Global Dairy Industry Celebrates World Milk Day

Global Dairy Industry Celebrates World Milk Day

Russell Nemetz
Russell Nemetz
On June 1, milk lovers around the world will celebrated dairy for World Milk Day 2019. World Milk Day was first launched in 2001 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to celebrate and increase awareness about the nutritional and economic importance of milk and milk products around the globe.

International Dairy Federation Director General Caroline Emond said, "We are calling on everybody to celebrate and drink milk on June 1st to share the benefits of milk for our lives. As the global voice of the dairy sector since 1903, IDF recognizes the importance of milk as a global food, and is celebrating World Milk Day to increase public awareness about all aspects of the natural milk such as its natural origin, milk nutritional value and various milk products including its economic importance throughout the globe."

Milk is one of the most produced and valuable agricultural commodities worldwide. Most people already know that milk and dairy products provide essential nutrients and are an important source of high-quality protein, and fats, calcium and many other vitamins and minerals. Livestock contribute to the livelihoods and nutritional security of millions of farmers (430 million out of 729 million people in rural and marginal areas are livestock farmers). Dairy animals also increase the financial capital of families, provide a mechanism for savings, and serve as liquid assets, or as credit collateral for securing livelihood goals.

Dairying can also play an important role in the empowerment of women: of the 133 million farms globally, 37 million have female leadership. In developing countries, dairying has the potential to increase educational attainment for women and to reduce gender inequalities.

In addition to the meeting, which will discuss among other things the programme for the annual IDF World Dairy Summit 2019, IDF will be celebrating all things dairy with its 'Faces of Dairy' campaign, which draws attention to IDF's community of international experts and their contributions to safe and sustainable dairy.

Last year 80 countries participated in World Milk Day, with June 1 selected to align celebrations with many countries who already had a national milk day celebration on or around this date. Launched on May 29th, you'll be able to follow this campaign online following #EnjoyDairy.

World Milk Day aims to celebrate the important contributions of the dairy sector to sustainability, economic development, livelihoods, and nutrition. To find out how to the World Milk Day celebration and the 'Enjoy Dairy' rally, visit: www.worldmilkday.org.

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