Direct milk sellers have taken to social media to distance themselves from Arla Foods and its trial of the feed additive Bovaer on UK supplier farms after a consumer backlash to the study, including boycotts of products made by the dairy co-operative.
Arla announced last week that it would test Bovaer, a feed additive which suppresses a methane-producing enzyme, on more than 30 farms. What it hadn’t reckoned with was the public reaction to this trial, amid concern about any human health implications.Even though the product is approved by the Food Standards Agency, shoppers have seemingly tried to avoid Arla dairy products in supermarkets.
See also: New Arla trial looks to cut methane emissions from dairy cows
As momentum has grown around the controversy, one of the most vocal groups has been farmers who sell milk direct to the public, who have been keen to set the record straight on what they feed their cows.
Some, such as Attleborough Hall Farm at Attleborough, Norfolk, have stressed that, despite being an Arla member, they are not taking part in the feed additive trial.
Others have “self-declared” on a new website, Bovaer Free Farms, that they don’t use the feed additive. More of this article (Farmers Weekly) - link - Arla boycott - link - more like this (efsa) - link - more like this (cows) - link - more like this (campaigners) - link
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