Hedgerow Safari
KATE HUMBLE URGES THE NATION TO ‘BREAK THE HABIT’ AND SWITCH TO ORGANIC MILK
This press release was posted on : 12th May 2010
Renowned TV presenter Kate Humble has given her support to a new nationwide campaign encouraging consumers to stop and think before they buy their usual milk and make the switch to organic.
When it comes to buying milk, the majority of British consumers are habitual shoppers, blindly purchasing the same milk without stopping to think about the effect their purchase can have. Even a small change in milk purchasing could have a very positive effect on the wildlife in the fields and hedgerows of Britain.
Kate has teamed up with the Organic Milk Cooperative to front the ‘Break the Habit’ campaign and urge shoppers to reach to the shelves for organic milk. Kate believes that by simply switching to organic milk shoppers can make a positive change to their and their families’ wellbeing and the natural world around them without breaking the bank. Switching to organic milk is the easiest way to go organic everyday, and you can make this change for less than £1 a week for the average family.*
Every pint of organic milk means more beetles, birds and butterflies in the nation’s hedgerows as organic farmers manage their farms in ways that benefit our native wildlife. Organic farmers don’t use artificial chemical pesticides which can kill off beneficial insects along with the pests, affecting the whole food chain. Organic grass grows using sunshine and natural fertilisers like clover, rather than chemicals, allowing our cows to do what they do best: turn rich grass into great organic milk.
Kate says, “As a nation we are often guilty of shopping on autopilot, particularly when it comes to those everyday purchases such as milk. We often don’t relate the process of milk production with the pints and litres that we put in the trolley every time we visit the supermarket. With ‘Break the Habit’ we hope to encourage shoppers to consider this process and the benefits that organic milk can offer them and their families as well as our countryside and its wildlife. A very simple, low-cost change in our shopping behaviour will make a big difference. If just 5% of those currently buying conventional milk switch to organic, it would turn something in the order of 60,500 acres into organic land. That's an area around the size of Greater London free of artificial chemical fertilisers in which biodiversity can thrive."
Gill Crane, Communications Manager at the Organic Milk Cooperative, says, “Most people don’t realise how much their diet and especially milk consumption, affects the environment around us. We know that for many years Kate has been a fan of farming practices that make animal welfare and good management of the countryside a priority. She believes that we all have a responsibility to consider the environment when we are at the checkout. We look forward to working with her to convince Britain to Break the Habit and go organic everyday.”
* For a family of 4, consuming 7.3 pints per week the average cost is under 70p a week, switching 4-pint containers.
OMSCo was formed in 1994 when five like-minded
organic dairy farmers joined forces to sell their organic milk. Now with around 500 members, OMSCo is the largest and longest established UK organic milk supplier.