We want to say a big thank you to Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty as Friday Night Feast has been a gift that keeps on giving. They took our story of Free Range Dairy Network to a much larger audience and it really caught a spark with viewers who for years have seen our dairy farmers in crisis.
Off the back of the programme and because we were getting so many requests asking where can I buy it, we asked people to write to their supermarkets and ask them to stock free range milk carrying the Pasture Promise logo. Some supermarkets where a bit dismissive of the idea but we’re thrilled to say Asda listened to their customers and from today will be the first major supermarket in the UK to stock it in over 100 stores.
Milk is an important part of the British diet and has been the number one seller from 1965 through to 2015. According to Market Research Company Mintel, milk enjoys universal usage in British homes with 98% of respondents saying they used milk every day in the last three months. There has been some resistance by supermarkets to stock free range milk even though free range eggs are widely available. Asda stocking free range milk is a clear signal that the Pasture Promise logo has the potential to become widely recognised as a symbol of great tasting milk that delivers a fair deal for farmers and cows.
A YouGov poll by World Animal Protection found that 87% of respondents want to buy free range milk which came from cows that graze on pasture and gives farmers a good price for their milk. 56% would buy it even if it cost more. 86% of UK adults agree that dairy cows in the UK should be able to graze on pasture (i.e. allowed to graze outdoors in fields) and should not be permanently housed indoors.
Asda will stock the brand Free Range Dairy Farmers milk carrying the Pasture Promise logo in stores from March 1st 2017. This is an exciting time for cows, farmers and consumers. By buying Free Range Dairy farmers milk customers of Asda are making a clear commitment to keeping cows in fields and support pasture based dairy farmers in the UK.
You can read more about this news story in the Guardian.