not so easily bought off

just put up a post at the hand mirror regarding a feel-good campbell live story that was aired tonight, that has left me feeling not so good.

there are several topics i wanted to write about today, but don't have much energy. there's one i'll cover briefly: i'm not particularly impressed with fonterra's move to have free milk in schools. yes, it's nice for kids, but there is no doubt that the co-operative is doing this in an attempt to counter negative publicity over the last year.

but free milk in schools is not going to make up for the fact that they aren't doing enough to combat dirty dairying, regardless of their public statements. it won't make up for them hosting waikato regional councillors (formerly known as environment waikato, but the farming lobby holding the current council seats couldn't bear to have "environment" as part of the name so charged us ratepayers to change it) at the rugby world cup. and it won't make up for the excessive price of milk and other dairy products at the supermarket.

i resent the implication that we can be so easily manipulated to forget all of the above by this move.

there's a good discussion on the topic here at the standard (well, some of it is good), and i particularly like these points:

- But it is a bit of a cynical marketting move, aimed at getting young children into drinking milk for life, and improving Fonterra’s image

- How long before it’s used as a bargaining chip by Fonterra seeking concessions from government? Y’know….”If you don’t give us ‘x’ then the milk disappears…and you know how ‘everyone’ loves us ‘good guys’ and the milk we are ‘giving away’! So feel free to be the ‘bad guys’ losing votes for not bowing to our ‘reasonable’ demands.”

i'm also agreeing that the fruit in schools was a better policy than this one, especially when all kids don't like milk. i hated it from a very young age and would have really struggled if i was forced to drink it every day.