AIBU not to support the British farmers

[WitchofScots]

My Facebook is full of people saying they don't mind paying more for milk because they support the British Farmers.

If milk is more expensive then that's going to deprive children from families on/below the poverty line of a healthy drink, fruit is expensive, organic meat is expensive, ditto vegetables but milk is relatively cheap.

This concerns me a huge amount. I wouldn't even entertain buying non British milk. We currently buy waitrose, I try to buy duchy having read that's the best in terms of being organic and direct supply, but it's not always available so often get waitrose own.

A question though- it's often on special offer for multi buy which makes it cheaper anyway- not much more than £1 for 2 pints- does the farmer bear the cost of the special offer or the retailer.
This is something concerning me hugely ATM. The milk we buy is so fresh.

Although, since becoming a breastfeeding mother I am a bit sad about milk. I assume that cows are not allowed to BF their calf? Any Chance this isn't true?

Any Chance this isn't true? none, the industry is utterly brutal, repeated forced pregnancies, calves slaughtered or removed, and months of forced milk production, for human consumers.

sorry

All milk in the EU is produced under the same farming standards and the best farmers will produce milk and make money - only inefficient farmers will go bankrupt and I do not understand why we should support inefficiencies.

Late to this comment, but it's uninformed bollocks. Farm animal welfare isn't fully harmonised, and that includes dairy cattle.

And that's before you get to voluntary standards such as Freedom Food.

Although, since becoming a breastfeeding mother I am a bit sad about milk. I assume that cows are not allowed to BF their calf? Any Chance this isn't true?

Choose organic. Soil Association standards promote maternal milk where possible for calves until at least 3 months of age. The standards also prohibit the selling of male calves to European veal-style systems, and organic dairy farmers have to have a plan to end culling of male calves within 5 years of 2010 or being licensed, whichever is later.

OP - tune into the Archers!

Thank you jessy looks like we're already doing our best. Phew

Why don't the farmers charge the supermarkets more for the milk? It's not like Asda etc can simply switch suppliers overnight.

The supermarkets hold total power over most (all?) suppliers. They're brutal. The farmers wouldn't have a chance

I have emailed Yeo valley to see whether their organic cows can feed their calf

Their website is a bit vague - they say calves get colostrum from their mothers, but then get 'milk and a blend of quality food'.

Let us know if they respond!

Asda may not be able to change overnight, but may take 6 months. Dairy farming is a long game, so unless you were planning on stopping in 6 months then you get a short term rise and then no sales.
Only 50% of uk dairy goes into milk, the rest is dairy products, which no-one seems to care about the price of at all. Even if we did all pay more for milk, 50% of farmers would not benefit.

Yes, the price of milk is tough on some farmers, but I have quite a few farming friends and their support for the miners when whole communities were destroyed was conspicuous by its absence. So my sympathy with farmers is limited.

It's really heartening to see that the message about the dangers of supermarkets driving down prices is finally getting through. My grandfather sold his dairy herd in the 1990s, when the public perception was still 'well, tough shit, if you can't compete with the big firms'. This has been going on for decades, and so many small/medium-sized dairy farms have disappeared. I'm so glad the OP came back and posted that she'd changed her mind.

It makes no commercial sense to have small/medium farms any more. Industrial farming is the future, if we allow supermarkets to demand the lowest price possible: to break even or make profit, you need a dairy herd of 1000+, kept in a mega dairy where they're in close quarters (no grazing, not even going outside), fed chemically-calibrated food (very efficient), milked three times a day (instead of two: high yield is vital, when profits are miniscule), and disease spread prevented by antibiotic use and other chemical assistance.

Sound great, doesn't it? Battery chicken cows. And then consumers end up with a two-tier system: the milk on the supermarket shelves, bought by 90%, is dirt-cheap factory-produced crap, while a small affluent middle-class minority congratulate themselves on buying expensive, organic, artisan milk from speciality retailers.

Ladylikecough
Great post. People get what they pay for.

I'm in full support of upping the amount that are farmers are paid.

It is such a thankless task and it's back breaking work that is non stop.

Most of the farmers that this affects will have young children of they're own,why should they're children be deprived.

Milk is not a healthy drink for anyone except babies. Water is a healthy drink. And families on low income get healthy start voucher which they can use to buy fruit and veg which is healthy or milk if they really must

''while a small affluent middle-class minority congratulate themselves on buying expensive, organic, artisan milk from speciality retailers.''

I am not affluent or middle class but I do buy organic milk, dairy, eggs and (most of the time) meat. I have issues with the ethics of industrial farming. We eat much less meat than we did previously as it's more expensive but I feel it is worth it for not only our own health but welfare of the animals.

I get what you are saying though, the middle ground has been lost. Small farms could have produced dairy and meat that was not organic but of a much higher standard than that of the industrial farms. The drive from consumers for cheap meat and supermarket price wars have left us with cheap sub standard meat and dairy or high price organic.

Milk is a healthy drink. Full of protein and calcium. I don't drink it cold by the glass as I'm not actually keen on it but love my daily latte.

Calcium you can get from leafy green veg which is healthy. Most people are lactose intolerant as adults can't digest lactose

Most people aren't lactose intolerant

You can get calcium from leafy green veg. You can also get it from milk

We don't eat dairy. No-one likes it. THe kids hate milk, they think it's foul.
THey have never had any cows milk or even formula.

Most people aren't lactose intolerant

Actually, they are...

"If you're American or European it's hard to realize this, but being able to digest milk as an adult is one weird genetic adaptation.

It's not normal. Somewhat less than 40% of people in the world retain the ability to digest lactose after childhood. The numbers are often given as close to 0% of Native Americans, 5% of Asians, 25% of African and Caribbean peoples, 50% of Mediterranean peoples and 90% of northern Europeans. Sweden has one of the world's highest percentages of lactase tolerant people.

Being able to digest milk is so strange that scientists say we shouldn't really call lactose intolerance a disease, because that presumes it's abnormal. Instead, they call it lactase persistence, indicating what's really weird is the ability to continue to drink milk."

abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=8450036

That's a really trashy article

BBC (less trashy) says 90% of Northern Europeans carry the gene to digest lactose

Sorry forgot link. Write up of sane study

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6397001.stm

Interesting that organic milk seems to be a better choice both in terms of welfare and paying farmers better. However, if I switch to that, will that help the non-organic farmer? Will make me feel a bit better about the calf thing though. I remember as a child hearing cows crying for their calves. A haunting and horrible sound.

I noticed that Booths (albeit not a supermarket that is nationwide) seems to proclaim it is paying farmers properly and doesn't have the 2.2l for £1 thing.

It troubles me that we cannot sustain ourselves as a nation.

It troubles me that all the dairy farms around here are turning into luxury barn conversions.

And I wonder what will happen to our agricultural landscape when the farms all become barn conversions - nobody will tend to the hedges and fields.