The gap between the consumer and the world of the cow has been growing over the past few decades. Hans van der Meer lives in the centre of Amsterdam, but when his farmer friend Jaap Hemke goes on holiday, Hans looks after the farm. He has been doing this for nearly twenty years, stimulating a deep interest and a particular insight into dairy farming.

Through photography, film and writing Van der Meer examines the world around him. His images of amateur football in Dutch Fields (1998) and European Fields (2006) are also an exploration of human nature within the landscape. In The Netherlands – Off the shelf (2012) he wryly observes the increasingly homogenous built environment of provincial Dutch towns.

In Time to Change – The Changing World of the Dutch Cow he is looking at and thinking about cows and consequently dairy farming, animal welfare, hi-tech food production and its impact on the environment. Van der Meer’s pictures are the trigger for a series of observations highlighting the complexity of modern farming. In addition, he asked farmers and innovators the question how to continue and in which direction.

In many of the photos the cow looks puzzled. Or is it that she’s questioning us? How will we be shaping the future in food production? And what will the role of the animals be in it?

Time to Change contains fifty-four photos, of which five are fold out panoramas. Hans wrote columns with twenty-seven of the images. Next to this, five interviews are included in the book, and video material is made available through QR-codes.