Milk mystery: As prices soar, dairy farmers plead poverty
In a remote pocket of the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, a Greek Orthodox nun answers the door in the rain. The sister peers out from behind the front door at the Monastery of the Virgin Mary the Consolatory, expecting another religious pilgrim.
If you’re interested in Orthodox Byzantine traditions you will be welcomed warmly. But ask about the nuns’ dairy business and you will be turned away. Read more: Canada’s milk prices to increase by 2 cents a litre this fall Global News travelled to this isolated convent as part of a wider investigation into Canada’s dairy industry.
We wanted to ask about the sisters’ public clash with Les Producteurs de lait du Québec (LPQ), the group representing Quebec dairy producers, when the sisters were handed a $75,000 fine for producing milk without a proper licence.
Even three years on, it’s a sensitive topic. While the kind but nervous nun invited me to take shelter from the storm, she also conveyed orders from above not to speak about the ordeal, in case they “get in trouble.” This fear of reprisal became a central refrain in our months-long investigation, prompted by two unprecedented hikes to the price of milk this year.
United States
|
Cases: 46 252 513
Deaths: 750 423
Recovered: 0
|
India
|
Cases: 34 321 025
Deaths: 459 652
Recovered: 0
|
Brazil
|
Cases: 21 835 785
Deaths: 608 235
Recovered: 0
|
United Kingdom
|
Cases: 9 215 683
Deaths: 141 607
Recovered: 0
|
Russia
|
Cases: 8 494 589
Deaths: 237 619
Recovered: 0
|