Blogs
Defending dairy
This week promises to be one where people smack their heads and try to figure out what others are thinking. As in, doing things like the following: signing their company’s name to a letter where it basically asks the European Union to take out Amendment 171 in the Common Agricultural Policy Reform. This is the one ensuring that the words “milk”, “cheese”, “yoghurt”, “butter” or “whey” are used exclusively for products that contain dairy milk.
Virtual autumn meeting hubs
Things have changed a lot since the beginning of the year, to say the least. One of these changes, due to coronavirus, has been the rise of the virtual conference and webinars. Events managers are working hard to make online conferences and sessions to grab the online viewers’ interests.
Getting caught in the middle
News comes that Australia’s government is blocking Mengniu Dairy in China from taking over Dairy Farmers in a A$600 million (€363.8m) bid, after its foreign investment review board (FIRB) advised approval.
Cow milk versus alternative drinks
One of the things I’ve been saying for years is that soya drinks are not an eco-friendly alternative to cow milk, and it seems the Times of London agrees with me. A new study published in the paper notes that more harm may be done to the rainforests of Brazil because it is being cleared to grow soya beans.
Local lockdown lobsters and other creatures
The coronavirus has shown Brits to not be great eaters of the UK’s domestic seafood harvest. I’m doing my part to help. We received five of these local lobsters, and we ate the pictured feast this weekend. It seems like eating locally will be a trend for a while.
Where Feta is on a map
The US is again looking to erode the use of protected designations of origins (PDOs) globally, it seems. Last week, 61 US senators sent US Trade representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and US Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue a letter, urging stronger international safeguards to protect US exporters using common food and wine terms.
The new junk food ban
The UK government, having had its prime minister suffer the terrible effects of Covid-19, has launched a new bid to tackle obesity in the country. This is via a ban on new junk food adverts on television before 21:00, along with restrictions on where foods high in fat and sugar can be promoted in store, and new rules for displaying calories on menus.
Plugging back in
The summer has brought good news and bad news, depending on where you live on the planet. Here in England, our lockdown restrictions are easing and treats like eating out in restaurants are restored.
Squaring the circle
The increase in national labelling laws in what is supposed to be a European single market, is just one of the things people are dealing with, while trying to square the circle that is the post-pandemic world.
Back in business
The overall dairy industry hasn’t been advertised on British television for the past two decades. However, this has now been rectified with the first generic dairy TV advert airing on 1 July, featuring a selection of iconic milk adverts on UK screens over the last seven decades.
The ICDA moves with the times
Next month, many in the industry would have been up north in the UK in Nantwich, getting ready to help judge the thousands of cheeses and to report on the International Cheese & Dairy Awards. However, the pandemic has made this a dream for 2021 now.
Keeping fit after 50
As we age, we need all the help we can get. There is muscle degeneration as the years progress, and diet is as important as exercise in keeping a person healthy and in shape to deal with the ageing process. As my mother used to say, “Getting old isn’t for wimps, Suzanne.”
The bureaucracy files
Over the weekend, Jeremy Clarkson was in the Sunday Times, noting that while the rest of us were in the garden, enjoying the sunshine, he was in his office filling out government forms for his farming activities. I am sure some of our readers were with him, filling out those same forms. He also rightly pointed out that few farms could manage without the government help the forms provide, but now that Brexit is occurring, the subsidy will eventually stop.
Investments and grants
There have been many positive news stories from the past week about investments and grants that will benefit dairy farmers across the UK, Ireland and Europe.