A council has apologised after it angered farmers by urging residents to use oat or soya milk not dairy. Gloucestershire County Council made the suggestion as part of its ‘Swaps in Seconds’ campaign.
The initiative aims to highlight that ”small, sustainable swaps can lead to a reduction in our carbon footprints”. It suggested residents could consider using plant based milk to tackle climate change.
But the council has since issued a clarification on its campaign following negative reaction from farmers. The council said the plant based milk swap suggestion was part of a series of ideas for people to consider.
Councillor David Gray, cabinet member for environment, said the campaign is about making small changes that make a big difference. He told the BBC: “Dairy is one of the biggest 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.”
He 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.”
Poster for Gloucestershire County Council’s ‘Swaps in Seconds’ campaign
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A Gloucestershire County Council spokesperson said: “Gloucestershire has an amazing farming community who go beyond the call of duty to produce local milk that people across the county enjoy. What we’ve published today is a series of swap suggestions for people to consider, from food to transport to clothing.
“We didn’t mean to cause offence or to suggest people shouldn’t support their local farmer.” They added: “To ensure there is no confusion the county council has removed reference to milk alternatives associated with this campaign from its website and associated publicity.”
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