IDM ¦ Column
The European Dairy in
Sustainable Foods Systems
An essential actor and our will to strive further
Author: Alexander Anton, EDA Secretary General
With a specific UN Summit approaching and
the EU Green Deal rolling out, we wish to
state the movement of change in which we
live and the major contribution our dairy
sector can give, promoting and enhancing
the sustainability of our food systems.
The European dairy sector is a core
component of sustainable foods systems –
in Europe and beyond
At the origin of a circular food systems, dairy animals provide
essential nutrition to humans and provide fertilisers to the soil,
allowing to grow plants edible for humans and inedible ones that
again these animals convert into food. This ‘miraculous cycle’
is the origin of any food system and of human prosperity and
health.
We are still part of these living systems, and happy to have
diversified food options, adapted to diverse regions and human
preferences as well as to climate. Prosperous grasslands in hills
or minimalistic dry herbs in an arid region can be converted to
delicious food for humans. Dairy helps improving soil, plant, animal
and human nutrition. Dairy actors are essential guardians of
rural areas, keeping wealth, education and health infrastructure,
landscape and biodiversity alive.
A ‘single’ sector that can interact on a multitude of levels is a
core element of any sustainable food system.
The European Dairy sector is engaged in
active change towards continuous improvement
of the food systems and planetary
boundaries
32 · July/August 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com
The current agri-food system faces many challenges and the
planetary boundaries have shown limits of certain production
and consumption practices. The European dairy sector is actively
engaged in facing the challenges ahead, and has already
shown tremendous improvement in the past times. We produce
milk and dairy products in Europe with an average lower environmental
footprint than other parts of the world, and this at
a high level of food safety, quality and welfare. The carbon impact
per cow has decreased as productivity increased; we now
face a point where further improvement demands much higher
investment, and farm level productivity needs to be taken into
account to continue safeguarding European production.
The crucial role of dairy in our food systems is also the basis
for traditional eating habits of all European countries. We
wish to save this wealth of knowledge for future generations.
Food and nutrition security for Europe is a growing topic, and
it will need to combine environmental and nutritional aspects
of dairy as of any food production (as well as economics) for
an overarching evaluation and true improvement, thus avoiding
negative trade-offs. We know scientific assessment of these
combinations are only starting now, and we would welcome
further knowledge on a wider footing for our upcoming efforts.
The European Dairy sector supports the Sustainable
Development Goals and provides
active support in a wide range of them
Dairy production is essential for rural areas and their infrastructure,
the social aspects of employment and independence, health
via a wide range of essential nutrients in a natural product, a
good circularity providing food, feed and industrial products and
reducing food waste to a minimum, and many more aspects.
/international-dairy.com
