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12 OCTOBER 2001 ------------------------- NZBUTTER AD UNDERMINES IMAGE OF BRITISH FARMING By Alistair Driver THE company behind a £2m advertising campaign for imported butter says it cannot
understand why British farmers are upset by its billboards. Adverts for Anchor butter from New Zealand, show cows grazing in an idyllic rural setting. One caption says: "Modern farming?
We are 75 years behind, thank goodness." Another carries the line: "Call us old-fashioned, but shouldnt cows eat grass?" A similar theme is taken up in a series of television
adverts. New Zealand Milk, the company that distributes Anchor Butter in the UK, denied that the campaign was undermining British farmers. Simon Tuckey, the companys managing director,
said: "This is not a veiled attack. All we are talking about is the attributes of our butter and the fact that the cows are free range." Mr Tuckey added: "I can understand why
British farmers are uptight about things but not about a campaign to promote traditional farming methods." New Zealand Milk was demonstrating that Anchor is an old fashioned brand. It
had already delayed the campaign because of the foot-and-mouth crisis, he added. But some British farmers believe the adverts are a step too far. Dairy producers claimed the adverts were
attacking their industry when it was on its knees. The billboards appear to contain indirect references to F&M and BSE, they said. Some commentators have blamed the spread of F&M on
modern intensive farming methods designed to maximise output. Similarly, BSE was blamed on the now banned practice of feeding cows on meat and bonemeal, made from animal remains, rather than
on grass. Mike Armstrong, a Cumbrian farmer who lost his herd in the F&M cull, described the adverts as misleading and unhelpful. He said: "I dont know what they are trying to
achieve. If they are saying modern farming methods led to foot-and-mouth that is absolute rubbish." Cheshire dairy farmer Chris Shaw said some New Zealand farming methods, such as
tail-docking, were questionable and would be banned in the UK. He added: "They are being cheeky because there is no way their welfare standards are up to ours." NFU leaders
initially considered legal action. But after receiving advice, they decided otherwise. An NFU statement said: "British customers have huge confidence in our dairy products. We do not
think complaining about this advert will do anything to improve this confidence. It continued: "The NFU has looked closely into whether we should refer the producers of Anchor butter to
the Advertising Standards Authority. However, our advice has been that it is unlikely that the ASA would uphold this complaint as there is no direct attack on British agriculture."
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