In a panel discussion at the World Food Prize, a nutritionist, an innovative dairy farmer, and a leader in food security around the world talked about how animal agriculture and dairy can help solve climate change and world hunger. The panel also talked about how the United States will host the biggest dairy conference in the world, the 2023 International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit, in Chicago.
Katie Brown, EdD, RDN, Senior Vice President for Scientific and Nutrition Affairs at National Dairy Council, Suzanne Vold, a dairy farmer near Glenwood, MN, and Jay Waldvogel, Senior Vice President of Strategy and International Development at Dairy Farmers of America and a board member of Global Dairy Platform, will be on the panel.
Brown said, “To meet the big challenge of feeding a growing world population with limited natural resources, dairy is answering the call to provide sustainable, efficient, high-quality food that people all over the world can get.” “The foods we choose every day make up dietary patterns that can improve health and wellness and lower the risk of chronic diseases at all stages of life. The world will need dairy foods now and in the future to deal with the problems caused by malnutrition, just as U.S. dairy will be important to make sure the world is fed in a sustainable way.
Vold said, “In a fragile world, dairy farms are strengthened by their focus on generations and family ties. This is a truth that dairy farmers all over the United States follow as they lead the world in innovation.” “In other words, we take care of our cows and protect our resources so that our farms can thrive for future generations and help feed a world that is growing.”
“The global dairy industry is a community of more than a billion people,” Waldvogel said. “There are more than 130 million farmers around the world, and 600 million people live and work on those farms. Those farms create 125 million jobs, and those jobs support hundreds of millions of other family members.” “Our role in food security is clear from the size of the job alone. But even more than that, if you look at how dairy works locally in terms of nutrition, shorter supply chains, and the fact that many of them are run by women, you can see that it’s a mix of the sheer size and scale of dairy and its role in food security, as well as the fact that dairy is very close to the people who need it.
The panellists also talked about next year’s IDF World Dairy Summit, which will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago from October 16-19, 2023. The award gives the dairy industry a chance to show off its innovations in areas like sustainability, nutrition and health, standards, safety, and quality. This helps the industry reach its goal of feeding the world with safe, healthy, and sustainable food.
The IDF World Dairy Summit is an important place for dairy leaders, experts, farmers, processors, traders, and journalists from all over the world to talk about how to move the global dairy industry forward in a positive and sustainable way. This year’s meeting is the first one to be held in the United States since 1993. The theme is “BE Dairy: Boundless Potential, Endless Possibilities.” U.S. dairy is making programmes that will feature global and industry leaders, experts, scientists, technical specialists, farmers, and more to look at the most important opportunities in the global dairy sector today and in the future.
