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Worried dairy bosses have called for ‘zero tolerance’ of the vegan and animal rights movement.
Issues facing the dairy industry were raised at the recent Semex dairy conference in Glasgow.
‘Zero tolerance’
The managing director of global milk giant Arla, Ash Amirahmadi, said that celebrities have ‘normalized’ veganism, making it exciting. He is reported as saying: “The dangerous thing they’ve done is that they’ve cast doubt on our industry.
“They’ve consistently put a question mark about the meat and dairy industries in consumers’ minds, and they’re not going to stop because they really believe they’re on to something.”
NFU president Minette Batters went further, calling for ‘zero tolerance’ of the animal rights movement, and accusing activists of ‘undermining and harrassing’ dairy producers.
Growth of non-dairy products
One of the major issues facing the dairy industry is the rise in plant-based alternatives. According to data from Mintel, sales of vegan milks skyrocket by 33 percent between 2015 and 2017 – compared to an increase of just five percent for dairy milk.
In addition, the customer base for these alternative products tends to be younger, with those aged 35 and under more likely to buy them than older consumers. This means that as those people ‘age out of the market’, fewer people will be buying dairy milk.
