US Dairy Farmers at Odds with Dannon on Sustainability

This week, American dairy product company Dannon came under fire from a number of US farming organisations for its new policy on genetically modified feed.

Dannon recently announced that all its cows will be fed non-GM feed by the end of 2018, which will involve the conversion of an estimated 80,000 acres of farmland to produce non-GM crops, according to the company. Dannon says the move will bring greater transparency and choice to customers.

However, the farming organisations jointly sent a letter to the head of Dannon, saying that sustainability goals cannot be achieved without the use of modern agricultural practices such as GM technology.

Two dairy organisations, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), also spoke out this week against the inclusion of cheese in sodium reduction guidance recently introduced by the Food and Drug Administration.

The guidance aims to help consumers reduce sodium intake through encouraging the food industry to reduce sodium content of food, but the organisations said: “In good faith we cannot agree to the proposed targets when we cannot be assured of technology to achieve those targets within the given time-frames without compromising on product safety and quality.”

In market news, this week’s Global Dairy Trade auction showed an increase in the average price across dairy commodities of 1.4 per cent, continuing the recent positive mood in dairy markets.

Whole Milk Powder prices rose by 2.9 per cent, while Skimmed Milk Powder prices fell by 0.3 per cent. The biggest rise was in lactose, at 5.6 per cent. Butter prices rose by 2.6 per cent.

Pointing to this and other price rises in recent weeks, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) National Dairy Committee Chairman Sean O’Leary has said dairy co-operatives have been too conservative in setting prices recently.