M*lk : Exploring the Dairy Dilemma

Are milk and dairy products still fit for the twenty-first century? In M*lk, Orla Shortall travels to farms across Britain, Ireland, Europe and North America to explore the realities of modern dairy farming, the rise of vegan alternatives, and what a more sustainable, ethical relationship between humans and cows might look like.

Are milk and dairy products still fit for the 21st century? As concerns about animal welfare, climate change and human health reshape our food systems, milk has become one of the most contested staples on our tables. In M*lk, Orla Shortall investigates the dairy dilemma by exploring the hidden realities of how milk is produced today. Travelling between farms across Britain, Ireland, Europe and North America, she meets dairy farmers and their cows, examining the challenges facing contemporary dairy farming, the rise of veganism and plant-based alternatives, and emerging ideas about how humans and cattle might coexist differently. Combining sharp wit with compassionate reporting and rigorous research, Shortall invites readers to reconsider their own relationship with dairy, and to ask what a more sustainable and ethical future for milk might look like.