Most Recent Campaign Headlines
The U.S. dairy industry is facing challenges with small family dairy farms going out of business, growing consumer demand for plant-based dairy alternatives, and increasing awareness of the negative environmental impacts of large dairies. Amidst these big problems, one small company wants to fundamentally change dairy production to a regenerative organic, nutrient-dense, and environmentally- and climate-friendly system.
When most Americans think of U.S. dairy, they picture cows roaming on the verdant pastures of Wisconsin. But in reality, they should replace that image with the tawny fields of California, the largest dairy producing state.
California produces more milk and cheese than anywhere else, including Wisconsin, the second biggest producer. California is in the middle of a megadrought, and dairy cows need loads of water. Some of that water is for the animals to drink and wash, but most of the water consumed by dairy is connected to what cows eat, in the form of feed and forage.
The synbio dairy industry is rapidly expanding with a significant infusion of investment. According to the biotech industry’s Good Food Institute, nearly $2 billion has been invested in developing “precision fermented” products like synbio dairy in the past year alone.
On Jan. 24, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) convened a group of world-renowned doctors and scientists in a discussion titled “Covid-19: A Second Opinion” in Washington DC.
Eleven organic organizations representing organic farmers and consumers have submitted a complaint to B Lab against Danone North America. The organizations maintain that Danone North America, owner of Horizon Organic, is in violation of the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence.
Organic milk has a better nutrient profile and fewer contaminants than conventional milk, but loopholes are allowing fraudulent “organic” milk on the market.
The recent decision by Danone North America, owner of Horizon Organic, to terminate contracts with 89 organic dairy farmers in Northeast states has angered organic and consumer groups, who say the decision will devastate small family farms in the region and runs counter to the company’s Certified B Corporation commitment. In response to the criticism, Danone says it remains committed to buying milk from small organic dairy farms.
Danone (owner of Horizon Organic Milk) is the global leader in fresh dairy products, owns over 20 brands, and is a 10.3 billion-dollar company, but they claim they cannot afford to continue to support family organic dairy farms that have helped build the Horizon Organic brand for decades.
Almost 90% of the $540bn in global subsidies given to farmers every year are “harmful”, a startling UN report has found.
This agricultural support damages people’s health, fuels the climate crisis, destroys nature and drives inequality by excluding smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, according to the UN agencies.
Swapping traditional, whole foods grown by small farmers for mass-produced fake foods grown in a laboratory is part and parcel of the Great Reset. The EAT Forum, co-founded by the Wellcome Trust, developed a Planetary Health Diet that’s designed to be applied to the global population and entails cutting meat and dairy intake by up to 90%, replacing it largely with foods made in laboratories, along with cereals and oil.
