DAIRY Matters ‘Who will sing our praises?’ Rosemary Collingborn farms a closed herd of 100 pedigree Friesian type cows with her husband Joe in Wiltshire. She has served on the Milk Development Council, Veterinary Products Committee, the RSPCA Council and was Women’s Food and Farming Union dairy chair.
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I have spent most of my life thinking how wonderful milk is. At eight years old, though not a dairy farmer, I was drinking pints of the stuff. However, at the time none of us were so keen on the free school milk waiting for us next to the central heating pipes in the basement. I nearly fell over backwards and I couldn’t have been more shocked when I heard recently about a discussion on dairy farming in our local secondary school. This was in a class of 14- and 15-year-olds, and dairy farmers were labelled ‘rapists and murderers’ by the youngsters. A few farm boys stuck up for dairying, but this was the overall view. And this was in a country school. Why? Does this view come from an uncorrected misapprehension about the fate of calves and using artificial insemination rather than a bull? When I was on the RSPCA Council, one of my fellow council members thought every cow should have its own bull and wasn’t to be dissuaded. Milk is suffering from the rapid rise of alternative ‘milks’. You have only to look in supermarket chillers to see how milk alternatives have expanded in recent years. These cost more than milk and are a profitable new stream for the food industry. These alternatives are mainly water and, although they may have added vitamins and calcium (and sugar), they cannot rival milk for its energy-dense nutritional value.
Rosemary Collingborn
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My great concern for these teenagers, who don’t sound as if they are drinking milk, is that these teenage years are when they need the most calcium for their growing bones if they are to avoid osteoporosis in the future. Among modern foods, dairy, particularly milk and yoghurt, stand out as having the richest, most dense, nutrient profile for their energy content. They are typically rich in protein, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and several of the B vitamins, and are importantly the most easily absorbed source of calcium. Milk is particularly high in iodine and vitamin B12. Milk has many other benefits – low fat dairy and reduced salt have been shown to lower blood pressure within two weeks. Research has shown dairy goods may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease with fewer fractures in the elderly. Eating cheese after a meal not only prevents tooth decay, it can repair short-term damage to your teeth. Positive role Research has shown that skimmed milk has a very positive role in recovery after exercise even compared to well-known sports drinks – both supplied sufficient rehydration, but skimmed milk ensured a positive fluid balance at the end of recovery. Studies have shown that three portions of dairy a day in a calorie-controlled diet helps to lose fat, particularly round the waistline. It is hard to meet nutrient recommendations without eating three daily servings of dairy. I don’t think any of these benefits come from drinking almond, soya or oat milk, even if they cost more and, unlike dairy foods, they are useless for cooking. How is the public getting such a distorted view of our wonderful industry? In years gone by, we had an excellent Dairy Council, led by Anne Stacy, which fronted advertising campaigns, funded school education, talked to health professionals and fed the latest positive research from all over the world into newspapers and magazines. Funding for the Dairy Council was patchy and mainly came from the levy on dairy farmers. The trade contributed too but very unevenly. It was this disparity in funding which led to the Dairy Council facing budget costs and then being incorporated into Dairy UK. The funds to defend our industry robustly no longer existed and we are all paying the price.
NOVEMBER 2021 15/10/2021 09:20
