Each dairy cow is phenomenally productive - making up to 60 litres of milk every day. But the speed of their ascendancy and the consequent collapse of the dairy sector is Milk now costs half as much as Perrier water There are other, darker sides of dairy that provoke thought. Animal welfare groups claim that the industry is inherently cruel, keeping cows in cramped sheds, with wrecked feet and grotesquely swollen udders. That supermarkets are exploiting their strength to maximise profits is not surprising.
Instead of sending supplies to the processors, they gave away the milk or poured it the drain. The farmers are furious with the supermarkets, who have screwed down dairy prices over the past decade while taking more of the money for themselves. Farmers began a nationwide strike last week to protest at milk prices. All those black-and-white cows lolling contentedly on hills eating grass Our view of the white stuff, though, needs updating.
Milk has become a battleground and its story gives us a revealing and alarming insight into what's happening to our food. Down on the dairy farm, all is not well. Few of us can consider life without milk: it's almost like water. We pour milk over our cornflakes, we put it in our tea and coffee, we eat yoghurt and cheese derived from it Our children's bones are strengthened by it. Our fondness for milk is fashioned by our Arcadian view of the countryside. For example, the piston engine, the paddle steamer and the atomic bomb.ROGER KINGSTONLONDON SW1.