Arla

Arla keeps cows in intensive, zero-grazing units, where the animals may never get to go outside and graze³. They don’t show that in their ads.

A 2025 investigation into one Arla farm found that cows were kicked, punched, and struck with electric goads. Cows struggling to walk were still forced onto transport trucks and dead calves were simply abandoned out in the open.⁴

Arla’s farmers in Denmark declined a significant cash payment in return for investigators filming the separation of mothers and calves and the shooting of those calves, both of which are routine on dairy farms⁵. The dairy industry really does thrive on secrecy.

According to the EU’s Transparency Register, there are eight people involved in EU lobbying activities for Arla, which translates to three full-time lobbyists.⁶

A Changing Markets Foundation report found that Arla has successfully contributed to derailing EU sustainability proposals, as well as blocking the inclusion of more environmentally friendly plant-based alternatives to milk in school schemes in the EU.⁷

A Danish MEP, who just happens to be a dairy farmer and sits on Arla’s Board of Representatives,⁸ was central to the successful campaign to weaken environmental laws in Europe.⁹

During a widespread investigation into price fixing in the UK’s dairy industry, Arla somehow escaped without any penalties after signing a “leniency agreement” early on in the investigation and being granted immunity.¹⁰ It seems they gave evidence against all their competitors, first ensuring they would be exempt themselves.¹¹

Nonetheless, Arla was fined €670,000 (£580,000) for violating Denmark’s Competition Act.¹²

And it was fined again (SEK1.13 million or £100,000) for violating competition law in Sweden.¹³

Arla’s 460,000 cows produce an estimated 21,390 tonnes of excrement per day,¹⁴ which is way more than any other animal-farming company. And yet, they have no publicly available policy for ensuring that the excrement is responsibly spread or disposed of once off site.¹⁵ Dairy farms are one of the most polluting industries in the country¹⁶ but Arla appears to have no timelines or targets for reducing either pollution or the amount of excrement it is responsible for.¹⁷

Arla was found to be feeding their cows with soya obtained from a controversial agribusiness linked to widespread deforestation in Brazil.¹⁸ Arla simply shrugs off any responsibility: “We do not monitor the suppliers chosen by our farmer owners for their businesses.”¹⁹ How very Arla.

Arla’s sustainability commitments were analysed against the UN’s environmental recommendations and it was found that, of the nine relevant recommendations, Arla fulfils just one, partially fulfils five, and does not fulfil three at all.²⁰ Great work, Arla!

A Swedish court banned Arla’s net-zero advertising claim, calling it "misleading"²¹ and fined the company SEK1 million (£750,000).²²

Arla’s advert claiming its milk is “good for the land” was banned for being misleading.²³ We’re heartened that its bullshit was banned even if its actual shit continues to pollute.

Concerns over Arla feeding cows with Bovaer – an additive containing silicon dioxide, propylene glycol (an industrial solvent also used in food products²⁴) and synthetic compound 3-nitrooxypropanol²⁵ – led to a very vocal consumer boycott in 2024.²⁶ Nonetheless, Arla continues to add the synthetic supplement.²⁷

It seems no one wants to work for Arla. Ninety per cent of farmers who have advertised jobs have had few or no applicants at all.²⁸

And farmers who join Arla may soon regret it. The majority of them appear to be left without the opportunity to determine pricing and resource allocation,²⁹ putting them at the mercy of this wealth-amassing Big Ag business.