Re-storying dairying: Deliberating on the impressions being left by ‘The Elephant in the Paddock’

Abstract

Dairy Farming is Big Business in New Zealand. The New Zealand Dairy Industry contributes significantly to the manufacture, trade, and consumption of dairy products the world over. This industry is deeply implicated in the intensifying trajectory of globalisation, a form of order euphemistically referred to as global development in much narration. Critics from across the political spectrum and from within the realms of diverse technical specialists attribute significant social and environmental degradation to this trajectory. Narrations of the potential to influence the transformation of such degradation abound. Stories about Corporate Responsibility are gaining traction.  Drawing on Fleming and Jones (2013) we  remain on high alert as we explore the  attractive stories of Corporate Responsibility through a [re]telling of the influence of dairy-farming on the wellbeing of New Zealanders and of those in the reach of its influence globally. We tell a story - but invite readers to invent new endings.