The more things change, the more they stay the same. This article in the 1971 IFBA Journal was written by Rev. D. O'Mahony, S.D.B. The opening paragraph is, sadly, as relevant today as it was fifty years ago.
"Conservation Year has come and gone and has left us more aware of the threat of our modern civilisation to nature. None the less, we really have not come any closer to combatting the unreasonable disposal of wastes in our environment."
While Fr O'Mahony's article is farming focused, that paragraph and the general theme of the article are applicable to many aspects of our lives, society and economic actors. As John Long described in a previous article, the IFBA leadership and members were pioneers. It is interesting that the environment was on their agenda even then. Indeed, the final paragraph is as much as call to action today as it was back when Fr O'Mahony penned it:
"Everybody involved in agriculture must become much more aware of the problems then [sic] they have been. We must not placate our consciences by saying that other industries are more to blame than agriculture. We must penetrate the problem and demand more research so that we can create a better balance in nature."
This article was inspired by Mr John Long's archive of British Friesian breeding in Ireland. You can follow John on Twitter @farmerlongjohn for more snippets and pictures of bulls through the years.