- Fonterra is the worst climate polluter in Aotearoa, and its emissions are increasing
- Intensive dairying, led by Fonterra, has polluted lakes and rivers across New Zealand, and that pollution is getting worse.
- That pollution isn’t just contaminating lakes and rivers, it’s also contaminating rural drinking water and making people sick.
- 80% of dairy farms in NZ are part of the Fonterra Cooperative. If Fonterra stuck to real climate targets, it would have major impacts for NZ emissions
Greenpeace has been campaigning against Fonterra’s environmental pollution for over a decade, to protect the planet that we all depend on. But why do we do it?
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You’ve heard of Big Oil. You’ve probably also heard of Big Tobacco. But have you heard of Big Ag?
Big Ag, or the intensive livestock industry, is one of the worst polluting industries globally. And here in Aotearoa New Zealand, they’re led by Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter and New Zealand’s worst climate polluter, who’s playing a key role in destroying the natural world which we all love and depend on.
Fonterra is New Zealand’s worst climate polluter
From wildfires to floods, from deadly storms to heatwaves, extreme weather is hitting us harder than ever, and it’s no accident. Climate change, fuelled by polluting industries, is here, and it is getting worse.
While the oil and gas industry has a lot to answer for on the climate change front, they’re not the only culprit. The intensive livestock industry is also a major source of pollution.
When we talk about the intensive livestock industry, or Big Ag, we mean the giant milk and meat corporations that are driving intensification of farming practices around the world. These intensive livestock farms cram as many animals as possible onto the land and into factory farms, to produce as much milk and meat as they can, with no regard for the consequences. They have enormous power and influence over governments around the world, and they’ve been working to roll back any climate action that might force them to improve their practices. And this also means their actions have an enormous impact on the climate.
Globally, the livestock industry is the single biggest source of human-made methane, and is responsible for approximately 16% of all greenhouse emissions.
Here in Aotearoa, Fonterra is our worst climate polluter, with its pollution eclipsing the greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuel companies!
Not only does Fonterra produce more climate pollution than any other company in New Zealand, its emissions are increasing at a time when they need to fall rapidly.
We need your help to take action to stop the intensive livestock industry from expanding its pollution – take action today!
Call on the NZ Parliament to end dairy expansions now to protect public health and fresh water.
Add your nameWhat is methane?
Methane is a superheating greenhouse gas, 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). It’s produced in a variety of ways, but the largest source of methane is from the intensive agriculture industry.
Biogenic methane refers to methane that comes from animals. It’s produced from the burps and farts of grazing animals like cows and sheep, as well as from effluent from pigs and chickens.
Methane is responsible for about a third of all global warming to date. Because it’s so powerful, reducing methane emissions would have a very immediate effect on preventing the worst of climate change.
This is why strengthening regulations on the intensive livestock industry would have such significant effects on climate change.
Fonterra’s production model: Dairy exports and domestic pollution
Fonterra exports 95% of all of the dairy products it produces overseas, and creates an enormous amount of pollution in New Zealand
But Fonterra products are primarily exported as milk powder, not as milk. This milk powder is sold in bulk on the international market at low prices to produce KitKats and potato chips.
The sheer scale of Fonterra’s operations makes them New Zealand’s biggest company, but they are also one of the slowest on climate action.
The vast majority – about 80% – of dairy farms in NZ are part of the Fonterra Cooperative. That means that if Fonterra were to set real climate targets and regulations, it would have major impacts for NZ dairy.
But instead, it is continuing with business as usual. In 2025, Fonterra made billions in revenue – and at the same time, their emissions shot up.
Government interference
Fonterra’s climate destruction extends beyond just its enormous methane emissions. It is also playing a major role in preventing climate action across New Zealand.
Fonterra’s backdoor lobbying
Most recently, Fonterra was exposed for using backdoor lobbying tactics to shut down a landmark climate case, Smith v Fonterra. This tort case is led by iwi leader Mike Smith – who is suing Fonterra and 6 other major polluters for the harm caused by their climate pollution.
In a desperate attempt to dodge accountability, Fonterra used secret lobbying tactics to convince the Government to adopt legislation retrospectively banning climate change lawsuits. It provided Government officials with hard-copy documents and used personal email addresses to ensure its lobbying attempts would remain hidden from Official Information Act requests.
How the dairy industry delays and derails climate policy
Agribusiness lobbyists have systematically shut down any attempt to regulate the livestock industry, going back more than 20 years:
- By preventing the implementation of a tax on methane emissions in 2003
- By shutting down attempts to put a price on agricultural climate pollution in the late 2010s
- By writing freshwater policy for this Government to roll back existing regulations that protected lakes and rivers.
Even attempts to protect rural drinking water from intensive dairy pollution have been shut down, for fear that they would harm Fonterra’s fat bottom line.
Our politicians claim that it is up to the industry to self-regulate. But so far, they have completely failed.
Fonterra’s ‘Climate Roadmap’ is an example of that. The company’s ‘plan’ to deal with its climate pollution is nothing more than empty words and greenwash. It’s been made very clear that we cannot expect voluntary pledges and vague commitments to translate into real action.
Fonterra and the dairy industry have dodged accountability on climate change for more than two decades. It has interfered in Government processes to make sure that won’t change.
And that’s not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to environmental destruction.
It’s not just the climate – Fonterra is polluting fresh water too
Every year, New Zealanders travelling around the country during the summer will come across signs at lakes, rivers, and streams, with ‘DO NOT SWIM’ warnings written in big bold letters.
That’s because New Zealand’s freshwater pollution is an ever-growing problem.
- Up to 60% of monitored swim sites in New Zealand are unsafe for swimming.
- More than 60% of lakes are in a ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ state.
- 89% of native freshwater fish species are facing the threat of extinction, or at risk of becoming threatened.
You can thank Fonterra – and run-off from the company’s intensive dairy farms – for this pollution too.
Dairy and water pollution
To grow enough grass to feed all the cows, the dairy industry needs:
- huge amounts of water – taken from rivers via irrigation schemes
- huge amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser – which is added to grazed land and pastures
But both of these have disastrous consequences for the health of the water.
Massive irrigation schemes are sucking rivers dry, reducing river flow and increasing sediment. This means that less light filters down to the bottom of the rivers, preventing plant growth, and making it harder for fish to see and breathe.
E.coli bacteria from cow effluent regularly ends up in New Zealand’s lakes and rivers, putting swimmers’ health at risk.
And of course, nitrate contamination in lakes and rivers, thanks to farm runoff of fertiliser, threatens the health of aquatic life.
Nitrate contamination drives a process called eutrophication. Massive algal blooms form due to the abundance of nutrients in the water, blocking sunlight. When these die and decompose, large amounts of carbon dioxide gas are released into the water. This limits the overall amount of oxygen in the water, and causes fish to suffocate.
Aquatic life isn’t the only thing at risk from nitrate contamination though. People are suffering too.
Health risks from nitrate contamination in drinking water
The main source of drinking water pollution in New Zealand is nitrate contamination from intensive dairying.
Because there are too many cows in New Zealand’s dairy herd, dairy farmers have to use huge amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser to grow enough grass to feed them all.
All that fertiliser – and the urine from all of those cows – has to go somewhere. It leaches through the soil and into groundwater, contaminating our water supplies for years to come.
Rural communities in Aotearoa are facing a nitrate crisis. Their drinking water has been contaminated with unsafe levels of nitrate, which is coming from the intensive dairy industry.
Nitrate contamination at levels above 11.3 mg/L is known to cause methemoglobinemia, otherwise known as Blue Baby Syndrome. This has been known since the 1950s, which is when New Zealand set our legal limit for nitrate contamination in drinking water.
However, at much lower levels of nitrate, nitrate contamination in drinking water has been linked to chronic health conditions and pregnancy risks.
These include:
- an increased risk of developing bowel cancer from long-term exposure to nitrate-contaminated water at 1 mg/L or higher
- an increased risk of preterm birth and underweight babies if pregnant people drink water contaminated with nitrate at 5 mg/L or higher;
- And recent science even indicates a potential increase in risk of dementia and stomach cancer from nitrate contamination.
Regions at risk
In regions like Southland and Canterbury, where there is a lot of intensive dairying, this has had devastating consequences.
In Canterbury, the regional council declared a ‘Nitrate Emergency’ in 2025, recognising the large-scale crisis unfolding on their doorstep. Local authorities are set to invest millions in taxpayer money in the search for alternative, non-polluted water sources. Entire towns are drinking water that is above levels associated with preterm birth risks.
Check out our Know your Nitrate map for more information on nitrate contamination levels in drinking water across New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Fonterra has faced zero consequences for driving this intensive dairy production model. While they profit, rural communities are paying the price with their health.
‘Big Ag’ has a responsibility to clean up its mess
While the planet burns and rural people’s health suffers, our politicians have continuously let the intensive livestock industry off the hook – even though they’re the biggest contributors to these crises.
New Zealand doesn’t have to take this approach. We can learn from other countries and take action that protects our communities from the intensive livestock industry’s pollution.
In Denmark, the Government has committed to lowering the legal limit for nitrate contamination in drinking water from 11.3 mg/L to 1.3 mg/L, in line with recommendations from health scientists and academics. This is their response to decades of pollution from the Danish pork industry, which parallels New Zealand’s dairy industry.
There is no reason why our Government couldn’t follow in the footsteps of Denmark and lower the limits for nitrate in our drinking water.
But right now, they’re choosing not to.
We need to force Fonterra to stop its polluting practices, and transition away from the intensive dairy model that it currently depends on.
And that’s where you come in.
Greenpeace is fighting Fonterra head-on
Greenpeace has been fighting Fonterra for the last 20 years, for its destruction of the natural environment that we all depend on for survival.
And together, we’ve made progress. We’ve
- held them to account for polluting rural communities’ drinking water
- forced them to admit to greenwashing
- established restrictions on the use of polluting synthetic nitrogen fertiliser
But this battle needs numbers.
We don’t have the same level of access to politicians as the industry. For every dollar we invest into shutting them down, they can invest 100 more into continuing their polluting practices.
But what we do have is people.
Tens of thousands of everyday people just like you who are standing up to Big Ag’s pollution and demanding better for people and the planet. People power is our best chance to stand up to Fonterra and the rest of the global livestock industry – and that’s why we need you to join us.
Here are three quick and easy things you can do to help us stop Fonterra’s environmental destruction:
- Sign the petition calling on the Government to set stronger rules on nitrate contamination in drinking water, to protect public health from the impacts of intensive dairy pollution.
We’re calling on the Government to lower the nitrate limit to a safe level of 1 mg/L, in line with modern health science.
Call on the Government to lower the limit for nitrates in drinking water to safe levels.
Take Action- Make a donation to support our work on the ground, whether that’s by providing free water testing for nitrate contamination or through peaceful protest.
Donate today to support our work in protecting fresh water
- Volunteer with Greenpeace, and get involved in our protests, our actions. Make your voice heard!
