Milk – Good for You, Good for the Planet

BlogHealth and Nutrition
Written By Shannon Baker

April is Earth Month, and it’s a great time to recognize dairy’s vital role in a sustainable food system, not only nourishing people, but also the planet. Milk and dairy foods are nutrient-dense, providing high-quality protein and micronutrients that support healthy immune function, bone health, a healthy gut, and overall wellness. Dairy also continues to be produced in a more sustainable way offering many benefits to the environment as well. By 2050, goals set by the dairy industry aim to: achieve greenhouse gas neutrality, optimize water usage, and improve water quality by optimizing the use of manure and its nutrients.

Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Cows produce a lot of burps! Dairy farmers are making nutritional changes to their cows’ diets, like adding starches, fats, and seaweed, which may help reduce methane emissions by up to 20%-50%. Dairy farmers also keep greenhouse gas emissions down by feeding cows byproducts from other industries like distiller grains, cotton seed, and citrus pulp, which would otherwise be thrown in a landfill. Plus, new technologies on farms help turn cow manure into helpful environmental resources, including manure pellets and liquid fertilizers that are used to fertilize crops.

Water Conservation

Water is a critical environmental resource and water conservation is an important practice on today's dairy farms. On many dairy farms, water is recycled up to four times to cover uses from chilling the actual milk produced to drinking water for cows to cleaning stalls and irrigating crops.

See Dairy Differently

Learn more about where your dairy comes from this Earth Month. Watch this video to find out more about how Southeast dairy farmers are embracing innovations to increase sustainability. Follow row crop farmer Grayce Emmick as she sheds light on how dairy cows are upcycling byproducts from row crop farms in Kentucky. Visit a local dairy farm in your area or take a virtual tour. 

Make Every Drop Count

How can we be more sustainable with our dairy foods at home? Love Your Leftovers: How to Use Up Dairy Ingredients has creative tips to help ensure you use every last drop of milk and ounce of cheese. I love to freeze my milk in ice cube trays for smoothies and iced coffee. I also grate the last of my cheese and freeze it so it’s ready to go in casseroles or soups.

Celebrate the Earth every day with dairy, knowing that milk and dairy foods are good for you and good for the planet!

Donna Speed, MS, RD, LD

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