If you’re upset, PHE – let’s talk

I am not sure if Public Health England had a bad experience with our industry in the past, but the recent guidelines on dairy as part of its Eatwell plate seems to suggest that. It recommends that dairy be just under eight per cent of total dietary intake, versus the 15 per cent under previous guidelines.

Obviously, Dairy UK and the APPG on Dairy have all come out against it. Dairy APPG chairman Heather Wheeler called it “puzzling and frustrating”, but I’m wondering, what has dairy done to upset Public Health England?

Nutritionally, dairy is one of the good guys – there is so much to recommend dairy products, when you look at price versus what you get in return with vitamins, minerals, protein and quality. If you were designing a food product to offer vitamins and nutrients, you would probably be hard-pressed to get one as complete – and low cost – as milk. So, puzzling and frustrating is the least of it. Dairy, which should be valuable in the human diet, is discounted.

And, let’s look at the bigger picture, of the British rural economy. Dairy farmers and their attendant industries support a lot of this country’s green space. Cows, and the people that love and care for them, are fully paid-up supporters of the countryside. And they support the cities and towns with food production, offering valuable, quality products for everyone to eat. All at exceptionally reasonable prices.

My question then becomes, what is eating PHE? Is there a lactose intolerant member of staff deciding the issue? If so, we have products for that, or a really nice piece of West Country cheddar. We’re willing to talk, Public Health England. We’ll even bring the milk, cheese and biscuits to any meetups so we can hash out these issues. Call us!