Tag: milk

Cameron flip-flops on cutting-off milk for schoolkids so fast his ministers can’t catch up!

Leave a comment


Please, please, tell him to let go of my cojones, now!
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

Coalition plans to remove free milk for the under-fives were summarily dropped by David Cameron today amid fears it would remind voters of the “Thatcher milk snatcher” episode of the 1970s.

Cameron moved so quickly that David Willetts, the higher education minister, was on live television defending the idea of removing free milk when the prime minister announced the U-turn, leaving broadcasters to tell Willetts of the change.

The idea of removing free milk had been the brainchild of the junior health minister, Anne Milton, who today received the full backing of both the prime minister and the health secretary. The government expected opposition to the measure from the media, parents, nurseries, childminders and the dairy sector…

However, she added: “This should not prevent us from ending an ineffective universal measure – and this would clearly be the best time to do it, given the state of public finances and the need to make savings…”

But even as the minister spoke, Downing Street was making clear to reporters that the idea would not be going ahead.

When this information was conveyed to Willetts on-screen, he replied: “We have to look at a whole range of options. Of course they have to be looked at on their merits.”

He added: “We have an endless process of assessing options. Of course, it is inevitable that if you go through those decisions some options go ahead and others don’t. That is how decisions are taken.”

Couldn’t find any video, yet, of Willett changing horses in mid-stream. Should be hilarious.

Scottish family stunned by wee, sleekit, timorous bureaucrats

Leave a comment


Runaway, runaway!

The farmers at the centre of a major row over the illegal sale of meat from cloned cows are “totally” flabbergasted by the controversy.

Dulsie Innes, the wife of Callum Innes, who runs a large herd of Holstein cattle near Nairn in north-east Scotland, confirmed the family had bought two bulls bred from a cloned cow in February 2008 and were aware they came from a clone.

But she insisted they had fully complied with all the regulations. Both were given their animal “passports” under European food safety and traceability regulations, while all the calves they produced had been registered as pedigrees with the breeders organisation Holstein UK…

It is believed the two bulls have sired 96 pedigree calves for their herd, which is Scotland’s largest herd of Holstein cattle. One of the bulls was slaughtered last year and its meat sold to the public…The Food Standards Agency claims this breaches food safety laws – a ruling disputed by the European Commission – and last week the agency blocked the sale of meat from the second bull, which had just been slaughtered…

Asked if the family was shocked by the row, she said: “Totally, yes.”

Witness stupidity moving beyond ignorance.

Let me put it simply enough for the least competent Luddite out there to understand:

Take some beef – or milk – coming from cattle of similar stock absent any cloning in their lineage. Then, take some beef – or milk – from the Innes cattle and compare the products with any scientific test you desire.

Run it as a double blind so the panic-stricken bureaucrats cannot know which is which – and they will not be able to determine any difference. It doesn’t matter of it’s analyzed or barbecued, dissected down to the meat molecules or grilled over chunk charcoal – you ain’t going to be able to detect any difference.

Cripes! And stay off my lawn.

Oh, the anticipation – for a sweet, fizzy, milky ‘vibrancy’ drink!

Leave a comment

vio

It may not quite sound the real thing but consumers are being asked to decide whether milk goes better with sparkling water, cane sugar and fruit flavouring.

Coca-Cola is trialling a new carbonated “vibrancy” drink and it will depend on Americans’ tastebuds whether other countries experience what the company claims is “a refreshing sensory experience“.

The soft drinks giant has so far launched its new Vio products only in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, but milk-based products are popular in Asian markets such as Hong Kong and Japan.

The new offering, which has “a hint” of skimmed milk, comes in four flavours – citrus burst, peach mango, tropical colada and very berry – and is being sold in 8oz aluminium bottles for $2.50.

Is it pronounced “Vaio”?

China sets maximum permissible levels of melamine in milk

1 Comment


Milking station – Hohhot, Inner Mongolia
AFP/Getty Images

The Chinese Health Ministry announced new limits set by the government on the amount of the industrial chemical melamine to be permitted in dairy products, but it refused to provide updated statistics on the number of people who have died or fallen ill from ingesting melamine-tainted dairy products.

The announcement of the new limits is the latest move by the government to try to rebuild consumer confidence after it was revealed last month that at least three babies had died and 53,000 children had fallen ill from drinking milk products tainted with melamine.

Government officials say the melamine was added to milk products by suppliers to artificially boost protein count in milk that had been diluted. Babies and children who regularly drink the tainted milk can develop kidney stones after several months.

I’ve followed this cautionary tale from the outset and the history is what you might expect in a developing nation. Unscrupulous vendors add melamine to raw milk to be sold to producers of milk-based products at higher prices. There’s always some greedy bastard ready to make a buck at the expense of consumers.

Continue reading →

Milk-in-mail protest targets EU chief

Leave a comment


Reuters Pictures

The EU’s top farm official is begging German farmers to stop mailing her milk.

Farmers have bombarded Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel with some 10,000 liters of milk to show their anger over an EU proposal to increase milk quotas that may cause prices to fall.

Most of the milk — sent by regular mail and addressed to Fischer Boel — had spoiled in transit, and some of the cartons had burst open.

Fischer Boel pleaded with farmers in a message on her blog Monday to stop sending milk, saying she was happy to talk to them directly to find a solution to their grievances.

Reminds me of opposition to the U.S. military draft during the VietNam War – when the Feds were still putting out postage-paid forms to register for the draft at every post office.

Some folks would wrap a brick and attach one of the postage guaranteed cards. Mail them to the Federal Draft Board.