Waleed Aly Wants You To Eat More Cheese In This Huge Call To Arms For Local Dairy Farmers
"If our politicians won't stop our farmers from getting milked dry, maybe the rest of us can?"
Being a farmer in Australia has never been easy. We live in what’s essentially a drought-stricken dirt patch. The economic stress this can bring when coupled with isolation and a culture of silence on mental health issues can often result in depression. And, to make matters worse, we’re always trying to marry them off on bad reality TV.
Pictured: true love.
But, over the past couple of weeks, things have become decidedly worse for dairy farmers. In a decision which has left them rightfully panicked, dairy giants Murray Goulburn and Fonterra have announced they’ll be slashing the price they pay for local milk. Where farmers were once paid 42 cents for every litre of milk they make, they’ll now get around 37 cents — which is a very big deal considering it takes them 38 cents to make. Worse than that: the companies’ decisions stand for the entire financial year, which means that these farmers now retroactively owe them more than $100,000 from the past nine months.
This is the dilemma explained by Waleed Aly on The Project last night. In one of his ‘Something We Need To Talk About’ editorials, co-written with the show’s producer Tom Whitty, Aly ran through the logistics of the cuts, the devastating effects which have led some farmers contemplating suicide, and ultimately reasoned what we can do about it. After being posted online during last night’s show, the clip has more than 1.4 million views.
“Farmers have told us the best way to lend them a hand is to pay an extra few cents for Australian-produced brand name milk,” he said. “It really will help our farmers stay afloat. Also, and this might be the greatest call to arms I’ve ever made: eat more cheese! Dairy farmers are begging us to eat more locally-produced cheese, and the good news is, we know (thanks to figures released last week by the Bureau of Statistics) that nine out of ten of us aren’t eating enough dairy products to meet the dietary guidelines.”
It should be noted there are other solutions being sought. Fonterra has dramatically raised their price for the remainder of this financial year to help out with the farmers’ retrospective debt — but considering there’s only about a month left, it doesn’t sound too helpful. Coles are also introducing a more expensive home-brand milk with the extra profit going into an independent dairy industry fund — but those in the industry have questioned where that money will actually go and encouraged consumers to buy local branded goods instead.
There’s also the possibility of a milk levy. Farmers are petitioning the government to increase the floor price of milk to 50c a litre so they can get back on their feet — but it’s looking doubtful how much attention this will be given in the middle of an election campaign. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has started meeting with farmers now but refuses to confirm if any assistance will be given.
“I don’t believe Australians, knowing everything I’ve just told you, would have the attitude that there’s no point buying the cow, when you get the milk for free,” Aly said. “The truth is, our farmers have been let down and they are desperate, and if our politicians won’t stop our farmers from getting milked dry, maybe the rest of us can?”
There’s never been a better reason to eat cheese.