Milk bath protest at 'low' price
UK - A woman sat in a bath of cold milk outside Parliament in protest at the price per litre dairy farmers are paid.
31 January 2007
1 minute read
Isla Arendell, 39, a member of the Women's Institute from Tutshill, Gloucestershire, said her demonstration showed milk is now as cheap as water.
"British dairy farmers are paid 18p per litre, whereas 10 years ago they were paid 24.5p per litre," she said.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said markets determine prices, not government.
More than 72,000 people have signed a National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) petition, calling on the government to ensure a fairer deal for dairy farmers.
The NFWI is urging action to ensure a sustainable dairy industry where farmers receive a fair price for their milk.
"We are concerned that in a few years' time there will be no more milk production in Britain," said Ms Arendell.
Dairy farmer Colin Salmon, 49, from Glastonbury, Somerset, who attended the petition launch, said: "I have been a dairy farmer all my life and it's getting too much, what with all the regulations and lower prices for the milk.
Source: BBC News
