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TheMilkingParlour:BringingthecowshometoBristolCityCentre
Commissionedbyenvironmentalartsorganization,CapeFarewell,TheMilkingParlourisbringing
twopure-bredGuernseyshowcowstoBristolCityCentrefromthe21sttothe25thApril2016.
Curatedbypoliticalecologistandartist,NessieReid,thisprovocativeandengagingshowwill
explorethevaluesweholdtowardsourfoodandourrelationshipstothepeoplethatproduceit.
Inordertoexplorethesethemes,NessieisfocusingontheUKdairyindustrythroughthemedium
ofmilk,anaturalproductoncehailedasasuperfoodproviding34%ofourRDAofproteinandnow
undervalued-oftencheapertobuythanbottledwater.Shewilllivewithtwocowsforfivedays,
fournights,inatemporary‘MilkingParlour’constructedintheheartofBristol'sAnchorSquare
justoutsideAt-BristolScienceCentre.Freeandopentoall,thisinstallationwillhavethreemilking
demonstrationseachday–breakfast,lunchandtea-time–accompaniedbytalksfromfarmers
andexpertsfromacrosstheSouthWest.Designedtoinspirelivelydebateanddiscussion,The
MilkingParlourseekstoexplorethemesaroundthetruecostoffarming,environmental
sustainability,climatechange,thefutureofourdairyindustry,globalfoodsysteminequalities,and
muchmore!
Throughoutthedurationoftheshow–dayandnight–Nessiewilllivewiththecows:shewillmilk
them,feedthem,muckthemoutandsleepwiththem.Thepurposeofthis‘live-in’isto
demonstratethearduousandchallengingprocessesinvolvedintheproductionofaverynormal,
everydayproductlikemilk;somethingwerarelythinktwiceaboutaswepickared,greenorblue
topfromthesupermarketshelf.Duringthecalvingandlambingseasonitisnotuncommonfora
farmertoconstructatemporarybedwithinananimal’spen.Thepurposeoftakingthesecowsout
oftheirusualruralcontextintoanurbanenvironmentistohighlightthemajordisconnectthat
nowexistsbetweenthecitiesweliveinandtheproductionprocessesthatgiveusthefoodweeat.
Thisshowseekstoengageanewgenerationtoquestionwhatandhowweconsume–andhowit
impactsonallofourfutures.
SinceNovember2014Nessiehaslearnthowtomilkcowsandhasbeeninresidenceatanumber
ofdairyfarmsacrosstheSouthWestofEngland.MuchofherresearchforTheMilkingParlour–
partofCapeFarewell’sRuralArtistResidencyProgramme-hasbeenrecordedandcanbefollowed
onherwebsitewww.themilkingparlour.org
21-25April2016
At-BristolScienceCentre,AnchorSquare,Bristol,BS15DB
Followusat:@milkparlour#TMPBristol
www.capefarewell.com
NotestoEditors:
Context:UKDairyIndustry
In1950therewereapproximately196,000dairyfarmsintheUK.By2001thenumberhad
droppedto26,500andin2011ithadcollapsedto14,700.Thismeansthatoverthepast60years
92.5percentofourdairyfarmshavedisappeared.Increasingly,manyofthenextgenerationis
turningitsbackondairyfarmingbecausetheysimplycannotmakeendsmeet,withprospects
lookingfairlybleak.IntheUKalone,approximately18–20milliontonnesoffoodiswasted
annuallycostinganestimated£22billionayearandyetmanyfarmersintheUKcanbarelyscratch
aliving.Moreandmorethenextgenerationareturningawayfromfarmingastheprospectsareso
bleak.InDecember2014sixtysmalldairyfarmsshutdownbecausethemarketpricefortheir
productswaslessthantheirproductioncosts.HavingattendedTheOxfordRealFarming
ConferenceandhearingstoriesofdairyfarmersintheUKwhohavebeencrippledbythe
increasingeconomicpressuresplaceduponthem,Nessiedecidedthisresidencywouldfocus
specificallyonmilk.IntheUK,howisitthatmilk-oncehailedasasuperfood,providing34%of
ourRDAofprotein-canbecheapertobuythanbottledwater?
AboutNessieReid
NessieReidisapoliticalecologistfocusingonfoodsovereignty,foodwasteandagricultureinthe
SouthWestofEngland.Shebelievesthereisaneedforradicalandsystemicchangewithinour
currentfoodandfarmingsystem–asystemwhichisbecomingincreasinglyunhealthyand
unsustainableforbothPlanetEarthanditsinhabitants.BasedinBristol,NessieisCo-Directorof
ThisisRubbish,aCIC,aimedatexposingthe(preventable)scaleoffoodwastedintheUKviapolicy
research,communityandarts-ledpublicevents.Sheisco-coordinatingStopTheRot:apilot
campaigntoengageonemajorgrocerycompanyandfourMPsincommittingtopilotingand
advocatingaone-yearfoodwasteaudit.SheispartofthecoreteamforBeaconFarms,a
communitybenefitsocietytraininganewgenerationofsustainablefoodproducersonBristol’s
fertile“bluefinger”land.Herinterestinthelinkbetweenagriculture,ecocideandclimatechange
developedduringfieldresearchfortheICCAConsortiuminIndia,thePhilippines,andIndonesia.
Overaperiodofthreeyearsshewitnessedthecatastrophicecologicaldamagecausedbylarge
scaleintensivelyaggressiveagriculturepractices,principallyinthepalmoilindustry.Nessieisalso
ManagingEditorforBiodiversity–aJournalofLifeonEarth:aquarterlyscientificpublicationfrom
BiodiversityConservancyInternational.NessieisagraduatefromLondonUniversity’sSchoolof
OrientalandAfricanStudies(SOAS).
AboutCapeFarewell
CapeFarewellisaninternationalenvironmentalartsorganisationthatworkstocreateanurgent
culturalresponsetoclimatechange.Launchedin2001withaseriesofgroundbreakingartistand
scientist-mannedexpeditionstotheArctic,CapeFarewellhasbecomeaninternationalnot-forprofitprogrammethathassupportedover300artistscreatingnewwork,exhibitions,events,
performances,talks,booksandfilms,amongstmuchelse.Inautumn2015welaunchedaglobal
festivalArtCop21intheleaduptotheUNParisSummit–totaling551eventsin54countries.
Since2014aseriesofArtistshavebeeninvitedtoengagediverse,wide-reachingaudienceswith
ruralnarrativesforourRuralResidencyProgramme(FarmArt).Workingatthefrontiersofnatural,
socialandclimaticchange,theywillinterrogatetheinspirationalresilienceandsocialtiesthat
formwhenlocalcommunitiesembraceheritage,sustainability,andinnovationOurmissionisto
changethewaypeoplethinkabouttheclimatechallenge,andtowidelycommunicate,educate
andinspireactionontheneedforurgent,andachievable,change.CapeFarewellengageswithour
greatestcreative,scientificandvisionarymindstoworktogetherwithcleantechnology
entrepreneurs,sociologistsanduniversitiestoachievethenon-carbonsocietywemustallaspire
to.Findoutmoreatwww.capefarewell.com