Synopsis
There were many reasons why the Sanlu milk crisis occurred. Between 2000 and 2007, China’s dairy consumption increased an average of 23% per year. This large increase put pressure on the dairy industry, which was having difficult time meeting consumer demand. The shortage of raw dairy product prompted many companies to source from dairy farmers without properly conducting due diligence and fully vetting their operations. Also, the cost structure of the dairy industry and lack of government regulations incentivized dairy farmers to dilute their milk so they could sell more of their product. The dairy industry adopted a crude protein test as a quality control measure; however, many dairy farmers were able to cheat this test by
…show more content…
This incentivized the dairy farmers to find ways to stretch their product further and increase margins. Dairy farmers must be properly compensated for their product if the quality of the milk is to be maintained.
The dairy industry must also do a better job at ensuring the quality of the product it receives from its milk providers. Obviously the dairy farmers found a way to get around the protein test. The dairy companies should instead follow the lead of their French and Australian counterparts and conduct a true protein test prior to payment. This would eliminate the ability of the dairy farmers to cheat the test as they had in the past.
The government also has a responsibility to fix this issue the dairy industry is facing. The government failed to adequately monitor the quality of the milk being sold by dairy companies. The Chinese government knew as early as 2004 that there was an issue with the milk supply when the “big head disease” occurred yet there was little government action to determine the scope of this problem. The government should have regulations the dairy industry must meet to protect its citizens, similar to what is prevalent in developed countries today.
Conclusion
In order to regain consumer confidence and prevent another dairy crisis from occurring, there are many issues the dairy industry along with the Chinese government need to resolve. Key to ensuring this crisis does not occur in the future is
Dairy farmers should make sure their businesses are in the right shape to seize the opportunities
The Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation, run by general manager John Meek, aims to improve the efficiency and profitability of dairy farming through an accurate, rapid, and cost effective milk testing service. Milk testing is an essential herd management component for all dairy processors as it measures the amount, quality and contents of the dairy products. Supply management agencies limit milk production; thus, profit is maximized through acquiring premiums from quality dairy with high levels of protein and butter fat as opposed to mass production and distribution. The dairy herd is the largest source of revenue for farmers, data from milk testing helps maximize milk production as farmers
In 1990, there were over 9300 dairy farms in Ontario housing almost 450,000 cows. The farm-gate value of milk produced exceeded 1.3 billion dollars. At the retail level, dairy product sales in Ontario exceeded 4 billion dollars. The number of dairy herds in Ontario on a milk-testing program had declined from about 7100 in 1985 to 6000 in 1990. Moreover, a continued decrease was projected.
During the Cold War, the Soviets were trying to spread communism throughout Europe and Asia by exalting its achievements, and undermining democracy. Part of their approach was by launching ‘Hate-America’ propaganda. “As the Cold War intensified, the Truman administration launched an aggressive “Campaign of Truth” […] to counter the Soviet Union propaganda machine (Ubah, 2012).” The Campaign of Truth was created to help convince the world that the United States has “no purpose of going to war, except in the defense of freedom. (Vaccaro, 1950)” Truman encouraged the media to show the world that the United States was ‘wholly dedicated to the cause of peace (Vaccaro,
Pasteurization was made a requirement in the 1920s with the hopes that it would combat tuberculosis, infant stomach problems, and other diseases that were a result of poor nutrition for the animal producing it as well as unclean production methods. That may have been a legitimate decision in the 1920s but with modern day farming systems, including stainless steel tanks, milking machines, and refrigeration, the need for a law banning raw milk is no longer necessary. Pasteurization has actually been linked to causing more extreme cases of asthma as well as an increase in heart disease and even cancer. These diseases were almost non-existent in the past but once pasteurization became a requirement the numbers skyrocketed. The pasteurization process
Dairy Farmers was established in 1900 (Dairy Farmers, 2006a). It is one of Australia’s oldest food and beverage companies. It is presently headquartered in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It is also the owner of the popular and award winning OAK brand name. According to company reports, it was originally assigned the responsibility of ensuring the freshness and quality of farmers’ produce when they reached city markets and consumers (Dairy Farmers, 2006a). However, it has grown over the years to become a major and dominant player in Australia, with a turnover of over 1.3 Australian dollars. The company obtains its milk from its own cooperative, made up of thousands of dairy farmers. These farmers are shareholders of the company. Dairy farmers also supplies both fresh and processed products the local as well as export markets. The company is reputed for its product excellence, having won a tall list of awards during its existence. In the words of the company it is “committed to using only the best and freshest ingredients, and to providing our customers with
The government has put a limit on the amount of milk powder that can be purchased by Chinese who travel to Hong Kong. The People’s Daily, the official publication of the Communist Party, said in a commentary that since 2008, foreign milk powder companies had increased their prices in China by around 30 percent (Edward, 2013). Foreign milk powder has 60 percent of the market share in China compared with 30 percent before 2008, the commentary said (Edward, 2013). Since August 2008 when the enactment of the antimonopoly law the Chinese government have really been going against foreign companies for antitrust
* Considering the nature and storage limitation of milk the consumer attitude towards milk was wobbly and strong reasons to change the attitude were required.
Milk and dairy products are in great abundance throughout the state of California, and is a constant stream of revenue for the state. Therefore, the CDFA sees it fit to make sure that all of the dairy and milk that is produced locally is safe for consumption and that it will live up to a certain standard set by the department. As described in the mission statement from the CDFA, “The Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch (MDFS) is charged with the mission and responsibility of ensuring that California's milk, milk products, and products resembling milk products are safe and wholesome, meet microbial and compositional requirements and are properly labeled.” (cdfa.org) As milk and dairy is also a big staple of interstate commerce, it must be adequately prepared even when conditions are less than ideal. A big example of this is seen when we examine the effects that the long drought has had on the crop. Some farmers from outside of the state have even tried to persuade California farmers into moving. As CNBC states in an article, "Increasingly every year, there are more states showing up at the World Ag Expo to entice California dairies to move to their states, and they're finding a receptive audience.” (Daniels) The promise of a stable water supply and the chance to be more competitive in a smaller state is apparently attractive to some farmers, and they seem to be weighing up their options. Without sufficient
Based on the initial declaration of findings from the Conference Board of Canada analysis of supply management, consumers are highly affected by the system as dairy prices in Canada are
Canada 's dairy sector operates under a supply management system based on planned domestic production, supervised pricing and strict controls on dairy product imports. The system was adopted for industrial milk in the early 1970s to address the unstable prices, uncertain supplies and fluctuating producers and processor revenues which were common in the 1950s and 1960s. By enforcing this system, farmers attempt to strike the most accurate balance between supply and demand of dairy products (Canadian Dairy Commission, 2010).
Unsanitary equipment and bad practice can result in bacterial contamination affecting thousands of consumers. ‘Hook and Son’ do weekly coliform, pathogen and TVC checks on raw butter to ensure safe consumption. Chemical properties of milk and the hygienic processing directly impact the profit margin and quality of the product. The price of butter is fairly stable, however, slight change is usually caused by the amount of butter produced, stock in storage, imported and sold. Dairy farms have increased in herd size dramatically since 2002 from 40 to over 150, however, labour costs have decreased from 18pence/ litre (ppl) to under 4ppl drastically impacting the economic stability of the business as the price of purchasing milk has stayed stable, available and affordable. Butter quality affects the cost and also coincidently alter the demand which results in a more cheap supply of butter, better quality that’s more expensive, and the higher the demand resulting in higher prices. The main political factor that has recently
For many years now humans have been deceived that cow’s milk will provide many health benefits.
The other thing that we should consider before using dairy products is from the ethical point of view. Drinking cow’s milk or consuming any dairy product is equal to torturing thousands of cows, due to changing their nature and way of living in order to make them useable for ourselves. It has become evident that milk is not the only source and product that we can reach vitamins, proteins and calcium from, in fact there are many natural and healthy products that we can reach out those factors that we are looking for it in milk, for instance fruits. Contrary to common belief, people should stop consuming milk because it is unhealthy, unnatural and unethical.
Why did it decide to enter with UHT milk, which was a relatively new concept for the milk consumers in Bangladesh?