New Zealand's dairy industry is big business. But what are the hidden - and not so hidden - costs of intensive farming?Evidence presented here by ecologist Mike Joy demonstrates that intensive dairy farming has degraded our freshwater rivers, streams and lakes to such a degree that we face an environmental crisis. This perilous situation, he argues, has arisen primarily through governmental policy that prioritises short-term economic growth over long-term environmental sustainability. This BWB Text is a call to arms, urging New Zealand to change course in the face of environmental degredation that risks the wellbeing of future generations - and all life as we know it on these islands.