The Vegan Society of Aotearoa said the Government’s revised Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare missed an opportunity to ask a bigger question: how can we transition to a food system that no longer depends on animals?
The revised code, released after a four-year review, has introduced new minimum standards alongside recommended best practices covering calf feeding, managing thin calves, restraint, and transporting dairy cattle and will come into effect on the 19th of April 2027.
Its stated goal is to “Enhance New Zealand's strong reputation for animal welfare while ensuring changes are practical for farmers”.
The Vegan Society said that while dairy cattle welfare is an important conversation, the focus should be on the longer-term opportunity to move beyond managing the welfare consequences of animal agriculture and start transitioning away from it.
“We recognise that there are ongoing concerns about how dairy cattle are treated, and that’s an important conversation to have in New Zealand,” said Amanda Sorrenson, National Coordinator for the Vegan Society of Aotearoa.
“But our focus is different. Rather than asking how we can better regulate the use of animals for food, we believe we should be asking how we can build a food system that no longer requires animals to be used in the first place."
Sorrenson added that dairy production necessitates breeding cows, producing calves and taking the milk that would otherwise be fed to those calves. Rather than continually trying to manage the welfare consequences of that system, she believed there is an opportunity to support a transition towards food production that doesn’t depend on animals.
“The review of the dairy welfare code could have been an opportunity to look beyond the regulation of dairy production and consider how Government can support farmers and consumers to transition towards plant-based food production.”
Looking beyond dairy
The Vegan Society said the review highlights the need for a broader conversation about the future of New Zealand's food system.
Rather than focusing solely on how dairy production can be regulated, the Society is calling for greater Government support for farmers who see the value in transitioning away from animal agriculture, alongside increased investment in plant-based food production.
“If we genuinely want a food system that puts the concerns of animals at its centre, the ultimate solution isn’t simply to find better ways of using them. It’s to build a food system where we don’t need to use them at all," she said.
The Vegan Society added that the alternatives to dairy are already increasingly accessible. For people wanting to replicate dairy’s nutritional profile, the Vegan Society recommended choosing fortified plant milks and yoghurts where possible, particularly products fortified with calcium and vitamin B12. Soy milk is also a useful source of protein.
A pathway beyond dairy
The Vegan Society also highlighted that the conversation around dairy welfare does not need to be framed as a choice between animal welfare and people’s food choices.
“Better dairy welfare must include a pathway beyond dairy. Plant-based alternatives mean people can keep enjoying many of the foods and flavours they’re familiar with, without relying on animals to produce them," said Sorrenson.
“We’d like to see Government policy recognise this opportunity by investing more in plant-based food production and supporting farmers to transition away from animal agriculture. We have an opportunity to move beyond asking how we can better manage a system that uses animals, and start asking what it would take to build a food system that doesn’t.”
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