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# We Matter & We Are NOT Being Listened To
- URL: https://goodoil.news/50-shades-of-green-we-matter-we-are-not-being-listened-to/
- Published: 2019-11-18T03:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2019-11-17T09:03:18.000Z
- Author: Guest Post
- Tags: Environment, NZ, NZ Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 03:49

[50 Shades of Green – NZ](https://www.facebook.com/50shadesofgreen.nz/?%5F%5Fxts%5F%5F%5B0%5D=68.ARA5o-kdyJuG47%5FYvUyYUYISw%5F5gtjc9s5OgY43wMFUvSBTeI%5Fmcx-y56wTZZvBJ-l6Eh2rBLzLf%5FIF-zXSD0jYVU44zTawHK1rhTRXNdnZgMuvKMZxZkpkpPCsjoe0mTnJvpqLT3sgYX9XBkW6h%5Fjx5fOKjvt5vUZxVlwVLHlRY81LILNMLYQOfGa46ODoCGwqW2boXb0HTFJOvfxexkkIf171yiBiVT1fi8ZJAy6IgF1BBfoYuvWaz7k6jRitI3F3CyoBDYmVZFGU99BxVArWBc3zCZHxuhDkCflVFFn37ZQVIioRbpHZrP0JbxnwnCBRoYXa3prHWWqQuxrg&%5F%5Fxts%5F%5F%5B1%5D=68.ARCHdctK7u7Ty6saj9x5TrA5riZk97lOuQl6Lj%5FMLuORCOc0uHxoS1UlMkDY3Z%5FiU00i7uxP8z6CbrivGfdbk8HcM5OmuVGg1uDEdW2ewgkhgoNp4G36bV94v03iVbzXqau8qMT4uWyUrZwk0VNSJGgwkfndMJU9HdqYVN7OMs6ffkXaSxyGTlv4vAAz-DJGut1hNThbyXBkRnZnnYfbxUT38bNk7oMebyPHAJN9u8FePjO1D9dTR2MPIeujyT5Ve3B2bvo-tkt3Bc7RFQOu1rvkKLQUp4N5rj4sCZFJYIyFMamvCnysZ95aZcGY5IltK%5FxYTFSxUAu0nz1oKRY&hc%5Fref=ARTp2aXYbeuGj5JfiYCCeRmhp7hyzSzAKGn9XXMFw2LlQlxhDSdO3Z6hAcud30llDB0&fref=nf&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=kC-R)  
**Eve McCallum**

*On the 14th of November, a group of New Zealand Farmers protested in Wellington. This copy of the speech notes of Eve McCallum was taken from the 50 Shades of Green Facebook page.*

We are real people, we are families, and we are intergenerational custodians of our land.

This is not just about us; it is about our children, and their children

We matter and **we are not being listened to**.

I am lucky enough to be the 5th generation of my family to grow up and work on a farm. My family has farmed in Otago, Hawkes Bay, the King Country and Northland. My Great Grandfather Lewis White was killed in a farming accident when he was felling trees to clear the land for grass to be planted.

Being a country kid has given me so many experiences and life skills that you simply do not get in the city.

**Independence** – from the age of 7 I had my first pony, I would go out riding around the farm by myself.

**Responsibility** – by the age of 14 I had 4 ponies, they were my responsibility (not mum and dads) to exercise, feed, water and everything else, but I loved every minute of it.

**Resilience** – the ponies had to be looked after rain hail or shine, sick or not sick. A broken femur from a riding accident at 13 taught me how to get back on the horse, literally, and keep going, even when things were hard.

Calf day is a great example of when the farming community would come together. As young kids we would all spend weeks teaching our pet calves to lead, brushing them and feeding them.

**Responsibility**. We also spent a fair amount of time chasing after the calves when one got away in a very large paddock during leading practice. We all then gathered at the local primary school with our calves to show off all the hard work we had put in. Sometimes I think the parents were more disappointed than the kids when the purple champion ribbon wasn’t tied around their calves’ neck.

Signs such as “more cows = more milk = more climate change” hit directly at farmers. They show one side of the argument. **They lack any actual understanding of what farming is about.** It is more than just a job. It is about family. It is about community. It is about people. Real people. I credit most of who I am to my childhood, my childhood was not stolen. My childhood is the reason I am the person you see here today.

I challenge my generation to go and investigate, to find more stories of farming life like the ones I have told you. To learn that farmers are not monsters. To not be ignorant as to what is a huge part of New Zealand Society. To give us a chance.

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https://thebfd.co.nz/2019/11/a-speech-from-the-farmers-wellington-protest-stop-the-attack-on-farmers/