To think that the price of Milk is just too cheap

[RudeBarbandCustard]

I'm shocked at how cheap milk has become, and I think it's really worrying that a pint of milk is now cheaper than bottled water.

I usually buy my milk with my supermarket shop, so I have to confess I've never taken any notice of the actual price until now.

The other day, I bought 2 x 4 Pint bottles of milk from the corner shop. I expected it to cost around £4... so I was stunned when I realized they were just £1 each. What's more, in our local Asda a 4 pint bottle is 89p!

Considering people happily pay £2 or more for a bottle of water these days, I think it's disgusting that the supermarket price wars have driven the price of milk down like this.

I don't know much about this issue, so I'm prepared to be educated, but personally I think it's appalling. Do any of the supermarkets pay a fair price for their milk??

I'd like to know what we can actually do about this because I feel quite strongly - this is the second thread about this in recent months and it shows a degree of unanimity which is rare on MN I think.

Is this an instance where a Mumsnet campaign (Mumsnet Milk?) might be possible? Any media types posting or reading here that are looking for a few programme ideas?

We buy milk at a local dairy and he delivers it.

Yanbu, milk is too cheap. Far too cheap. Since I feel that way, I go out of my way to pay more for it.

And actually its nicer. More creamy and organic, the kids prefer it but actually drink less as its more filling. So it doesn't actually cost that much more. I find supermarket whole milk rubbish and watery.

I was going to say 'buy milk at a local dairy' but obviously that is not an option for many posters.....

cozie there have been several national campaigns about it. The supermarkets screw the dairy farmers. If they all say we will only oay 3p per litre and all the big supermarkets do this, the farmers have no where to seek their milk.

What you can do I buy direct from dairies and not shop in supermarkets, or at least as much.

Simple fact the majority of people know, but don't care. Their priority is cheap milk which I understand to a certain degree. But its ruining farming

Shewept, my dairy direct milk is non-homegenised which is why it tastes creamier and nicer.

Big suppliers homogenise it to make it look 'better' and last longer...

As well as deliveries, Rude it might be worth investigating whether any local shops stock local milk. Ours stocks milk from a couple of local suppliers. I know that one of them was struggling, financially, a few years ago, and got bailed out with a contract for school milk, and while, last time I found some figures, they weren't massively more generous with their reimbursement than the big players, at least it felt like there was some element of positive choice regarding reducing food miles and supporting a local firm.

Of course, that's all moot for us, now, since we get through less milk in a week than many families do in a day, and tend to buy lactose free milk just for the odd cup of tea or coffee or cheese sauce and DH might use it in breakfast cereal a few times a week.

I know we have a local milkman, mind. He lives about 200 yards down the road!

decline of dairy farms in the UK and the strange fact that we import 1 million litres everyday from Holland, Frrance and Belgium. "10 dairy farms a day are closing, yet our milk imports grow every year, thats a lot of food miles, a big carbon footprint, and a kick in the teeth for UK farmers. Some even comes from as far away as Poland. As milk ages, its nutritional value declines, our milk is from cow to doorstep in 1 day, supermarket milk may be 4 or 5 days old. Buyers should beware that there is no obligation to put the country of origin on milk, so Polish milk could be brought over here, and pasteurised in the UK. It is then classed as having undergone a substantial change, allowing it to labelled UK produced. The bottom line is that price, not nutrition, freshness, welfare (all our cows are outside when the weather is fine, fed on our silage in the winter) or supporting local production is what takes precedent.

Above taken from 35 year old milk bottles

OK dumb question which I should know the answer to

Big suppliers homogenise it to make it look 'better' and last longer... what do they do when they homogenise it?

I'm so glad I posted this thread now, I've already learned so much and it has motivated me to make the change to a local dairy.

Just rang DH to tell him. He's keen too, as he's a local businessman himself and drinks gallons of milk and loves the local yoghurt that we usually buy from Tesco but is apparently also available through the milkman.

...Simple fact the majority of people know, but don't care. Their priority is cheap milk which I understand to a certain degree. But its ruining farming...

But do they really know and not care, shewept ? I rather form the impression that most people simply don't think about it - so maybe more publicity at national level would help? (Although individuals' purchasing strategies are not unimportant.)

thegirl yes that the term I was thinking of.

Op homogenising is when they remove all the fat when processing and then add it back in in vary amounts depending in which milk it is.

There were a couple of threads about this a month or so ago. I agree it's disgustingly cheap but it appeals to the Lidl/Aldi shoppers who come on here to brag about how cheap their groceries are. People want something for nothing. Same old story.

I buy Yeo Valley or Rachel's organic and would happily pay twice what they charge.

Huftys it makes no odds which big supermarket people use, they all do it, no need to be snobby about it. In terms of food, we have all been 'having something for nothing' for many years now.
30 years ago people spent about a third of their income on food, it is now about a tenth.

I do my main shop at aldi but buy my milk from sainsburys, farm shop or tescos. It's a pain in the arse but it's something little I can do even though my budget is tight.
In my old houses I used to have a milk man (silver top all the way!), it was great they delivered everything!

When I was growing up, rude, milk separated into the milk and cream - take the layer of cream off the top (we made butter with the cream off our school milk, once, when I spent a month in a really hippy school, in the 70s!) and you have skimmed milk.

Homogenised milk is treated so the fat is dispersed through the milk, so it's the same all the way through. No creamy layer to put in your coffee (though, personally, blech, but that's because it doesn't agree with me!)

sunny it does make a difference which supermarket, some are slightly better than others
m.thegrocer.co.uk/512330.article?mobilesite=enabled

Many moons ago when I was a child, we were brought up with dairy farms as part of the community and could probably name the animals that our milk came from. (They were called Daisy, Maisie etc and not eg No 468.)

I have no idea what dairy farmers have to do these days to ensure that they aren't bankrupt within the month but I doubt that it's possible for dairy farms to operate now in the way that they did back then.

Heck of a shame for the cows.

You can make butter by pouring a bit of double cream in a jar (fill to about 1/4) and shaking it until it becomes a solid ball and the buttermilk (use for your scones) separates.

Yanbu. I don't buy milk very often but when I do I've started to get yeo valley. If anybody can tell me a better milk to get I will do that instead. I'm in London and am not aware of any local dairy farmers. (Though there may be some).

cozie as I said there have been national campaigns, tv programmes, media coverage etc. But some people are simply looking for the cheapest option. They brag about how cheap they find things. Its the same with chickens farming. People want (some need cheap food but alot just want it) the cheapest price.

The problem is that all this faffing with food actually makes it less nutritious. But that's a different thread.

We can still shake our silver top milk and make 'butter'

thanks for that damnautocorrect - good info. It does show though, that in fact that lidl and aldi are far from the worst culprits. Interesting too that Waitrose refused to give any info. I bet Huftys shops at Waitrose, lol.

It's jolly hard work unless you've got 2 dozen 6 year olds on the job, though, Damnyouautocorrect!

The school had its own farm and beehives. Fantastic stuff!

TheGirlFrom you must be from my neck of the woods, ours is from Grassington too

It is interesting that many more people are taking an interest in where their food comes from and are happy to pay a little more for it.

My DD has been having lots of health issues. The first thing her gynae did after ordering up lots of tests was to tell us to start drinking organic milk. She says cow are pumped full of hormones to produce huge amounts of milk and this transfers to us when we drink it. My DH nearly had a fit when he saw the price (4x what we paid before) but if it makes a difference to all of our health then it's worth it.