(liquid pouring)
- In the midst of our current global pandemic,
the dairy industry here in the UK
has launched a new campaign called "Milk Your Moments."
A campaign encouraging people to purchase
and consume more dairy products.
The cost of the campaign is one million pounds.
But 500,000 pound of that has come
from the UK government, meaning that the UK taxpayers
have paid for half of the promotional campaign.
Our taxpayers money, during a crisis
where charities are desperately crowd funding online
to provide food for the most vulnerable people
during this time, has been spent on social media
and TV adverts promoting the dairy industry.
In fact, the UK taxpayer has spent more money
on the campaign than the AHDB, a levy board funded
by farmers and growers.
How can it be right?
The British public is spending more money
on a campaign promoting the dairy industry
than the dairy industry themselves,
who will profit from this.
Whereas in most sectors, the bulk of income
is constituted by sales of goods
and services in the market, for the farming sector,
over half of total farming income comes from subsidies.
In fact, every single year, billions of pounds
are given to animal farmers in the UK
to keep them afloat.
We may see the price of milk in a supermarket
and believe it to be cheap, but this is a false economy
as the price to the taxpayer is tremendous.
Billions, in fact.
Pass the "Milk Your Moment" is centered around people
sharing the moments in their life
where they drink cow's milk, such as having
a cup of tea or coffee with a loved one
or catching up with a friend.
But of course a moment like this
isn't defined by our consumption
of cow's milk, but instead by the human connection
of spending time with a loved one.
Which is why we have decided at Surge
to encourage anyone who drinks plant-based milks
to share your pant-based milk moment online
by uploading an image using the hashtag #milkyourmoments
because human connection does not need to come
at the consequence of animal suffering.
Nor does it need to come at the consequence
of extorting the taxpayer.
When you post your photo, tag three of your friends
who you think should be drinking plant-based
milk alternatives and tell them why
in the description, they should make that switch.
Now as you can see here, I enjoy a nice cup
of coffee with oat milk.
Now oat milk can be easily produced in the UK.
And by purchasing oat milk, I am supporting oat farmers
and supporting a world that is healthier,
more sustainable and of course,
more ethical as well.
And I'm not the only one who feels this way.
In fact, in the UK, oat milk sales
increased by 71% in 2019 alone.
And a report last year, showed that 23%
of Britains are now using plant-based milk alternatives.
This was coupled with a 6% decrease in dairy
consumption in the 16 to 24-year-old age category,
where now only 73% drink cow's milk.
Overall, there's been a 50% reduction
in liquid milk consumption per capita
in the UK in the past 50 years.
Things are changing and we believe that dairy farmers
can be a part of that change too.
Throughout the pandemic, we have seen farmers
pouring millions of liters of milk away
but we believe that there is no point crying
over spilled milk.
Which is why we are teaming up with Refarm'd,
an organization that helps dairy farmers transition
to plant-based milk production instead.
Ensuring they are able to keep their livelihoods
in agriculture, but do so in a way
that is more beneficial for them,
the animals, and the planet.
We're asking farmers to download the information pack
on our website that outlines all of the reasons
for them to make that change and includes information
from farmers who've already made that change.
However, we need your help as well.
Because the best way to help animal farmers
transition to plant-based agriculture
is through the government helping farmers
with the costs of that transition
through change in the way that our tax money
is spent subsidizing the industry.
So please, add your name to the petition
to demand a reform of how our money is spent
and to help farmers either transition
to plant-based agriculture, diversify their production
to produce more crops for human consumption
or to rewild and reforest our land instead.
Not only would this change help farmers,
the planet and the animals, but it would
also help us and society in general.
As a piece of research from Oxford University
concluded that eating meat no more than three times
a week would prevent 31,000 deaths from heart disease.
9,000 deaths from cancer and 5,000 deaths
from strokes each year, as well as saving the NHS
1.2 billion pounds.
However, if we stopped eating animal products altogether,
tens of thousands more lives would be saved
as well as hundreds of millions of pounds
for the NHS, not to mention the billion
land animals and billions of marine animals
who are killed each year for the animal products
that we consume in the UK.
On top of this, we have an open letter signed by
doctors, scientists and other leading experts
calling on the government not only
to consider the petition, but to implement
the changes required to protect the animals,
the environment and farmers livelihoods
as well as us, and wider society.
There is a future that exists more harmoniously
for all of us where taxpayers money
is spent more effectively and fairly.
Where animal exploitation is eliminated
where the environment is better protected
and where farmer's livelihoods are more secure.
And together we can make that future a reality.
Milk, this is your moment.
Your moment to change.
(liquid pouring)