The future success of the dairy industry depends on its ability to tell the story about how milk is sustainably and responsibly produced, according to a dairy expert.
Dairy industry leaders from across the world will discuss public perception combined with environmental and socioeconomic impact of dairy at the International Dairy Federation (IDF) Symposium in Seville, Spain on the 1st and 2nd February.
Consumers are showing an increasing interest in the origins of their food and are looking for reassurance from food producers, processors and retailers that it is responsibly produced.
For example, the growing interest has led Defra Secretary Michael Gove to announce a 'gold standard' in food labelling, which highlights the credentials and quality of British produce in supermarkets.
As a consequence of this increasing interest, food retailers are looking for ways to provide such assurance to their consumers, either through the creation of sustainable sourcing evaluation, audit programs or endorsement of existing dairy industry programmes.
FARM Program
In the United States, nearly 98% of all farms belong to the National Dairy FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) Program, which sets the highest standards for animal care, antibiotic use and environmental sustainability - all in the spirit of continuous improvement.
The FARM Program was recently approved as compliant with the ISO Technical Specification on Animal Welfare - indicating that the program now meets the highest international standards for animal care and wellbeing.
Emily Meredith, of the National Milk Producers Federation (US), explained: “The future success of the dairy industry depends on our ability to tell our story about how milk is sustainably and responsibly produced.
“Industry programs, like the National Dairy FARM Program in the United States help to both set standards for farmers and tell our sustainability story in a relatable way to food producers and consumers.”
Ms Meredith said that milk production has a "very unique position". On the one hand, she said, it provides livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people and for many is essential to their survival.
But on the other hand, it accounts for a large proportion of the cost, resources used and non-fuel greenhouse gas emissions of the dairy chain.
