IT IS A GIVEN that for a generation, British dairy farmers have produced milk at a near or complete loss; that is, they are paid for their milk less than it costs to produce. The super-markets pay too little and have all the buying power. I have written about it often, yet, in an update, the plot has altered. Recently, the dairy processor First Milk informed farmers that it is holding back payments due to cash flow. Unsurprisingly, we are back in sympathy with the dairy farmers. For good reason: imagine rising daily at dawn in this freezing weather, with the physical demands and concern for the health of your herd, only to be told that, “Sorry, we’ve decided not to pay you.”Yet this time the supermarkets are not directly the villains. Currently, they are paying between 3
05 February 2015, The Tablet
Say cheese
The Ethical Kitchen
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