Vegan campaigning charity Viva! kicks off a major crowdfunding campaign to fund What Do You Really Know About Dairy?, the UK's first documentary challenging decades of dairy industry spin
BRISTOL, United Kingdom, June 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading vegan campaigning organisation Viva! has today launched a major crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise £25,000 from the public, and will soon be unlocking a further £25,000 in match funding to produce what it says will be the UK's first documentary dedicated entirely to exposing the dairy industry.
The campaign launches on World Milk Day to challenge the narrative promoted by the dairy lobby on one of its most prominent dates in the calendar.
The film, titled What Do You Really Know About Dairy?, will bring together undercover investigations, expert interviews and scientific evidence to examine what Viva! describes as the hidden reality of modern dairy farming - and the decades of marketing that have shielded it from public scrutiny.
For generations, consumers have been told that dairy is natural, healthy and necessary. These messages are reinforced through advertising, school curricula, government guidance and the industry itself. Viva! contends that this carefully constructed image conceals a far more troubling reality: cows repeatedly impregnated to sustain milk production, calves separated from their mothers shortly after birth and health claims that are, the charity argues, increasingly at odds with the scientific evidence.
A Film to Change Minds
The documentary will tackle three core themes: the contested science behind dairy's health claims, animal welfare on modern dairy farms and the lobbying and PR strategies that have allowed the industry to avoid the kind of scrutiny now routinely applied to other food sectors. The film aims to reach mainstream audiences well beyond those already engaged with animal protection or plant-based diets.
Viva! believes the timing is right. Public awareness of the environmental and ethical dimensions of food production has grown substantially in recent years and the plant-based market continues to expand. Yet dairy, the charity argues, has remained largely immune from the cultural reckoning that has reshaped attitudes to other animal products.
This film intends to change that.
"We believe this documentary has the power to cut through the noise, reach mainstream audiences and change the way people see dairy forever," says Juliet Gellatley, Viva!'s founder and director. "We're setting out to dismantle the pro-dairy narrative we've been fed for decades, bring the truth to light and empower animal-loving consumers to make informed, compassionate choices that align with their morals and beliefs, as well as being better for their health and kinder to the planet."
Viva! is one of the UK's most prominent vegan campaigning and animal advocacy charities, with a track record of campaigning against factory farming and promoting healthy eating. The organisation has previously exposed the pig, chicken and fish farming industries, but says it has never before produced a full-length documentary focused on dairy. The charity says this format can reach and move audiences in ways that more traditional campaign materials cannot, as demonstrated by the response to its multi-award-winning 2020 Netflix documentary, Hogwood: a modern horror story.
Notes to Editors
- Viva! is the UK's leading vegan campaigning organisation
- The crowdfunding campaign for What Do You Really Know About Dairy? officially launches on 1 June 2026, World Milk Day
- For interview requests, high-resolution images or further information, please contact Rachael Simpson-Jones, PR manager - rachael@viva.org.uk
CONTACT Rachael Simpson-Jones, PR Manager
COMPANY Viva!
EMAILrachael@viva.org.uk
WEB Viva! - the vegan trailblazers
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7813ddd0-7c4e-4c60-bda7-24949d792676
