TORONTO – Canadians saw a new topping on their pizzas
this winter, as hundreds of restaurant operators launched the ‘Got
Milked’ campaign for fair Canadian dairy prices.
TORONTO – Canadians saw a new topping on their pizzas this winter, as hundreds of restaurant operators launched the ‘Got Milked’ campaign for fair Canadian dairy prices.
Over a two week span, more than 1.4 million pizza delivery boxes had special stickers on the top featuring a cartoon cow and the message: “Cheesed off about high dairy prices? www.gotmilked.ca, a campaign for fair Canadian dairy prices.”
Canadians pay among the highest prices in the world for dairy products, and the Canadian Dairy Commission is expected to announce a further increase in mid-December, on top of a 7.8 per cent increase that took effect earlier this year.
Restaurant operators earn an average pre-tax profit of just 3.3 per cent of revenue, or just 43 cents on a $13 pizza. They compete against frozen pizza makers who get a deep discount of up to 30 per cent on Canadian cheese, their main ingredient. The dairy industry refuses to extend this discount to restaurateurs.
“Restaurant operators are frustrated by a system that has inflated Canadian dairy prices to among the highest in the world. We want to grow the market for Canadian dairy products, but sky-high prices make it next to impossible,” said Ron Reaman, vice-president of food supply with the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
“Many consumers are equally concerned about the impact of high dairy prices on their weekly grocery bill, and this website gives them a chance to speak out.”
At gotmilked.ca, consumers can play ‘Spot the Moostake’ and use an online ‘Cowculator’ to compare Canadian dairy prices to those of other countries. They can also post comments and add prices to a dairy price tracker.
For more information, call the CRFA: Ron Reaman, vice president of Food Supply at 416-923-8416 ext. 4242 or Kill Holroyd, vice president of Research and Communications, ext. 4217.
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