Consumer pressure for food systems transformation has been accelerating for two primary reasons according to the National Dairy Council’s (NDC) Greg Miller. He outlined those reasons and dairy’s role in providing solutions to the problems during the August 4 Hoard’s Dairyman DairyLivestream.
“When we talk about food systems transformation, there are a couple issues that are really driving that sense of urgency of why we need to transform the food system,” Miller outlined. “Of course, in the center of the bullseye are environmental degradation issues and climate change.”
An equally or even more important driver for food systems improvements is the rate of malnutrition.
“We just had a report that came out earlier this year called the SOFI report – the state of food insecurity across the globe,” Miller explained. “It showed that up to 800 million people are still food insecure across the globe. Three billion people can’t afford a healthy diet.”
Along with the incredible number of people who can’t get access to adequate food is malnutrition in the form of obesity and overweight individuals.
“So many people across the globe are getting more than enough calories, but the problem is they are not getting them from nutrient-rich foods. While they have plenty of calories, they still have a nutrient-poor diet,” Miller detailed.
Following obesity and high rates of overweight persons is a strain on the health care system. Miller described higher rates of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cancer.
Dairy a solution
“The good news for dairy is that dairy can play an important role in being a part of the solution,” The National Dairy Council’s Chief Science Officer shared. “Dairy works within all the domains of sustainability. When we talk about the domains of sustainability, we’re talking about social, economic, health, and environmental.
“The good news is dairy is an affordable nutrient-rich food that’s accessible, people like it, it’s versatile, and it can be a part of almost any type of dietary pattern. So, dairy has an important role to play as a part of the solution,” Miller concluded.
To watch the recording of the August 4 DairyLivestream, go to the link above. The program recording is now also available as an audio-only podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and downloadable from the Hoard’s Dairyman website.
An ongoing series of events
The next broadcast of DairyLivestream will be on Wednesday, August 18 at 11 a.m. CDT. Each episode is designed for panelists to answer over 30 minutes of audience questions. If you haven’t joined a DairyLivestream broadcast yet, register here for free. Registering once registers you for all future events.
