Italian Mozzarella - the treatment of buffalos

Morning Glory

Obsessive cook
Staff member
Joined
19 Apr 2015
Local time
4:11 PM
Messages
46,855
Location
Maidstone, Kent, UK
We were chatting about the production of mozzarella in another thread and I did a bit of research and came across this rather shocking report. The report is a few years old so I don't know what action has been taken:

In farms across Italy, buffaloes are subjected to appalling treatment. Why? To make buffalo mozzarella, one of Italy’s most sought-after exports, which we in Britain enjoy in everything from pizzas to salads.

Italy produces around 37,000 tons of mozzarella a year and Britain is one of the main places of export.

But appalling new footage, secretly filmed on Italian farms by undercover investigators from an animal welfare charity, exposes the shocking levels of cruelty involved in the production of the premium mozzarella so enjoyed by middle-class Brits.

This cheese, made from buffalo milk in and around the southern Italian region of Campania, is one of an elite band of products given special protection under European law to distinguish them from imitators.

Exposed-The-cruel-farms-Italy-buffaloes-subjected-appalling-treatment-ll-mozzarella-life.html
 
On the flip side, it seems these buffalo are getting pampered! :

And there, in the Italian mozzarella DOP region of Campania, 50 kilometers south of Salerno and 15 minutes from the picturesque ancient ruins of Paestum, is the Tenuta Vannulo, an organic farmstead owned by the Vannulo family since 1988 and one of the few 100% organic mozzarella farms in the world.

https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F182616617%2F960x0.jpg

A water buffalo gets a massage by rubbing itself against a giant brush at the Tenuta Vannulo dairy farm Photo: Mario Laporta/AFP/Getty Images

They're known in the country and among world's prestigious restaurants and foodies for producing a legendary mozarella di bufala.

The Vannulo believe that happy buffaloes make better and tastier milk. With that in mind, their 600, half-ton, black water buffaloes live a charmed life, lounging on rubber mattresses, munching on organic hay, taking soft showers from fine mist delivered by overhead pipes and soothed by classical and jazz music.

Placid and sleek in their black coats, the buffalo enjoy massages, get treated with homeopathic products and get milked by machines only when they feel ready, two or three times a day, producing about a two-gallon quota of stress-free milk.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cecili...to-massages-jazz-and-comfy-beds/#1ac0978c6209
 
I don't understand this thread. What is the goal?
There isn't one really other than to report - its just a thread about buffalo farming which was in the news (hence its in the Food in the News section of the forum) and as we had recently been chatting about buffalo I thought it might be of interest. Items in 'Food in the News' are simply reports which are there for discussion.

I was very surprised by the report as I had no idea about the possible cruelty involved. But it could well be that this report was based on a small number of buffalo farms who were not acting in accordance with EU legislation. For balance, I added another article about buffalo who seem to be treated very well. Its really part of a much wider debate about farming practices across the world - in fact, the legislation in Europe regarding animal welfare is probably better than anywhere else in the world (correct me if I'm wrong someone!).

The whole issue of farming practices has been very much in the news in the UK (partly due to the fact that Brexit may result in changes in legislation). Also, in the UK at least greater numbers of people than ever before becoming vegan because of their concerns about these issues. See here.
 
Last edited:
I have to wonder about the reporting - how wide spread is the cruelty? Did the reporter do extensive research or just look for sensationalism? I have no faith in the media so I always question what they report. My logical mind thinks that cheese producers who abuse their animals must be few and far between. Their animals are their livelihood.
 
I have to wonder about the reporting - how wide spread is the cruelty? Did the reporter do extensive research or just look for sensationalism? I have no faith in the media so I always question what they report. My logical mind thinks that cheese producers who abuse their animals must be few and far between. Their animals are their livelihood.

I think the report was based on video footage shot undercover by an animal welfare group which was originally broadcast by the Italian news outlet 'Il Mattino'. Of course one would hope its was only a few farms which treated their animals in this way. There is another American film which is about animal welfare and also shows some truely appalling scenes of cruelty - I can't remember the name of the film but my son will know. It has gone 'viral' and many young people are turning vegan after viewing it - my son being one of them! Referring here to the American film - yes - it is sensationalist, biased and is shot undercover (like the buffalo farm video). One hopes that the scenes it depicts are a rarity - but who is to say? The footage is real in both cases.
 
Back
Top Bottom