The Many Joys of Dairy

 

This blog is a nod to the optimistic, positive vibe of the people visiting my hometown, Chicago. Sometimes we need a reminder of who we are and what we are here for. That’s right, I’m talking about all of us in the dairy industry, from the farmer/producer to the nutrition educator, from the manufacturing equipment/ingredient/packaging suppliers to the processors/marketers/retailers, and from the lobbyists to the regulators, we are in the dairy industry for the “joy” dairy brings in so many ways, because most of us would concur, it’s not the money. These are the five of the many Joys of Dairy.  

Joy #1—It’s all about the people. It’s the people we feed with delicious, affordable, accessible nutrition. It’s the people we work with on a daily basis, or maybe see once a year at events such as the upcoming Dairy Forum. (For more information, link HERE.)

“Adopt a growth mindset. Our industry has a growth mindset. Our farmers want to grow, our processors want to grow. And if we aren’t growing, if we aren’t looking toward the future, we’re going to get surpassed by others. We need to keep looking forward, not backwards. We have an opportunity to become the world’s dominant supplier of affordable, nutritious, sustainably produced dairy products. It’s there for us. Let’s go get it. Let’s win for dairy,” said Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association at Dairy Forum 2024.

Joy #2—The dairy industry is evolving to stay relevant with today’s consumers. It’s not your grandaddy’s dairy anymore. It’s better. We are eating more dairy than drinking it. There’s no going back. So embrace this and find joy in innovating.  

This is exemplified in Dairy Forum’s theme this year. It’s about pushing the limits of innovation, collaboration and excellence to chart a course toward LIMITLESS success for the industry. It’s about coming together for the better good of the industry to secure hope for future generations.

“We can elevate the premiumization of our products and the precision of our products, and we can do both. Consumers want healthy, they want indulgent. They want convenient, they want inexpensive. We can do both. We are doing both. We are investing in innovation to meet the changing consumer needs,” said Dykes at Dairy Forum 2024. 

Joy #3—Dairy professionals, for the most part, are very good at agreeing to disagree. Think pricing. Think standards of identity. Think plant based. Many dairy processors manufacture plant-based options. They have the correct equipment and skills to do so. The fact is the world needs more sources of protein. Plants are one of the solutions. No one disputes the superiority of animal proteins in terms of amino acid profile and bioavailability. There’s just not enough to go around to feed the growing global population. 

“We are seeing fewer farms, larger farms, more milk per cow. It’s amazing. We’re seeing vertical integration in our industry, we’re seeing consolidation and concentration in our industry, whether that’s good, whether that’s bad, but it is, and it will happen, and it will continue to happen. As a matter of fact, we’re producing twice as much milk today with half as many cows as we were 60 years ago,” said Dykes at Dairy Forum 2024. But, that’s not enough. 

Joy #4—With that said, I think most of the world agrees that dairy cheese rocks. When I worked at Kraft Foods in the early 1990s, my assignment was to formulate fat-free cheese. As you can imagine, that was a very unsatisfying job. But I am thankful, as it energized me to jump to technical writing. Repeat after me. The terms “fat free” and “cheese” do not belong in the same sentence. And, having been around the block a few times, I can safely ask you to repeat this after me. The terms “plant based” and “cheese” do not belong in the same sentence. It’s just weird. 

Plant-based cheese represents barely 1% of all retail cheese sales, according to the Good Food Institute. The percentage of buyers purchasing in the plant-based cheese category more than once decreased from 56% in 2020 to 49% in 2023. 

While plant-based cheese (yes, I put the words in the same sentence) may get better, the fat-free stuff did, too, it’s just not going to thrive in the retail world. There’s a place for it in vegan restaurants, even pizzerias that want to have an alternative to be all inclusive of dietary preferences. But, in my opinion, plant-based cheese is just weird. 

Joy #5—The dairy industry cares. That means you care, too. Our farmers are caretakers of animals and the land. Sustainability is a way of life and a responsibility to future generations. 

“Through innovation and a commitment to climate action, the global dairy sector is paving the way for a more sustainable future, while optimizing dairy’s positive effects on soil and ecosystem services. From farm to fork, advancements in technology, best practices and research are driving substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” according to the Global Dairy Platform.

In closing, I quote Dykes one last time. 

“We have a great opportunity ahead of us. Yes, there are a lot of things. There are a lot of distractions. There are a lot of obstacles in the world today and we could dwell on those. Those are not within our control. The things that are within our control are to focus on the future and make sure we’re doing what we need to do to empower and support the people in our organizations.”

Cheers to the future! There’s no going back. (Yes, I went there.)