ONE IN eight Scottish children think that if cows ate grass their milk would change colour, a survey has found.

The Dairy Farmers of Britain were worried that young people knew too little about how their food is produced, and commissioned a poll to find out what 1000 eight to 15-year-olds thought.

Amazingly, some did not even realise that grass is the key part of a cow’s diet, with a full-grown animal getting through as much as 100 kilos every day.

Among the Scottish children questioned, 12% thought that eating grass would mean a cow’s milk would no longer be white. The most popular suggestions for alternatives were green and brown.

Girls were slightly more likely than boys to think milk would change colour. Younger children were most likely to get the answer wrong, but 2% of the 15-year-olds still believed grass would prevent milk coming out white.

Dairy Farmers spokesman Phil Gibson said, “There is a serious message behind the results. Our previous research has shown an increasing disconnection between children’s understanding of their food and where it comes from.

“Awareness of how food is produced is key to both the future health of children and also the future of farming.”

For the record, there are more than two million cows in Britain, each producing around 90 glasses of milk a day—and all of it is white.