Traveling to New Zealand
Maija Turjanis
Sitting in the drizzling rain I listened to a farmer tell the story of how he and his family had run and grown their dairy farm over the last 50 years. Sitting around me were about nine other farmers all of whom had similar stories of the struggles and triumphs they had experienced. These men and one woman who surrounded me had all worked hard and fought for their farms for almost their whole lives. Sitting and listening to them talk about how the new imposing government regulations would completely change the way that they had to run their farming operations left me in awe and saddened. Being the youngest person there by at least 30 years these conversations gave me a new lens with which to view the world. Listening to the struggles that these farmers were facing allowed me to better understand how much the government can influence farming. It also really emphasized to me how the disconnect that the general public has with their food is affecting the way that farmers need to run their operations. Due to a lack of knowledge policymakers are trying to impose stricter regulations some of which make the farmer’s job impossible.