29/07/19 Sugar tax on dairy drinks? Insects, and Limestone grasslands

Farming Today

• Episode: 29/07/19 Sugar tax on dairy drinks? Insects, and Limestone grasslands
• Website: Farming Today
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj8q/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:11:37
• Published: 2019-07-29 07:02

Campaigners are calling for the sugar tax to be extended to dairy-based drinks. The levy on soft drinks which contain high levels of sugar, was introduced just over a year ago to help tackle obesity. A report published by the Department of Health says it's helped remove the equivalent of more than 45,000 tonnes of sugar from shelves. Now it's warned the dairy industry that if it doesn't reduce the sugar in milk drinks, they'll be taxed as well. Dairy UK says milk's got health benefits, minerals and nutrients which can be under-consumed by children, and they believe we shouldn't be treating dairy products like junk food. A new project is restoring limestone grasslands in the Cotswolds. The Glorious Cotswold Grassland Project harvests seeds from wildflowers and grasses and replants them. Farmers spend a lot of time and money protecting their crops from unwanted pests, but insects aren't always a menace - they're a vital part of ecosystems. We speak to Dr Robbie Girling - an agro-ecologist at the University of Reading.