Organized by four farms located in the south of Scotland - Mossgill Farm, Pilham Farm, Reinton Farm and Whitmere Organic - this event was dedicated to studying the growing public concern about climate change, biodiversity, social impact and animal welfare.

Two hundred farmers, researchers, scientists and students from Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United States and the whole of Great Britain attended the conference.

One of the organizers of the event was The Ethical Dairy at Rainton Farm, Europe’s largest dairy farm with cows, which allows calves to stay with their mothers for up to three months after birth, although most dairy farms take away calves from cows approximately 24-48 hours after birth and put them in appropriate pens.

On these farms, all cow's milk goes exclusively to farmers, which causes many ethical problems.

Wilma Finlay of Rainton Farm said: “The conference is the beginning of the conversation, it encourages our industry to reflect on and explore the real problems that current food production systems, and how to solve them, create in society. Ethically produced food is an important emerging market, and livestock must have a place in this market. ”

In her address to the conference, Mairie Goujon, Scottish Government Minister for Rural and Environmental Affairs, said: “For a relatively small country, Scotland’s efforts to combat climate change, support farmers and ensure the highest standards of animal welfare mean that we must lead internationally level of ethical and sustainable agriculture. ”