Agri Aware and the National Dairy Council (NDC) have teamed up to launch the ‘Legen-Dairy’ campaign, which aims to debunk the common myths characterising dairy consumption and the Irish dairy industry.
The Legen-Dairy initiative will target young adults between the ages of 17-24, particularly third-level students, who campaign organisers are inviting to engage in their survey which seeks to reveal young people’s perceptions of dairy.
The organisations involved have said that the survey results will help guide their understanding of this age cohort’s attitudes towards dairy and its role in their diet.
Participation will also be rewarded, as respondents will be entered into a competition to win a ski trip for two in the new year, upon completion of the survey, which is open for submissions up until December 20.
Legen-Dairy
Speaking at the launch of the Legen-Dairy campaign at University College Dublin’s Student Centre on Monday, December 2, Agri Aware executive director, Marcus O’Halloran said:
“This campaign is extremely important and the information that Agri Aware and the NDC will be able to find out from the target age demographic on their knowledge of Irish dairy and consumption will be critical.
“Both organisations advocate on behalf of dairy farmers and campaigns like the Legen-Dairy initiative are another step towards enhancing Irish dairy literacy among students in the 17-24 years of age bracket.
“These young consumers need to know the facts about Irish dairy and the importance of it to the economy, the environment and of course for their health.
“I’d encourage every third-level student across the country to get involved, fill out the survey and who knows, you could be the lucky person who wins the fantastic prize on offer.”
Common myths identified by the NDC, with hopes of dispelling during the course of this campaign include:
- “Dairy is fattening”;
- “Humans should not consume milk after weaning”;
- “Cutting out dairy is fine if you take a calcium supplement”;
- “Non-dairy alternative drinks are as nutritious as cow’s milk”;
- “Cutting out dairy reduces your cancer risk”;
- “People with skin conditions, such as eczema or acne, should avoid dairy”;
- “Milk contains antibiotics”;
- “Milk contains artificial hormones”;
- “Irish dairy cows endure poor animal welfare”;
- “Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy are destroying the planet”.
Young adults have been identified as a demographic prone to the influence of misconceptions surrounding dairy consumption, due to being privy to conflicting opinions on the matter which circulate on social media.
Mark Keller of the NDC added: “Young people are bombarded with so many messages across multiple platforms to do with their diet and wellbeing. Sometimes it can be hard to weed through the noise to get meaningful facts.
“We really want to educate young people at third level on the importance of a balanced diet while dispelling some of the myths around dairy consumption and its links to living a healthy active life, not to mention its critical role in the socio-economic health or our economy and local communities.”