Thursday, 19 October 2023 14:55

U-turn

Written by Milking It

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: The French Government is buckling under the pressure of rising inflation.

Media reports suggest France is urging its farmers to produce more cut-price meat in a major U-turn on factory farming, with inflation hammering demand for organic pork, beef and chicken.

The agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, told a big agro-industry gathering on Tuesday that “we have to admit that we must work on the entry level” end of the market.

“Animal welfare issues only work if we find someone to pay” for high-quality meat, he insisted.

The comments seem to signal a major shift in government thinking after Emmanuel Macron shook France’s powerful intensive farming lobby, soon after coming to power in 2017, by saying it was time to “stop production, whether of poultry or pork, which no longer corresponds to our tastes or needs”.

Only “30% of French people now have the means to pay more for quality”, compared with half the population six years ago, according to one analyst.

More like this

Cuddling cows

OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.

Bikinis in cowshed

OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.

Dairy unity

OPINION: A last-minute compromise ensured that the election of the new Federated Farmers national dairy chair wasn't a repeat of the Super 15 rugby final - Canterbury versus Waikato.

That old chestnut

OPINION: Just as it's healthy for cockies to get out of the shed and off the farm occasionally to get a fresh perspective, Milking It reckons some academics would benefit from spending a few days in the real world.

110,000 visitors!

OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.

Featured

Groundswell ramps up ‘Quit Paris’ campaign across New Zealand

Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.

Nelson farmers face years of recovery after floods

Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.

Federated Farmers reject call to leave Paris Agreement

Federated Farmers is joining major industry-good bodies in not advocating for the Government to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

Big return on a small investment

Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.

$150B farm succession challenge looms for NZ agriculture

Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.

Meyer Cheese invests $3.5 million in state-of-the-art Waikato facility

Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.