The Positive Contribution of Dairy
By Caroline Emond, IDF Director General
 

The International Dairy Federation, the leader in global dairy expertise, is pleased to present this issue of IDF World, which provides updates on relevant issues in the global dairy sector.

This year, more than ever, we can see the importance of continuously promoting the positive contribution of dairy to nutrition, health and sustainable diets. Nourishing an increasing world population is a challenge we all must address collectively. I am convinced, like many others, that the only way to meet this challenge and fulfil the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to focus on nourishing people with nutrient-dense foods, rather than just providing more calories. Dairy plays an important role in this effort as it significantly contributes to the SDGs such as zero hunger, health and well-being, providing livelihoods and helping to lift people out of poverty.

This issue of IDF World provides an update on dairy’s role in sustainable food systems, plus the exciting sustainability initiatives taking place within the FAO Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) partnership, IDF’s progress on international standard setting priorities, and much more. Of course, all these important issues will be addressed at the IDF World Dairy Summit 2019 this September in Istanbul – you can register today at https://www.idfwds2019.com/.

2019 brings major challenges and a lot of promise as dairy continues to be an essential, thriving sector with a compelling story to tell about its positive contribution to the world.

The importance of dairy for nourishing the world was also highlighted in a recent IDF blog post on the Dairy Matrix, which shows how the unique combination of dairy’s nutrients and bioactive factors combine to produce the amazing health benefits of milk. You can read the post here: “Celebrating the Dairy Matrix on World Health Day”.

How to build sustainable food systems was also at the centre of the 4^th UN Environment Assembly discussions in March in Nairobi, which IDF had the pleasure to attend. Within these conversations, reducing food waste was a major priority, and Pierre Barrucand, Chair of IDF’s Standing Committee on Environment, was delighted to speak at a side event about the dairy sector’s efforts in that space. You can read more in his blog: “How the Dairy Sector is Tackling Food Waste."

The dairy sector has made great strides in reducing emissions per kg of milk – what’s called greenhouse gas emissions intensity. According to a recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Global Dairy Platform report, between 2005 and 2015, emissions intensity from the dairy sector declined by almost 11 percent. Over that same period, dairy production increased by 30 percent. You can also read the factsheet on the report, which is available in English and in Spanish.

Another IDF priority is the alignment of the food additives provisions between two recognized Codex references on food additives, one in the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) and the other in the various Codex commodity standards. The goal is to harmonise standards to eliminate the confusion and trade disruptions created by the diverging provisions. IDF has long identified those issues, and thanks to its advanced work, the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) agreed to consider the 13 Codex Ripened Cheeses standards in 2017. After acknowledging IDF for providing expertise and resources to assist, the 51st session of CCFA recently adopted the changes needed to harmonize provisions in the 13 Codex Standards for ripened cheeses (Cheddar, Edam or Brie, etc), removing this international trade challenge for exports of ripened cheeses. Read more about this in IDF’s blog “Codex Adopts Changes To Harmonise Standards For Ripened Cheeses, Removing International Trade Challenges.”

IDF has happily taken up the chairmanship role in the FAO Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) partnership, an initiative focused on improving sustainability within the livestock sector. LEAP is a multi-stakeholder initiative made up of Governments, NGOs and members of the private sector. It develops comprehensive guidance and methodology for monitoring the environmental performance of livestock supply chains.

The work plan for 2019 is to develop a comprehensive package to road-test existing LEAP sustainability guidelines by all the livestock sectors. The objectives are to test whether the guidelines are easily applicable in all situations and address inconsistencies or issues that hinder the use of different LEAP guidelines at the same time. This information will help define data requirements, as well as tools required for the assessment of the environmental performance. LEAP aims to build awareness and enhance the use of these guidelines through adoption.... Read more

Dairy UK and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) launched the second year of their spoof governmental department campaign, The Department of Dairy Related Scrumptious Affairs, advertising through public service-style billboards and, for the first time, at cinemas. Speaking to Farmers Weekly, Dairy UK and AHDB confirmed the campaign was renewed off the back of positive first year results, which indicated that 8% of the target audience were less likely to reduce dairy consumption and 11% were less likely to replace with dairy alternatives. Expect to see more clever billboards across London like the below:

The next IDF Mastitis Conference will take place from 14 to 16 May 2019 in Copenhagen. Topics include robotic milking, milking management, diagnostics, udder hygiene, mastitis management, antimicrobial usage, milk quality, the dry period, microbiota and molecular epidemiology and small ruminants. Be sure to check out student or one day attendance rates! ... Register here

On June 21st, the Belgian Association of Meat Science and Technology (BAMST) and IDF will bring together various experts to discuss “The role of ruminants in sustainable diets” in Brussels. High-level international speakers will report on the latest science to correctly assess the nutritional and environmental implications of meat and milk production, including prof. Frank Mitloehner (UC Davis, USA), prof. Andrew Mente (PHRI, Canada), dr. Michelle Cain (University of Oxford, UK), Andrea Bertaglio (Carni Sostenibili, Italy), dr. Nico Peiren, dr. Judith Bryans (IDF), and others. This event will attract an international audience both from the dairy sector or from other organizations based in Brussels... Read more

Turkey will host the next IDF World Dairy Summit 2019 in Istanbul from 23-26 September with the theme “Milk for Life.” As one of the largest dairy events of the year, the summit is expected to draw around 2,000 delegates worldwide from across the entire dairy chain... Register here

IDF is the leading source of scientific and technical expertise for all stakeholders of the dairy chain. Since 1903, IDF has provided a mechanism for the dairy sector to reach global consensus on how to help feed the world with safe and sustainable dairy products. A recognised international authority in the development of science-based standards for the dairy sector, IDF has an important role to play in ensuring the right policies, standards, practices and regulations are in place to ensure the world’s dairy products are safe and sustainable.