Speciality-Food-Magazine-March-2025

specialityfoodmagazine.com 35 importance and engaging with them across all functions to share our vision and progress is key.” Approaching the task at hand with eyes wide open is key to making meaningful change. “We know that our farms are the largest contributor to our carbon footprint and focus has been on these since before 2020,” says Annabel. “Our average carbon dioxide emission per kilo of fat and protein corrected milk (CO2/kG FPCM) is lower than the UK average and almost half of the global average whichmeans our farms are already working to high standards. This in turn has made our goal of reducing our emission per tonne of product produced by 30% by 2032 a more difficult challenge as those quick wins and low hanging fruits have already been completed. We are keeping abreast of technologies to see howwe can further support our farmers in hitting this target.” Conscious production “At Tom Parker Creamery, our commitment to sustainability starts in the field and runs all the way through the supply chain to the consumer’s fridge,” begins Rob Yates, CEO. “We are committed to using only free-range, whole milk and natural ingredients to ensure that both our flavoured and functional milk products and our creams are clean label, nutritious and wholesome.” Supporting British farmers has been in the headlines for years, seeing a big boost during the Covid- 19 pandemic, so customers keen to support the domestic dairy industry while enjoying a quality treat will be satisfied. “We source our whole milk from local family farms, and it is minimally processed on site, meaning it’s simply pasteurised and homogenised, never standardised so nothing is skimmed off,” says Rob. “And, any ingredients added, such as fruit purees, cacao or coffee, are completely natural and of the highest quality.” The lives of the animals whose milk and meat we consume is becoming increasingly recognised – withmany consumers opting to step away from that resulting from intensive farming – and producers are working towards satisying that demand. “We work closely with our farmers to ensure our cows are kept in the best possible conditions. This means prioritizing pasture-fed cows, grazing freely in natural pastures,” says Rob. “We play music to them when they come in for milk, install brushes and salt licks, and make sure there are communal areas so that they can hang out together indoors. Each cow also has an individual, well bedded cubicle to lie down in, as they spend around 14 hours a day lying down resting and ruminating. We believe all of this means they make better-tasting, better-quality milk.” Of course, it’s not just farming practices that come into question when discussing sustainability – packaging is of vital importance, too. “The finished products are packaged in fully recyclable, resealable glass bottles with paper labels to ensure our supply chain is completely plastic-free. “This clean label, minimal processing approach is part of our heritage, evoking the tradition of our founder Tom Parker’s original milk deliveries – delivering free-range milk from grass-fed herds in glass bottles. And it speaks to today’s consumer who is looking for healthy alternatives to ultra-processed food and drink that is good for them and good for the planet.” Going above and beyond Cornwall-based Trewithen Dairy has sustainability at its heart. “Sustainability is at the very heart of Trewithen Dairy,” says Francis Clarke, chief procurement officer at Trewithen Dairy. “As a family- run business in Cornwall, we take our responsibility to the land, our farmers, and our community seriously. Over 75% of our carbon footprint comes from farming, so we work closely with our 45 local dairy farmers to implement and support regenerative and sustainable practices.” “Consumers are driving change,” says Francis, “demanding more transparency, sustainability labels, and verified carbon reductions. At Trewithen we believe regenerative dairy farming is the future and key to creating a thriving, nature-friendly food system.” The business has taken steps to ensure that its standards go above and beyond the established levels to ensure optimum sustainability. Farming with nature rather than against it helps create biodiverse, productive farms that are better for cows, farmers, and the environment