"Lactel is committed alongside its breeders to offer you quality milk", reads Régis Paquelet on the label of a bottle of Lactel milk before asking himself: "Quality milk, yes, but we do not. do not know what remuneration the producer has. Because farmers have to live! "And the dairy farmer to add modestly:" Economically, the farmers are not getting by and that can lead people to take action, to commit suicide. The words may be shocking but it reflects a sad reality: according to figures from the Mutuelle sociale agricole (MSA) dating from 2016, among farmers, the suicide rate is 13% higher than in the rest of the French population. They represent the social category most affected by this tragedy.Farmers' security even observes an “increased risk” of 57% among the poorest, beneficiaries of the complementary CMU.
At the worst time, Régis won 226 € by me
Of course, the price of the milk we buy in stores varies only by a few cents from one bottle or from one carton to another… But these few cents can change the lives - even save - farmers.
“Before, we went through difficult times, continues Régis Paquelet, in charge with his brother Damien of GAEC de l'Etang, in Chevroux, in the Ain.
The selling price of our milk could have gone down to 20 cents per liter.
"He shows in his right hand a carton of milk from the brand" Who's the boss?
".
It can be read in large letters: “This milk pays its producer a fair price.
"
What Régis confirms: “Now that we are working with them, we are selling our milk at the base price of 39 cents. »Almost twice as expensive as at the worst time. To better convince us, the farmer unearths his 2016 tax return: that year, he earned € 14,722. Or € 1,226 per month, barely more than a minimum wage, from which it was necessary to subtract € 1,000 a month from the “young farmer” loan. Régis Paquelet specifies: “We work between 70 and 80 hours per week. There was nothing left at the end. Not even enough to live on. "But let's come back to our Lactel bottle: how does it pay these breeders alongside whom the brand" engages "? To find out, we call customer service. Answer: 36.9 cents per liter. It's not as good as "Who's the boss?" »But the price seems correct. Régis Paquelet, him,is skeptical: “I would like to have confirmation. "
Prefer fair trade milks
And the confirmation - or rather the denial -, we asked a breeder, one of the officials of the trade union of milk producers (FNPL).
It works directly with the parent company of Lactel, the world number 2 in milk: Lactalis.
“We are paid up to 35.5 cents per liter.
This is the base price, ”explains Ghislain de Viron.
Note that this famous "base price", already mentioned by Régis Paquelet, is the minimum price of milk, but breeders generally receive a few cents depending on the richness in cream and protein in their milk.
When Lactel's consumer service says that the brand pays breeders up to 36.9 cents per liter, they are not lying.
On the other hand, they inflate this base price by adding these few premium cents.
But there is a "but": "The fair remuneration of a breeder, equitable, is 38.8 centimes per liter," continues Ghislain de Viron. At Lactel, therefore, 3.3 cents are missing. »Consequently, if we want to have a positive social impact on breeders, should we avoid buying this Lactel bottle? Embarrassed response from our farmer who works for Lactalis: “Let's say that there are milks that pay better than this one. " Message received. In addition, at 1.01 €, it was one of the most expensive in the department. And in terms of taste? Is there a difference between Lactel milk and one that would pay the breeder better? “No, it's not obvious. No particular characteristic ”, answers Paul Zindy, the owner of the Laiterie La Chapelle, which makes its own cheese, on the spot, in Paris,from a milk bought 55 cents of base price from a breeder in Ile-de-France. He had just tasted, blindly, the milk from FaireFrance, one of the many brands of fair trade milk now sold in supermarkets. For this milk, stockbreeders are paid 45 cents per liter. Regarding Lactel (35.5 centimes base price), he continues: “I don't see much difference between the two when tasting. "
And the last one, "Who's the boss?" "(39 cents base price)? “Maybe he's got a little extra character. »In the standings, he will come first, followed by the other two milks. “It is not because there is no difference in taste that it is not important to think about the remuneration of the breeder who produced this milk. “Especially since for the consumer's wallet, the difference is tiny, it is even favorable to the fairest: 99 cents for fair trade milk and € 1.01 for Lactel. And if ever you cannot find fair trade milk, here is one last tip delivered by Ghislain de Viron, our breeder and trade unionist: “Below a sale price of 74 cents, it is absolutely impossible to pay the breeder exactly. level."We point to a brick" I like milk from here "presented at 69 cents on the Carrefour site. Verdict: “You have to leave it to them. "
