6 August 2007 Chancellor and environmental management professor on Hot Science panel

What is the environmental cost to Canterbury of export food production? Is environmental degradation an inevitable consequence of large scale agricultural and horticultural activity? Do we need to be polluters in order to be producers?

Tonight’s Lincoln Hot Science public seminar in Christchurch Town Hall discusses and debates these questions and the overall challenges of sustainable food production.

The Topic is: “Our Land of Milk and Honey – are we food producers or polluters?”

A panel of five specialist speakers will be quizzed by broadcaster Kim Hill then the discussion will be opened to the floor for public participation.

Panel members from Lincoln University are Chancellor Tom Lambie, a South Canterbury dairy farmer and former National President of Federated Farmers, and Dr Ken Hughey, Lincoln University’s Professor of Environmental Management.

Professor Hughey is well known as leader and principal author of a biennial survey and report examining public perceptions of the state of New Zealand’s environment.

The surveys, which have been running since 2000, represent the longest set of fully integrated data on the state of New Zealand’s environment and the only data set of its kind in the world. The research by Professor Hughey and his team is increasingly being recognised as an invaluable tool for policy makers.

Other panel members are Mark Ward, Chief Executive of Crop and Food Research, Andy Macfarlane, a rural consultant of Ashburton, and Ken Taylor, surface water resource and ecosystems manager of Environment Canterbury.

This is the third and final seminar in the 2007 series and capacity audiences of around a thousand have filled the James Hay Theatre for the two earlier sessions on 23 and 30 July.

Lincoln Hot Science is organised by The Lincoln Resource and presented in association with MAF. The event runs from 7.00 - 9.00pm, the venue is the James Hay Theatre, Christchurch Town Hall, and admission is by gold coin donation.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand