Hard to swallow? A critical animal studies perspective on the discursive recontextualisation of the reality of dairy farming

Abstract

This paper reports on a multimodal critical discourse analysis of the representations of social actors and processes involved in the production of dairy products. Focussing on the website of the UK’s largest dairy company, Arla Foods UK, the analysis interrogates both linguistic and visual choices in representing dairy farmers, dairy cows and the process of dairy farming itself. The analysis demonstrates how recurrent representations function to construct a decidedly favourable image of the dairy industry, which often diverges significantly from the more complex and less palatable realities of dairy production. In particular, the website evidences a range of discursive choices which serve to recontextualise dairy farming, including the anthropomorphising of cows, the portrayal of farms as bucolic idylls, and the omission of less favourable aspects of the process (e.g., its environmental impacts and animal welfare issues). These representational strategies are designed, we argue, to align consumer perceptions with a sanitised version of dairy production, facilitating continued consumption under the guise of ethical engagement. Viewed through the lens of Critical Animal Studies, the public discourse that emerges from the website is argued to be one which serves the ideological and commercial interests of dairy industry actors, by obscuring the intensive and industrial reality of modern dairy farming, all the while constructing an (idealised) image of sustainability and animal care.