Judith Collins has taken a dig at Greenpeace protesters demonstrating against climate change.
On Monday a group of activists blocked a synthetic fertiliser plant in Taranaki owned by agri-chemical company Ballance.
The protesters said they were drawing attention to the link between synthetic fertiliser, intensive dairying and the climate crisis.
"If we're going to take real climate action, we need fewer cows, and a full phase-out of synthetic fertiliser," said Greenpeace agriculture campaigner Gen Toop.
On Tuesday Collins waded into the topic, tweeting a photo shared by Toop which showed a protester giving a cup of hot chocolate to a police officer at the demonstration.
"No one tell them that hot chocolate has MILK in it," Collins wrote.
Her tweet received a flurry of replies.
"Hope they're using compostable cups, Judith. Can you check for us?" wrote one person.
Many, though, were quick to point out it was possible to get milk without using cows.
"Sometimes, perhaps... but the kids these days have all sorts of new fangled milks that have never been anywhere near a cow," wrote one person.
"I know you might not believe it, but there are these things like soy milk," wrote another.
In a statement on Monday Ballance said the protest had not caused any disruptions to the plant's daily operations, adding it was "always available" to have a conversation with Greenpeace and to "share science-backed information" around fertilisers.
