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Earlier today news broke of a new initiative – World Plant Milk Day. This positive day of action will be used to highlight the benefits of choosing plant-based milk over dairy.
World Plant Milk Day is a campaign spearheaded by Robbie Lockie, Co-Founder of media outlet Plant Based News. It aims to shine a light on the positive reasons to choose plant-based alternatives to dairy milk.
Almost immediately, news of the launch prompted a response from Michael Oakes, chair of the NFU’s dairy board.
He said: “We have got a whole week of dairy action from the vegans coming up, not just World Plant Milk Day.”
Boom
Research suggests the British dairy industry is right to be concerned about the growing popularity of plant milks.
The boom in plant-based alternatives shows no signs of slowing down, with the global industry set to top $16 billion next year.
The dairy industry, meanwhile, is in crisis: there are now fewer than 9,500 dairy farms in the UK compared to 13,000 a decade ago, and it has been predicted there will be fewer than 5,000 by 2025.
‘Noise’
Dismissing the initiative as ‘noise’ Oakes talked about how he planned to counter World Plant Milk Day: “The NFU has been trying to encourage our membership to send us 30 second video clips of why they are proud to be involved with dairy to counter the noise from the vegans.
“We need to be pointing out the carbon footprint of almond juice.
“There are some factual negatives we can put out there to counter some of their arguments that people should be drinking milk alternatives.”
Positive
Klaus Mitchell is the Founder of Plant Based News [PBN] – who launched the initiative alongside food awareness organization ProVeg. He says: “It’s going to be a great couple of weeks, and we welcome Mr Oakes’ comments.
“I’d love to open up a dialogue with Mr Oakes, and clear up some of his confusion around the carbon footprint of almond milk compared to dairy.”
PBN Co-Founder Robbie Lockie, added: “We are not against farmers. We are against animal exploitation.
“Humans do not need to drink milk or eat cheese – it’s unnecessary.
“We have a passionate community behind us, and are very excited about promoting a positive message.”
READ MORE:
You Should Support World Plant Milk Day This Month – And Here’s Why
New Plant-Based Milks ‘Represent Far More Dangerous Competition To Dairy Milk’
Global Plant Milk Market Set to Top A Staggering $16 Billion in 2018
