Helping farmers get out of dairy

As the pandemic continues its grip, experts have pinpointed its origins to intensive animal farming - specifically in Chinese wet markets, but more broadly in factory farms across the world. SARS, Ebola, swine flu, chicken flu: each of the litany of zoonotic disease have similar starting points. As a result, the industry - its impacts on the planet, on animals and on human health - is being scrutinised as never before.

According to “Reducing food’s environmental impact through producers and consumers”, a study published in Science, and helmed by the University of Oxford’s Joseph Poore, meat and dairy use 83% of global farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, while providing just 18% of calories. Loss of wild areas to agriculture is the leading cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife. For an endless supply of bacon butties, the price is too high.

One organisation is seeking an answer that will address all these needs: for agriculture to transition to plant based systems, for farmers’ livelihoods to be maintained; for animal exploitation to end. Refarm’d, brainchild of campaigner Geraldine Starke, is a new plant-based milk subscription service that supports dairy farmers looking to shift away from traditional milk production and convert their farmland - into animal sanctuaries.

The initiative is gaining support. “One of the main barriers to shifting our food system is the perceived threat to the livelihoods of the farmers and rural communities currently dependent on animal farming,” says sustainable food consultant Alexandra Clark. “But the burgeoning plant-based market is an exciting opportunity for farmers, not a threat.”

“I always wanted to create an animal sanctuary,” reflects Geraldine, speaking during lockdown. “But I was never really happy about how they worked. They rely on donations and volunteers and they are limited, in terms of resources and land. I wanted to create a new model that would be self sustainable and scalable, and that could be rolled out across the world, thereby saving many more animals.”

The lightbulb moment came about 18 months ago, when she realised that the perfect sanctuary was an existing, small, independently run farm: “They already have the land, the animals, people who know how to care for the animals,’ she says. “Plus, the animals would be able to live on the land and in the herds they already know.”

The welfare of farming communities sit at the heart of Refarm’d. “For farmers, their farms are often part of a family heritage; part of their identity. They’ve been working there for generations. Each farm has its own stories and it would be hard to give that up. Transitioning gives farmers the chance to keep the farm and continue working with animals.”

Practical questions arose. “So then we thought, how do we turn the farms into sanctuaries? How can we make them self-sustaining, so that farmers earn enough money to cover costs and living expenses without using the animals? That’s when I thought about plant based milk: how dairy farmers could keep their farms and animals and, instead, produce another product.”

Interest in alternatives has soared in recent years - and during lockdown. Global financial services company Czarnikow reported a surge in sales of plant based milks by 476 per cent for the week ending March 14 in the US, compared with just 32 per cent in traditional milk. The company also reported that the planted dairy alternatives industry is estimated to grow from $15.8bn in 2019 to $35.8bn by 2026. Any dairy farmer who doesn’t get on board the plant based train is putting their future at risk.

And transitions - at least for independent, family run farms - can be easy. “Plant based milk doesn’t need a huge set up,” says Geraldine. “We’re not transforming farms into factories of plant based milks.” The small scale, artisanship aspect of the project is key. “These are still going to be handmade goods, fresh - not pasteurised - made at the farms with local organic ingredients and sold only to local customers. We really want to help revive local communities and to give the farmer pride in what he’s doing; to be able to continue saying he's creating a quality product and providing food to people.”

Conversations with interested farmers and ex-farmers (“I wanted to present my ideas and to hear them out, to make sure the idea even made sense”) went well. Today, Refarm’d has three farms that are about to transition - one in the UK and two in Switzerland - and more expressing interest. Farmers come from France, Germany, and in the US; there are others the UK and one in Ireland. Jay Wilde, the dairy farmer who gave his herd of beef cows to the Hillside Animal Sanctuary and whose story featured in the BAFTA award-winning 2018 short 73 Cows, is an early adherent.

The approach is to allow news of the initiative to spread and for farms to approach Refarm’d themselves; some have already made the decision to become sanctuaries but are looking for help and advice. Initial impetus for change is varied. “For most farmers, it’s ethical. They realise they don’t want to take their animals to slaughter any more or they don’t want to separate the mothers and the babies - but they don’t feel they have a choice. They have to pay bills at the end of the month,” says Geraldine. For many years, Jay Wilde fell clearly into this category.

For some, there is a real concern about the future for the industry. And for others, there are still wider concerns: about human health, the impact of animal agriculture and about the most efficient ways to grow food in a devastated environment.

Geraldine works with farmers to create the options that work best for them. “In the UK, for example, oats are a local produce so that’s what we start with. The idea is that we help the farmers to diversify as well so they can look at other types of milk, such as nut, seeds and other crops. Later on, we’d like to start looking at products such as yoghurts and cheese. We’re giving the farmer the space for his own creativity or needs.”

That flexibility is important. Farms may choose, for example, to use the plant based milk project simply to cover costs of keeping the animals rather than as their main focus. A Refarm’d label will simply offer guarantees that the farm creates fresh, organic product, created locally, without the exploitation of animals.

“I’m incredibly excited by Refarm’d,” adds Alexandra, warmly. “It’s a blueprint for the future in farming, one that ensure ensures farmers retain their livelihoods and remain custodians of the land, while producing milk alternatives and caring for their animals. It’s a win-win-win project - which is pretty rare.”