The farming industry in Britain is set to hit back against the vegan lobby.
It has earmarked £1.2 million for a marketing campaign to counter attacks from vegan activists who claim the industry is cruel to animals.
The campaign will be led by Dairy UK and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board in the UK.
Dairy UK chief executive Judith Bryans said: “This gives us a great opportunity to re-establish our credentials and celebrate dairy.”
Farming has grown weary of the constant attacks from the animal rights and vegan lobby and the move heralds the start of a propaganda war.
The dairy industry decided to go ahead with the campaign after a series of attacks from an increasingly vocal vegan lobby.
On August 22, thousands of protesters marched in London to protest the first World Plant Milk Day.
It was followed by a vegan push convincing people that the milk is produced inhumanely.
The organisation Go Vegan World was also accused of misleading the audience by painting a horrifying picture of calves being taken from their mothers.
The portrayal drew complaints from the dairy industry that it painted an inaccurate and misleading picture.
Now the sector is ready to defend its trade and portray a fair and accurate picture of the dairy industry.
The move comes as farmers and dairy farmers in particular have grown increasingly frustrated by the damaging impact of the animal rights and vegan lobbies.
The vast majority of dairy farm businesses in the UK are tired of milk being portrayed as an unhealthy option.
What used to be seen as the healthiest of food choices has in recent years been demonised by some dieticians and by vegans.
They have repeatedly raised their concerns across the media that some individual health issues can be related to consuming dairy products.
Phrases such as lactose intolerance and dairy allergies have become part of the language.
But the public debate has helped damage the dairy industry.
There are now fewer than 9,500 dairy farms in the UK compared with 13,000 10 years ago, and it has been predicted there will be fewer than 5,000 by 2025.
Low milk prices threaten the livelihoods of dairy farming families and, with it, rural communities.
Farmers have been fighting back in their blogs and tweets which are dominated by comments about the damage the vegan debate is causing.
Many feel it is time to hit out agains the negative portrayal of the industry being orchestrated by the activists.
The announcement by Dairy UK that enough is enough is in some part a response to the unease and a groundswell of feeling that the powerful vegan lobby has it all its own way for too long.
