German dairy farmers now on strike

by Shayna Glick, Posted Jun 2nd 2008 @ 3:01PM

Image that captures the moment after a drop was added to a container of milk.

Last week we wrote about the news that Italian pig farmers were going on strike. It turns out that they're not the only ones.

This weekend's New York Times reported that as of last Tuesday dairy farmers in Germany are striking. It's a classic case of supply and demand. The EU decided to raise milk quotas, leading to more supply and lower prices. Meanwhile feed and fuel prices have gone way up, which has put the pinch on German dairy farmers. In response, they're attempting to create demand by striking.

However, as the NYT points out, this situation is a little different than the Italian pig farmers, because these dairy farmers must continue to milk the cows. Because their goal is to keep the milk out of the market, they end up pouring it out, literally dumping food down the drain. It's an unfortunate situation, especially since worldwide there are so many people who are struggling with food shortages and hunger.

[via Serious Eats]

Filed Under: Farming, Newspapers, On the Blogs, Food News, Ingredients
Tags: dairy, dairyfarmers, EU, Germany, milk, NewYorkTimes, SeriousEats