Happy Cows and Happy Consumers
Do you know where your food comes from? The kitchen is the wrong answer. Where does the milk in cartons come from? Are they imported? Or do they come from our own cows? Is it even cow milk?
Fonterra's Anchor New Dale recently organized a factory tour for all those interested in seeing the place. Of course, one couldn't just walk in and they made sure the visitors respected the regulations and procedures followed in the premises. After a brief explanation about the company, and their many products, we all enjoyed a cup of set yogurt. Here I learnt that I was in an odd minority. According to Anchor, most Sri Lankans eat and prefer set yogurt. This of course explains why stirred yogurt is difficult to find.
Anyway, the factory tour then started. While Fonterra boasted about the machines used to mix and pack milk and other products using very little man power, it also reminded us that soon enough, the machines will take over. We have become so lazy, so unwilling to actually work, and so, by the time the tour ended, we were tired and ready for rest.
And even though we see how far technology has been developed every single day, the speed of the machines and how intelligently they have been designed surprised us all. While we struggled over typing 140 characters, adding hashtags where necessary and posting it, a machine would have already boxed ten packets of milk powder. And looking at the storage rooms, box after box of food items, you wondered if an island as small as ours demanded so much. Think about it; how much milk, yogurt and ice cream can one consume?
Yet, the shelves are often empty of such products. We complain about the high prices, and yet, we don't stop buying such products. Fonterra is just one company, and there are many more. They may not produce at such a great scale, and yet, there is so much being put out to the market. So there are many people who depend on pasteurized milk, yogurt, milk packets and ice cream. The flavors are a many and they keep introducing new products at a regular basis. Do we really need all this milk in our system? And why are we not drinking more fresh milk?
Now during the factory visit, we were told that yogurt is made of fresh milk, collected in Sri Lanka. They make millions of cups a months, and for now, we have enough milk. However, they plan on putting up more farms, and encourage farmers to collect more milk, by feeding cows more grass and following good storing methods.
However, the question is, will companies like Fonterra, which aren't local companies, use milk collected here to sell as fresh milk or even powdered milk? When asked why we drink more powdered milk than fresh milk, the only answer was that powdered milk could be stored for longer. Why are we turning into a people who prefer the canned and tinned goods than fresh goods?
And finally, the biggest question everyone had; the DCD issue. Late March or early April this year was a bad time for certain companies. Newspapers had a field day questioning Fonterra and stressing on their lack of a sound response. DCD was found in milk imported from New Zealand, which led to many questions about what DCD was and how harmful it is. No matter how little DCD is found in milk, and no matter how lacking the world is in studies about the effects of DCD, nothing but milk should be found in powdered milk.
What really struck me was something told by a Fonterra staff member. According to her, no traces of DCD were found in the tests done by Fonterra. However, the tests done in Sri Lanka, by local institutions found traces of DCD in Fonterra products. For them, this meant that the low standard tests done by the SL government gave false results. Yet, what would you and I believe; the absence of DCD because it is 'proven' by a test done by the accused, or the presence of DCD because it is 'proven' by a test done by the government of the consumers?
Anchor, through the factory tour, attempted to clear the misunderstandings and doubts. They of course, did a great job of convincing us that the machines made very few errors, and that the factory and storage rooms were clean. They did a good job of putting on a straight face and saying they have nothing to be afraid of.
Whether its milk or rice or chocolate, we must always be aware of what we consume. Where does the food come from? How are they packed and stored? Do they, in any way, contain harmful substances?
Sure, happy cows produce more milk. Yet, if this milk is unhealthy or harmful, the consumers will not be happy.
Fonterra's Anchor New Dale recently organized a factory tour for all those interested in seeing the place. Of course, one couldn't just walk in and they made sure the visitors respected the regulations and procedures followed in the premises. After a brief explanation about the company, and their many products, we all enjoyed a cup of set yogurt. Here I learnt that I was in an odd minority. According to Anchor, most Sri Lankans eat and prefer set yogurt. This of course explains why stirred yogurt is difficult to find.
Anyway, the factory tour then started. While Fonterra boasted about the machines used to mix and pack milk and other products using very little man power, it also reminded us that soon enough, the machines will take over. We have become so lazy, so unwilling to actually work, and so, by the time the tour ended, we were tired and ready for rest.
And even though we see how far technology has been developed every single day, the speed of the machines and how intelligently they have been designed surprised us all. While we struggled over typing 140 characters, adding hashtags where necessary and posting it, a machine would have already boxed ten packets of milk powder. And looking at the storage rooms, box after box of food items, you wondered if an island as small as ours demanded so much. Think about it; how much milk, yogurt and ice cream can one consume?
Yet, the shelves are often empty of such products. We complain about the high prices, and yet, we don't stop buying such products. Fonterra is just one company, and there are many more. They may not produce at such a great scale, and yet, there is so much being put out to the market. So there are many people who depend on pasteurized milk, yogurt, milk packets and ice cream. The flavors are a many and they keep introducing new products at a regular basis. Do we really need all this milk in our system? And why are we not drinking more fresh milk?
Now during the factory visit, we were told that yogurt is made of fresh milk, collected in Sri Lanka. They make millions of cups a months, and for now, we have enough milk. However, they plan on putting up more farms, and encourage farmers to collect more milk, by feeding cows more grass and following good storing methods.
However, the question is, will companies like Fonterra, which aren't local companies, use milk collected here to sell as fresh milk or even powdered milk? When asked why we drink more powdered milk than fresh milk, the only answer was that powdered milk could be stored for longer. Why are we turning into a people who prefer the canned and tinned goods than fresh goods?
And finally, the biggest question everyone had; the DCD issue. Late March or early April this year was a bad time for certain companies. Newspapers had a field day questioning Fonterra and stressing on their lack of a sound response. DCD was found in milk imported from New Zealand, which led to many questions about what DCD was and how harmful it is. No matter how little DCD is found in milk, and no matter how lacking the world is in studies about the effects of DCD, nothing but milk should be found in powdered milk.
What really struck me was something told by a Fonterra staff member. According to her, no traces of DCD were found in the tests done by Fonterra. However, the tests done in Sri Lanka, by local institutions found traces of DCD in Fonterra products. For them, this meant that the low standard tests done by the SL government gave false results. Yet, what would you and I believe; the absence of DCD because it is 'proven' by a test done by the accused, or the presence of DCD because it is 'proven' by a test done by the government of the consumers?
Anchor, through the factory tour, attempted to clear the misunderstandings and doubts. They of course, did a great job of convincing us that the machines made very few errors, and that the factory and storage rooms were clean. They did a good job of putting on a straight face and saying they have nothing to be afraid of.
Whether its milk or rice or chocolate, we must always be aware of what we consume. Where does the food come from? How are they packed and stored? Do they, in any way, contain harmful substances?
Sure, happy cows produce more milk. Yet, if this milk is unhealthy or harmful, the consumers will not be happy.
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