Oat milk plan 'extremely frustrating', say farmers

A council campaign to get people to swap cow's milk for oat or almond alternatives has angered local farmers.

It is part of the Swaps in Seconds campaign which Gloucestershire County Council said could help reduce people's carbon footprints.

One local farmer said the campaign was "extremely frustrating" and said he was worried about the potential impact on the dairy industry.

Councillor David Gray, cabinet member for environment, said the campaign is about making small changes.

"Dairy is one of the big producers of methane so our suggestion is every so often instead of having milk with your coffee, you have oat milk or soy and that way make a small difference in the overall impact of your lifestyle on the environment".

The initiative encourages residents to take small actions to combat climate change, such as replacing cow's milk with alternatives like almond or oat milk.

Other suggestions from the initiative include swapping a new item to something second hand, turning electrical devices in your home off or on standby, switching to black coffee or tea or reducing sugar.

But local farmers have expressed frustration with the campaign, raising concerns about its impact on the dairy industry.

Jacob James, from Whole Moo World which supplies vending machines with milk, said people should be sourcing milk locally.

"It is extremely frustrating because it seems that everywhere you look there's farmers being demonised.

"Unfortunately emissions are a given no matter what route we go down, and we should be looking at getting the best bang for our buck in terms of the nutrients produced from those emissions," he said.

Producing a glass of dairy milk results in almost three times the greenhouse gas emissions of any non-dairy milks, according to a University of Oxford study.

Mr James continued: "I think if we could look at thinking for ourselves, we can see that we have a plentiful supply of water here and also land that is best at growing grass.

"Grass is the primary driver of high-quality milk production and the cows actually fertilise their own land."

Mr James added that alternative milks are often shipped thousands of miles.

"If people bought local [milk], you can use reusable glass bottles that you can then get far more than one use out of, have minimal processing attached to the milk, minimal food miles, and give your body the nutrients it craves," he added.

Jenni Hobbs from Wholly Gelato in Elmore says they have a low carbon footprint.

"We already have the right temperature, we already have rainfall, we always have grass so as long we utilise that grass, it's pretty natural," she said.

"I think the problem is that our government and our councils are taking data from international surveys and they're not taking into account what we do already in the UK.

"Our government and our councils are very much trying to push this agenda which is easy and it may save a few emissions, but they are not looking at our lifestyles now."

The council said it is committed to tackling climate change and aims to create a net zero county by 2045, as well as reducing emissions by 80% by 2030.

Councillor Gray added: "I understand the point about local dairy farmers and I'm very supportive of the local dairy farmers in terms of encouraging people to buy their milk locally and look for the labelling.

"We are not saying don't touch milk. The campaign is all about small changes.

"I'm pleased to support this campaign which aims to encourage people to make small, simple changes to their everyday lives to have a positive impact on climate change.

"It shows that every action, however small, can help to make a difference.

"Whether it's using a second hand item instead of buying a new one, buying locally, or walking, cycling or using the bus or train for some journeys instead of taking the car, you can help us to meet our climate targets and create a greener Gloucestershire for everyone."

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