Remediating Cows and the Construction of Ethical Landscape

Concern about the impact of livestock on the environment has generated debates about how best to manage dairy farming practices. Soil erosion and compaction and loss of biodiversity from grazing and silage production, ammonia and methane emissions, as well as high levels of water consumption, have all been identified as direct effects on the environment from dairy farming activity. Whilst the issues have been well reported in the press, there has been little in the way of imagery to accompany the environmental critique of milk production. Instead, much of the popularly available imagery of dairy farming has been generated by advertising which continues to deploy culturally-specific visions of contented cows in rural landscapes.