Panorama - Intense dairy farming

I was going to put this in the 'Rural Talk' Forum, but it's actually quite the opposite! (oops just realised I've put it in dog chat not general chat!)

Did anyone see the episode on the supermarkets last night and intense dairy/pig farming?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wyh2f

I was sickened by the idea of new intense dairy farming, modelled on America (!). There was a similar feature on 'Countryfile' not so long ago. The cows live inside, to and from the milking machines, they go round on raised platforms, milked twice a day, backsides hosed down, they NEVER EAT OR GRAZE GRASS! Soon there won't be a single field of grazing cattle left, such a lovely British rural sight

Not to mention the infected drinking water in Lincolnshire when this big monstrosity is built, and all the poor farmers selling up.

The country is going to pot and I'm only 27, it makes me so mad

I for one will be advocating the sale of Organic milk and will never buy a single pint of cheap supermarket milk again. I hope others follow, and it becomes the new 'battery hen' campaign.

Come on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! Do your stuff!

It's so sad the way animals in the dairy industry and the pig industry are treated .
As bad are things are here they are worse for pigs in Europe .
I had to hunt for quite a while the other day in Morrisons to find bacon which was actually produced and slaughtered in Britain . I don't eat it myself as I am so sickened by the way animals are treated I have been veggie for 15 years .
I also use soya milk as much as possible but I am not vegan .

Urgh, oh no, I dread to think...

Well done They showed products from the supermarket with the union jack on that were actually from animals slaughtered in Europe, but "Produced" in England - ie packed!

Over in America they showed all the calves being reared in individual crates and said "they were too small to be allowed in England" but it won't be long before the economics of the country mean we are all subject to meat and dairy products from factory farmed cruelly raised animals.

I've been veggie only about a month now lol but I know there's no going back for me (only took me 27 years ).

Well done you for being veggie .
It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it's great !
Soya milk in cereal in the morning is great too ( especially if you make porrige with it ) Again it takes a bit of getting used to .
Soya milk is really good for you too especially when you get to menopause time

Yes I saw it. I hate those farms we are a small dairy farm, about 80 head in total, 30 of those being milkers the others up and comming milkers. Our cows are out in the feilds most of the year untill the weather is really bad and then they are in, usually for about 2 months till the weather is better. Most of the farms around here are farmed in the same way, although we are the smallest, so most of europe farms the same way as they do in the UK,same rules and regs, its when you go to the non EEC countries that things get bad.
And dont let the organic lable fool you, it doesnt mean that cows are not kept in a mega dairy, that could still be organic, it just depends on what they feed them, and how they treat any illness etc.

Heres how they should be

The problem is people want cheap produce. Post something about fox hunting, or deer culling, and everyone has an opinion, post something about the cost of ethical food, and it attracts much less attention.

I rarely shop at any of the big supermarkets, even though it probably costs me more overall, I prefer to buy at the local shops and support them. We very rarely waste anything either, what we don't eat goes to the dogs. I make a lot of food from scratch, particularly things like stocks, soups, broths, that you can just put on and leave on a low heat or in the slow cooker.

It's a simple choice really, but a lot of people wouldn't live without the convenience of a supermarket.

Hmmmm I switched to cravendale... But don't know where that milk comes from or how the cows are treated.... Research time

Sorry, didn't get to see the program as stuck in hospital with no tv!

Sorry for being so thick...but if they never eat.....?
Will they just be pumped full of crap?

Didnt watch it but meant too so will be sure to watch it on the i player. Just read the speil though.

we do shop at ASDA but make sure to use british meats and free range chicken. It means a lot of label reading but once you know which ones to get it does get easier. Our ASDA does work in partnership with a local shop called greenfield and sell some local produce such as eggs, milk and meats so we get them too. About 8 months ago now though we swapped to getting our milk from the local milk man every couple of days. It costs about £1.50 more a week but thats nothing really.

I really think the way to improve welfare in farming animals and help the british farmer is education. To many city folk dont have any idea where there cheap meat comes from these days.