Children touched the cow at Tsurumaki Elementary school, Tokyo on Friday
In an effort to teach children the benefits of drinking milk and dairy farmers’ efforts to produce high-quality milk, the Japan Dairy Association (J-milk) organized a school visit by dairy farmers on Friday, May 31. The program, held in Tsurumaki Elementary School in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, was planned along with the World Milk Day set on Saturday, June 1, to provide an opportunity for children in large cities to focus attention on milk. Some 130 children enjoyed taking care of cows and listened to the farmers’ explanations.
In the program, aimed at making children realize the importance of drinking milk every day in school, Yasuhiro Yoshida who runs Yoshida Stock Farm in Oganomachi, Saitama Prefecture, said, “When you drink milk, please think about the cows and dairy farmers who produced it.” Children learned that milk contains various nutrients including calcium and is vital for a healthy diet.
Hiroshi Aizawa, who runs Aizawa-Ryou Stock Farm in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, and his son Muneaki brought in a cow and a calf to the school ground, and the children experienced brushing and feeding them. Children who touched them expressed them as “cute,” “bigger than expected” and so on.
Shigetaka Kokubun, principal of the school, stressed that he hopes children will learn how much heart farmers put into producing milk and will drink more of it, adding that the school visit will be effective to convey the message. “Children living in large cities will learn a great deal from an experience of interacting with cows,” an association staff said. “We hope this event will provide an opportunity for them to raise awareness for milk.”
J-milk announced on Thursday, May 30, that the Japan Anniversary Association designated June 1 as Milk Day. J-milk hopes the move will give an opportunity to raise awareness not only among dairy farmers and the dairy industry but also among consumers.
After the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization designated June 1 as World Milk Day in 2001, J-milk decided to follow suit in 2007, and have conducted various campaigns to increase milk consumption since 2008. With Milk Day being formally designated as an anniversary in Japan, the association hopes to further increase people’s awareness and consumption.
(June 1, 2013)