NEWS IN BRIEF

Dairy bodies in global sustainability project

By Noli Dinkovski

27-Nov-2017 - Last updated on 27-Nov-2017 at 11:51 GMT

The declaration recognises the role of dairy in a balanced diet

The UK dairy industry has signed-up to a global initiative that promotes the worldwide sustainability of dairy systems.

The Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam – a partnership between the International Dairy Federation and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations – claimed to be committed to feeding the world with safe, nutritious and sustainable products.

It recognised the contribution that dairy made to countries’ economies, the role of dairy in a balanced diet, and the part industry played in addressing environmental degradation and climate change.

Senior figures from Dairy UK, the National Farmers Union Dairy Board, and the Dairy Board of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, signed up to the declaration last month.

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1 comment

Methane carbon pricing for dairy products and beverages

Posted by Samuel, 27 November 2017 - 18:46 GMT

The most critical factor in dairy sustainability is the enormous quantity of climate change inducing methane produced by dairy cows and beef cattle. This comes out the front end in belching as well as from the back end and manure.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 25X more powerful than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere. Carbon pricing is coming and, to be fair, methane must be priced 25X higher than CO2. What's great is that action against methane delivers results relatively quickly as methane dissipates from the atmosphere in 10 years, far faster than CO2.

However, regardless of whether carbon pricing comes in or not, savvy consumers, especially young people, are realizing the environmental costs of dairy products and vowing to use less or consume none at all. Methane is going to come to the forefront and consumers will be looking to reduce consumption of products that produce methane during production.

One reason is that people will see helping reduce methane production as one way they can personally battle climate change and actually get results in their lifetime.

The risk for drink producers producing new drinks using whey protein, sodium caseinate and other milk products as ingredients is that consumers will start reading labels and begin boycotting drinks that contain dairy ingredients. So, this move towards using formulating new drinks with soy, pea and other plant proteins is prudent not only for beverage makers but also for the environment. Reformulating older drinks is also in order.

If food and drink producers can't eliminate the use of whey and dairy, what they can do is re-formulate so that soy or pea is the first ingredient listed so that the product maker can show they're doing their best to be eco-friendly.

Everyone loves cheese, milk and whey protein but until the dairy industry solves the methane issue people are going to cut back as much as possible.