NZ Farmers Slam Methane Madness: 95% Reject Biotech Fix For Livestock

Scoop

12-05-2025

Press Release – NZ Farming
Farmers are alarmed that unproven biotech tools threaten New Zealands hard- earned reputation for natural, pasture-raised meat and milk. They see methane inhibitors as risky, intrusive and unnecessarynot just to animal welfare, but to consumer …
A major new independent farmer survey reveals overwhelming rejection of New Zealand's current ruminant methane strategy, exposing a deep disconnect between grassroots producers and industry leadership.
Key findings:
95% agree reducing livestock methane won't impact global climate change
94% of farmers believe methane cuts should not be a necessary part of market access
93% refuse to use methane inhibitors on their animals
88% wouldn't eat meat or dairy from treated stock
Farmers are alarmed that unproven biotech tools threaten New Zealand's hard- earned reputation for natural, pasture-raised meat and milk. They see methane inhibitors as risky, intrusive and unnecessary—not just to animal welfare, but to consumer trust and export advantage.
'There is growing unease about manipulating the gut microbiome of healthy animals. These interventions go against everything our farming systems stand for,' says Duncan Humm of NZ Farming. 'How did we get this far down the track without consulting the very people expected to deliver these changes?'
Despite being global leaders in low-emissions food production, farmers feel ignored as unelected boards and bureaucrats push policies without a grassroots mandate.
Farmers are now demanding answers:
Why were hundreds of millions of dollars spent on methane tools without farmer consultation?
Where's the 'farmer' support the industry claims exists?
Why did co-ops join AgriZero without asking shareholders?
If farmers and consumers don't want these tools, who are they really for—and is compulsion the endgame?
Why are our levy bodies so out of touch?
The message is clear: Leave our animals alone.
Helen Mandeno of Methane Science Accord states:
'Professor David Frame has shown that New Zealand's ruminants might, at worst, contribute four millionths of a degree celsius warming per year. It would take 250,000 years for that to amount to 1 °C.'
Ruminant methane is a natural part of the carbon cycle—don't punish farmers and their animals for a crime they didn't commit.