Dairy and Sustainable Nutrition

Sustainable nutrition is ensuring wholesome, nutrient-dense foods are accessible, affordable and culturally relevant while also preserving environmental resources and supporting local communities.¹ Dairy plays an important role in sustainable nutrition through health and nutrition, culture and community, environment and the economy.

Health + Nutrition

• Essential nutrients in dairy foods support health at every life stage, from supporting immune and brain development in pregnancy and early childhood and preventing frailty, fractures and cognitive decline in older adulthood.^2-7 Milk contains 13 essential nutrients, while yogurt has 9 and cheese has 8.
• Dairy foods have complex food matrices and bioactive components, including proteins, fats, micronutrients and probiotics (in fermented dairy foods such as cheese and yogurt), delivered in a unique package that positively impacts health outcomes like reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.^8-9
• Milk provides a balanced contribution of fat, protein and carbohydrates, impacting how its rich nutrient package is absorbed and used in the body throughout the day to support a healthy lifestyle.
• Dairy foods provide immune-boosting nutrients such as vitamin D and zinc and are associated with lower levels of inflammation.¹⁰
• Dairy foods improve nutrition security by providing children, families and communities with nutrients they need to thrive. Eating dairy with vegetables, fruits and whole grains also ensures adequate intake of all four nutrients of public health concern—calcium, vitamin D, potassium and fiber.

Culture + Community

• For centuries, many cultures have enjoyed dairy.¹² It continues to be widely available and offers a variety of tastes and textures to add nutrient-rich flavor to traditional meals. Some examples include yogurt, cultured buttermilk, kefir, queso fresco and labneh.
• For individuals with lactose intolerance, low-lactose (cheese and yogurt) and lactose-free dairy options are nutrient-dense choices that can fit into a variety of culturally relevant eating patterns.
• California is making significant investments to improve school meals through Farm-to-School programming that purchases food from local farms, offers students food education and provides hands-on learning that supports students’ academic achievement, health and well-being.¹³
• Connecting students to California’s rich plant and dairy agriculture builds community appreciation and can increase consumption of nutritious foods.

Environment

• California dairy farms lead the world in developing climate-smart farming practices.¹⁴
• Methane digesters capture methane from cow manure and create natural gas or electricity that can be used as transportation fuel in heavy-duty trucks, or to power electric vehicles and homes.¹⁵
• California dairy farms conserve water through efficiencies, innovative irrigation and farming practices and recycling.¹⁴
• Dairy cows are efficient recyclers, upcycling nutrients from food and agricultural byproducts like almond hulls that are either indigestible or
  undesirable for humans and keeping them out of landfills.¹⁴
• Producing a gallon of milk in 2017 involved 30% less water, 21% less land, 19% smaller carbon footprint and 20% less manure than it did in 2007.¹⁶

 
Economy

• Dairy is a valuable economic contributor as the No. 1 agricultural product in California.¹⁷
• The dairy sector is responsible for providing 180,000 year-round, highquality California jobs.¹⁴
• A modeling study found that an average health care cost savings of $12.5 billion could result if all US adults adopted a dietary pattern with an additional 1.5 servings of dairy per day.¹⁸
• Dairy is an affordable, accessible, nutritious and palatable way to meet
  food preferences.¹⁹

Sustainable nutrition is a complex topic, as countries around the world are faced with addressing malnutrition, obesity and micronutrient deficiencies20 while protecting finite natural resources. Here in California, advances in technology and agricultural innovation can support sustainable food systems that provide nutrient-dense plant and animal source foods to ensure nutrition security and optimal health for all.

References

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization. Sustainable Healthy Diets: Guiding Principles. FAO and WHO; 2019. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca6640en 

2. Robertson RC, Manges AR, Finlay BB, Prendergast AJ. The human microbiome and child growth: first 1000 days and beyond. Trends in Microbiol . 2019;27(2):131-147. DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2018.09.008

3. Schwarzenberg SJ, Georgieff MK, Committee on Nutrition. Advocacy for improving nutrition in the first 1000 days to support childhood development and adult health. Pediatrics. 2018;141(2):e20173716. DOI:10.1542/peds.2017-3716

4. Lana A, Rodríguez-Artalejo F, López-García E. Dairy consumption and risk of frailty in older adults: A prospective cohort study. J Am Geriatr Soc.2015;9(63):1852–60.doi:10.1111/jgs.13626

5. Hidayat K, Du X, Shi B-M, Qin L-Q. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between dairy consumption and the risk of hip fracture: Critical interpretation of the currently available evidence. Osteoporos Int .2020;31(8):1411–1425. DOI:10.1007/s00198-020-05383-3

6. Choi IY, Taylor MK, Lee P, et al. Milk intake enhances cerebral antioxidant (glutathione) concentration in older adults: a randomized controlled intervention study. Front Nutr. 2022;9. DOI:10.3389/fnut.2022.811650

7. Canipe LG, Sioda M, Cheatham CL. Diversity of the gut-microbiome related to cognitive behavioral outcomes in healthy older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2023;96:104464. DOI:10.1016/j.archger.2021.104464

8. Mozaffarian D. Dairy foods, obesity, and metabolic health: The role of the food matrix compared with single nutrients. Adv Nutr. 2019;10(5):917S-923S. DOI:10.1093/advances/nmz053

9. Feng X, Zhao Y, Liu J, et al. Consumption of dairy products and the risk of overweight or obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus: A dose-response meta-analysis and systematic review of cohort studies. Adv Nutr. 2022;13(6):2165-2179. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmac096

10. Ulven SM, Holven KB, Gil A, Rangel-Huerta OD. Milk and Dairy Product Consumption and Inflammatory Biomarkers: An Updated Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials. Adv Nutr. May 1 2019;10(suppl_2):S239-S250. DOI:10.1093/advances/nmy072

11. Nieman KM, Anderson BD, Cifelli CJ. The effects of dairy product and dairy protein intake on inflammation: a systematic review of the literature. J Am Coll Nutr. 2020;40(6):571-582. DOI:10.1080/07315724.2020.1800532

12. Hirst KK. Dairy farming the ancient history of producing milk. Updated May 30, 2019. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.thoughtco.com/dairy-farming-ancient-history-171199

13. Our values. National Farm to School Network; 2021. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://assets.website-files.com/5b88339c86d6045260c7ad87/613797bd05726e5c091c5280_OurValues.pdf 

14. Planet-smart dairy. Dairy Cares website. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.dairycares.com/planet-smart-dairy 

15. Kebreab E, Mitloehner F, Sumner DA. Meeting the Call: How California Is Pioneering a Pathway to Significant Dairy Sector Methane Reduction. UC Davis CLEAR Center; 2022. Accessed December 12, 2023. https://clear.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk7876/files/inline-files/Meeting-
the-Call-California-Pathway-to-Methane-Reduction.pdf

16. Capper JL, Cady RA. The effects of improved performance in the US dairy cattle industry on environmental impacts between 2007 and 2017. J Anim Sci. 2020;98(1):skz291. DOI:10.1093/jas/skz291

17. Dairy environmental sustainability. Dairy Management Inc website. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://www.usdairy.com/sustainability/environmental-sustainability 

18. California Department of Food and Agriculture. California Agricultural Production Statistics. Updated August 31, 2023. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Statistics/