by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Responding to the resubmission of plans by Nocton Dairies Ltd for Britain's largest dairy farm on Thursday 18 November 2010, Friends of the Earth's food campaigner Sandra Bell said: "Nocton's promoters have scaled down their plans for now but with a view to expanding them in the future - and they still plan to cram their cows into massive sheds, rather than graze them outdoors.
"The introduction of US-style mega dairies would force small farmers out of business and push the UK's farming sector further towards crisis.
"Instead of subsidizing farming like this the Government should be using taxpayers' money to support the planet-friendly farms that people in the UK want and that could help create a thriving farming sector."
From what I know and have heard about that kind of dairy operations in the United States, in the same way as the beef operations, the so-called “feed lots”, it would be best if this application, and other such applications, would be disallowed, as a matter or principle, and this be made clear to any potential applicant.
In addition to this we need to get rid of the Holstein and Frisian cows; those modern milk production “factories” on four legs, which are aggressive and thus dangerous to stockmen and public alike, and which create an awful lot of moothane.
The proper dairy cows produce some 70+% less that do those above mentioned and therefore let's get back to some real farming, whether dairy or other.
Feed lot beef cattle and the cows in the “dairy factories” are pumped full of antibiotics and other veterinary medicines to just keep them working and producing and, as far as the feed lots and some dairy factories are concerned, they could not survival without such medication.
Let's also consider that all of those antibiotics and other medication will come through, in one way or the other, in the milk and the meat, as far as beef cattle are concerned, which could affect us as consumers.
Time to tell factory farms where to get off...
© 2010
