Gloucestershire County Council’s push for plant-based milk has angered local farmers and sparked a heated debate about dairy consumption.
Gloucestershire: So, the council there really stirred the pot by suggesting folks switch to plant-based milk instead of dairy. They thought they were being all eco-friendly with their Swaps in Seconds campaign, but it didn’t sit well with local farmers.
One farmer, Jacob James from Whole Moo World, was pretty upset. He pointed out that the UK dairy industry is actually doing better in terms of carbon emissions than the global average. He said the council’s advice didn’t really consider the full picture.
Jacob mentioned that when you look at the numbers, UK dairy farms have a carbon impact of about one kilo per litre, which is pretty close to oat milk’s 0.9. So, he felt the council’s message was a bit off.
Even Nigel Farage jumped in, calling the council “global warming lunatics” and saying their advice was nonsense. He just wanted his good old cow’s milk and couldn’t understand why that was a problem.
A spokesperson for the council tried to smooth things over, saying they really appreciate the local farming community and didn’t mean to offend anyone. They encouraged people to support local farmers, no matter how they buy their milk.
Councillor David Gray added that while dairy does produce methane, they were just suggesting small changes, like occasionally swapping milk for oat or soy. He emphasized that they’re not against dairy; they just want to promote some eco-friendly habits.
