World Milk Day

World Milk Day is a day established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food.[1] It has been observed on June 1 each year since 2001.[2] The day is intended to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector.[2]

History

World Milk Day was first designated by the FAO in 2001. June 1 was chosen as the date because many countries were already celebrating a milk day during that time of year.[2]

The Day provides an opportunity to focus attention on milk and raise awareness of dairy’s part in healthy diets, responsible food production, and supporting livelihoods and communities. This is supported by FAO data showing that more than one billion people's livelihoods are supported by the dairy sector, and that dairy is consumed by more than six billion people globally.[3] The fact that many countries choose to do this on the same day lends additional importance to individual national celebrations and shows that milk is a global food.

In 2016, World Milk Day was celebrated in over 40 countries. Activities included marathons and family runs, milking demonstrations and farm visits, school-based activities, concerts, conferences and seminars, competitions and a range of events focusing on promoting the value of milk and illustrating the important role played by the dairy industry in the national economy.[4]

In 2018, there were 586 recorded World Milk Day events in 72 countries, and 1.1 billion impressions of #WorldMilkDay and #RaiseAGlass on social media[5]. This represented a four-fold increase in impressions over 2017.

Celebrations will happen again on June 1, 2019.

Controversy

Despite overwhelming positive reaction to World Milk Day globally, some individuals attempt to promote their own anti-dairy agenda and misinformation such as "concerns about unfounded health claims of dairy, as well as recognition for the animal abuse in the dairy industry". This includes the attempt to create a "World Plant Milk Day" on August 22,[6] which is has the important distinction of being an unrecognized day by the FAO, or any official governing or policy-recommending body. The movement is promoted by the use of the #WorldPlantMilkDay hashtag.

References

  1. ↑ "Today is World Milk Day". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "World Milk Day: 1 June 2015". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  4. ↑ "World Milk Day". Food and Agriculture Organisation. April 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ "World Milk Day - Home". worldmilkday.org. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  6. ↑ "World Plant Milk Day - 22nd August 2017 - Celebrating the huge selection of plant based milks". www.worldplantmilkday.com. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.