The milk of the future - further along the sustainable path

01-Jun-2023 - Germany

From climate protection and consumption statistics to circular economy and innovative next-generation approaches on farms and in dairies - our milk is part of many debates.

An up-to-date overview of the milk of the future as of June 1, 2023.

For consumers:inside, milk continues to be part of

We buy about 46 liters per year per capita* in 2022, nine out of ten households have dairy products at home.** The majority sees itself using milk and dairy products predominantly to exclusively even in ten years. In between, there will be parallel use of plant products and, for example, cheese or yogurt - depending on taste. For the future, however, consumers would also like to see a clear picture of how sustainability and progress go hand in hand for the benefit of animals and people.

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The role in plant-based nutrition

Milk and dairy products retain their place in a climate-friendly diet. Even in the Planetary Heath Diet model, which favors regional and seasonal foods, they supplement the plant-based diet primarily with high-quality protein, calcium, B vitamins and iodine. These cannot be readily obtained from plant foods, according to a new report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, in April 2023.

Food-waste pioneers

The industry is on a sustainable path that cycles ruminants, grasslands and cropland as an ecological unit. Cows eat grass and plant residues that are not usable by humans and are produced during food production. For every kilogram of vegan food, about four kilograms of non-edible plant biomass are produced, e.g. straw, leaves and husks. The animals also utilize residues from the production of, for example, rapeseed oil and beer.

Cows are, so to speak, the pioneers in the prevention of food waste due to their ability to transform the non-edible into a high-quality food. Meadows and pastures are also one of the most efficient soil stores of carbon.

Not just Fridays: continuing on the road to climate neutrality

Reducing the cow to a carbon footprint falls short. Nevertheless, reducing emissions is also a key issue in the dairy industry to meet climate challenges. With increasing energy efficiency of farms and decreasing emissions, the industry has already achieved quite a bit. But the work continues. Various research and pilot projects are working on this. They are creating a basis for measurement and are looking, among other things, at adjusting screws such as needs-based feeding, good animal health and, on the other hand, the preservation and expansion of grassland as the largest natural CO2 sink.

Together into the future - Let's talk milk!

In order to promote objective dialog and provide an insight into modern dairy farming, there are numerous offers for consumers - and not just on Milk Day. In addition to the events organized by local farmers and the offers of the regional organizations, these also include the pages of the Initiative Milch. On www.initiative-milch.de and the social media channels of the initiative, there are (podcast) interviews with experts from agriculture and science as well as information on nutrition and food trends, such as the flexitarian diet.

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* ZMB 2022
** Bonsai 2022 on behalf of the Initiative Milch
*** Rheingold salon 2023 on behalf of the Initiative Milch

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1180609/the-milk-of-the-future-further-along-the-sustainable-path.html