The fair milk
The fair milk is a Europe-wide project under the umbrella of the European Milk Board (EMB). The EMB issues licenses for the program to the national participating countries. The partner in Germany is the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers (BDM) . A corresponding product brand was launched in 2010. DFM Vermarktungs GmbH from Grefrath has been the brand owner of fair milk in Germany since the end of 2012 .
The fair milk is a joint project of German dairy farmers , in which certain standards - such as the renunciation of genetic engineering and soy feed from the Third World - are to be adhered to in milk production and at the same time cost-covering prices for the farmers involved are to be guaranteed.
concept
Milk producers who want to be included in the program commit themselves to strict production criteria. These include avoiding genetically modified feed, feeding the animals appropriately and implementing environmental protection measures on the farms. The cows also receive feed with at least 50% grass in the ration. Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in temporary or permanent removal from the program. The dairy farmers forego feed from overseas and implement environmental or animal projects on their farms. Membership in the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers (BDM) is a prerequisite for participation in the program. Furthermore, each participant must invest a defined amount of time in advertising and make a financial start-up contribution. All dairy farmers must run certified family businesses.
The fair milk is also the first conventional milk brand to limit the number of animals kept on the farm. For example, adult animals may no longer be kept on 2.5 per hectare of farm area.
With regard to the price calculation, the concept provides that calculation is carried out 'from the bottom up'. For every liter of milk sold, 40 cents go to the dairy farmers involved in the project. Other expenses, such as filling, packaging, transport and trading margin result in the sales price in the shop.
The fair milk is a long-life milk in the fat levels 1.8% and 3.8% and as a lactose-free variant (1.8%). The milk is bottled by a dairy in Schlüchtern and North Rhine-Westphalia . The milk is available nationwide in various markets and various federal states. Chocolate milk and various types of cheese are also on offer. The cheese is made in a cheese dairy in Bavaria .
Brand identity
The brand communication promotes the term “fair milk” together with a black, red and gold design. This includes the mascot and logo animal "Faironika", a black, red and gold colored cow. In the past, this cow was used as a life-size plastic variant at dairy farmers' demonstrations and became known nationwide.
history
The fair milk was initially launched as a communication concept. From 2010 it should also be established as a product brand. After a long search, a dairy in southern Hesse finally agreed to process and fill the milk. The Upland farmer's dairy in Willingen , Hesse , provided start-up assistance. Rewe and Tegut finally added them to their range. From 2010 the milk was initially available in 300 Tegut and 1200 Rewe branches in the federal states of Bavaria , Baden-Württemberg and Hesse . At the end of 2010, Rewe expanded its range to include North Rhine-Westphalia for a total of around 2000 Rewe branches. According to estimates by the marketing company "Milchvermarktungs-GmbH Süddeutschland (MVS)", which was responsible at the time, the annual volume was 10,000 tons.
On April 1, 2012, the Milcherzeugergemeinschaften (MEG) Abensberg announced 2.5 million kg of milk delivery due to the low revenues at MVS, since less than 20% of the recorded amount could be marketed via Die faire Milch . The requirements for fair milk led to higher production costs for the milk produced on the farms. The farmers, on the other hand, only received the base price. At the beginning of August 2012, the dairy farmers in NRW stopped their deliveries. At the end of 2012, sales at REWE and Tegut were stopped due to legal disputes with the former marketing company MVS. DFM Vermarktungs GmbH (DFM) from Grefrath has been the brand owner of fair milk since the end of 2012 . As of May 2020, around 80 producers are registered as program participants.
Criticism and litigation
Consumer advocates criticized in 2010 that the product was neither regionally nor " fair " made. The competition center sued the Landshut district court because it saw the term “fair milk” as a consumer deception. Only the 25% of the milk that can be sold in the product packaging is rewarded with 40 cents. This means that 75% of the milk delivered would not be remunerated accordingly. The Munich Higher Regional Court ruled on March 1, 2012, Az. 6 U 1738/11 that the milk may continue to be offered under the name “The fair milk”. The decisive factor is that the producers receive 40 cents for every liter of milk that is sold as “The Fair Milk”. This is the case even if this price is not paid for every liter of milk delivered by the farmers. However, the court judged the statement “comes exclusively from farms in your federal state” to be misleading.
Due to pressure from the competition headquarters, the advertising statements regarding the regional origin and the content of omega-3 fatty acids had to be corrected in 2010 .
In its 8/2012 issue, the Ökotest magazine came to the conclusion that "Die faire Milch" was unfair, as the operators did not provide any information about monitoring the payment of the prize, nor whether there was a guaranteed minimum price for the farmers.
Under the marketing of DFM GmbH, such allegations were no longer made against the fair milk.
The fair milk in Europe
The fair milk is currently also offered in Belgium , Luxembourg , France and Italy . The product there has not been listed in the Dutch retail trade since June 2012, after bottling was discontinued due to lack of profitability. The Belgian cooperative Faircoop, marketer of the Fairebel label, has also been offering two fair trade cheeses since April 2015.
In Austria, the farmers' cooperative A faire Milch , founded in 2006, also became a member; the project was discontinued in 2020.
Die faire Milch is also represented in Switzerland. In September 2019, Manor added Die faire Milch to its range.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Faire Milch wants to take off nationwide with a new marketer In: top agrar online. August 3, 2012.
- ↑ Press release: Questions and Answers (PDF; 79 kB) Website Die faire Milch.
- ↑ Website: The fair milk FAQ
- ↑ Portrait: Faironika, the colorful cow In: Frankfurter Rundschau. May 29, 2009.
- ↑ Fair agriculture: restless farmers found their own milk label In: Spiegel online. January 18, 2010.
- ↑ REWE extends the range of fair milk to NRW: range in around 2,000 stores nationwide / 40 cents per liter for dairy farmers . REWE Group press release. September 24, 2010.
- ↑ Milk market: Fair milk in NRW failed In: Elite - magazine for milk producers. 2nd August 2012.
- ↑ Website: The fair milk
- ↑ Consumer protection: How fair is fair milk? In: Frankfurter Rundschau. May 14, 2010.
- ↑ Opinion MVS GmbH on the judgment of the Kompetenzzentrale / "Die faire Milch" ( Memento from July 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Higher Regional Court Munich: judgment of March 1, 2012, Az. 6 U 1738/11 on: openjur.de. March 1, 2012.
- ^ Regional court forbids "Die faire Milch". ( Memento of April 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at: agrarheute.com , April 5, 2011.
- ↑ Fair Trade - Unfair Business. In: ÖKO-TEST. August 2012.
- ↑ http://www.fairmellech.lu/de/unsere-produkte/
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.latteonesto.com
- ↑ The fair milk in 5 EU countries ( Memento from October 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Topagrar
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ website europeanmilkboard.org , accessed October 10, 2018 - A faire Milch is still listed as a member at this time.
- ↑ A: "A faire Milch" ends after 14 years. In: LID.CH Agricultural Information Service. August 3, 2020, accessed on August 17, 2020 .
- ↑ The fair milk. In: faireswiss.ch. Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
- ↑ CHF 1 per liter for dairy farmers. In: schweizerbauer.ch . September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2019 .