Eating Grass Turns A Cow's Milk Green
UK - Most school children know that milk is white, but what colour would it be if cows ate grass? Surprising new research from Dairy Farmers of Britain reveals that almost one in ten eight to 15 year olds believe that if a cow ate grass, the milk it produced would no longer be white (8%), more than one in three of these believing that it would, in fact, be green (38%).
20 July 2007
2 minute read
As part of its Grass is Greener campaign, which aims to raise awareness of a growing disconnection between children and their food, Dairy Farmers of Britain asked a GB representative sample of 1,000 children aged eight to 15, the simple question: If cows ate grass, what colour would their milk be? Whilst the majority (92%) answered correctly, there were alarming levels of confusion amongst some children.
"Awareness of how food is produced is key to both the future health of children and also the future of farming across the UK."
Philip Gibson, Head of Corporate Affairs for Dairy Farmers of Britain.
- Girls struggled more than boys to identify the correct colour of cows’ milk. Nine per cent of girls did not think that the milk from a cow which ate grass would be white, compared to seven per cent of boys.
- Children in Yorkshire and Humberside were the most likely to discount white as the colour of cows’ milk (15%) and to think that it would turn green if the cow ate grass (7% compared to 3% nationally).
- Children in London were the most confused as to the colour of a grass-eating cow’s milk, five per cent saying that they did not know what colour it would be and a further three per cent thinking that it would be brown.
- Scottish kids were also confused, 12 per cent thinking that a diet of grass would make cows’ milk change colour, one in twenty choosing brown (3%) or green (3%) as the new colour for milk.
- Whilst, by the age of 15, few children were unable to answer the question correctly (2%), 12 year olds were the least clued up, one in ten failing to give the correct answer (11%).
- Perhaps most surprising is that three per cent of children living in rural areas think that cows do not eat grass.
Philip Gibson, Head of Corporate Affairs for Dairy Farmers of Britain, commented: “Whilst this research started out as a bit of fun, revealing the imagination of young children, there is a serious message behind the results. Our previous research has shown an increasing disconnection between children’s understanding of their food and where it comes from. Awareness of how food is produced is key to both the future health of children and also the future of farming across the UK. Dairy Farmers of Britain prides itself in making good food accessible to everyone and believe that it is important that people recognise the benefits of eating honest, locally produced foods.”
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