Here in Australia we have had an outcry about cheap milk – the big grocery stores have been selling milk for $1 to get people into the store so that then they will do the rest of their shopping there. Without going into great detail because that’s not the point of this post, it came to the knowledge of the population that the farmers were doing it bloody hard financially that they were essentially working for nothing. I mean, why is bottle of milk cheaper than water?
And then we saw humanity at its best.
What I wanted to say is that I love it how you started to see the photos of empty shelves in the fridge department with all the branded milk gone and only the cheap milk left, I loved how Australia got behind these farmers who are doing it so bloody tough and started buying branded milk because they knew that is what had to be done for the farmers to actually earn some money but be able to renegotiate their contracts.
If nothing else, I hope that these dairy farmers saw this, they saw that when we were told how tough things were for them, that pretty well the entire country got behind them, and while they might not financially see much of a difference at the moment, it must be so uplifting for them to see that others care. Those people that live in the city and have no idea of what it’s like to be a farmer of any kind, doing the little bit that they could to try and support them.
Bloody brilliant.
Just remember, every cheap veggie that you buy, cheap milk etc is a farmer being screwed over. Support your local farmers market, if you have one. Support the small fruit and veggie shops that are slowly disappearing because of the big supermarkets. Support the little mum and dad shops wherever you can, not just for food but gifts as well. We get our fruit and veggies from a guy that has a stall selling organic fruit and vegetables in the Newcastle Mall and if I can’t get it from him I go to another shop up the road and if he hasn’t got what I need only then will I go to the supermarket for our fresh food. I always scour the local shops and markets (love the Olive tree markets) when it’s someone’s birthday or Christmas before heading to a bigger centre.
Small business does it tough, no matter where in the world you may live, do your best to support them wherever you can – chat to them, get to know them, ask how they are going, show you care.
Don’t make this buying labelled milk a one off thing, keep it going, continue to be humanity at its best, I know as some people are in tough financial circumstances themselves that it’s not always easy to do. But even if you’re buying handmade crafts for gifts, you’re supporting someone local who is trying to have a go and I think that is brilliant.