmas trifle, a scoop of ice cream on a stinking hot day, or a batch of Edmond’s buttery yoyos for smoko. These aren’t just snacks, they’re a recipe for our national identity and a memory of our pioneering ancestors, too.

And it’s not just dairy: $20 fish and chips and $360 beachside campsites mean the classic Kiwi lifestyle is drifting out to sea. No wonder there’s a national grump on—everything we love about living here is slowly being priced out of reach for the next generation.

Over the past decade, butter prices have tripled while our water quality has deteriorated. Many New Zealanders are beginning to question whether the economic benefits of dairy farming truly reach everyone, especially as both prices and environmental pressures increase.

Farmers are often heard saying, “we need to be in the black before we can be green,” and the sector is currently performing well financially. The critical question is whether these profits will lead to meaningful environmental improvements, such as reducing nitrogen runoff, restoring vulnerable land, and improving water quality. Or will the gains be used elsewhere, leaving the broader community to deal with the social and environmental consequences?

It’s important to recognise that the conversation goes beyond politics or ideology, it’s about the social contract and how we share the benefits and responsibilities of our food system.

Ultimately, the choices we make today will shape not only the price of butter, but also the wellbeing of our communities and the land. We know we can address these challenges in a way that ensures future generations of Kiwis continue to enjoy the foods and natural spaces that define our national identity, the question is – will we?

Eva Harris is Principal Environmental Advisor for  Enviro Collective