Fonterra celebrates World Milk Day

It's World Milk Day on June 1. Photo / Supplied / Fonterra

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It’s World Milk Day tomorrow, which is a good time to recognise a superfood which we make in our own backyard, Fonterra’s Global Head of Nutrition, Laura Anderson says.

World Milk Day was created by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of milk as part of a healthy diet, Anderson explained to The Country Sport Breakfast’s, Brian Kelly.

While most Kiwis were aware of some of the benefits of drinking milk - such as its rich source of calcium - it was important to point out that it was packed with other goodies as well, she said.

“It also contains more than ten essential nutrients, [including] high-quality protein, potassium and a range of vitamins.”

And it doesn’t stop there.

“Evidence also tells us milk is more than nutrients though, it’s made up of bioactive and physical structures which are unique to milk and part of how it supports our health.”

Therefore, it came as no surprise that global demand for milk was escalating, Anderson said.

“With the growing middle class, more people are looking for nutritious food, for themselves and for their families.”

However, this increased demand, coupled with the world’s increasing population, made it challenging to feed everybody in a sustainable way, she said.

“We continue to see nutrition deficiencies across the globe and it’s telling us that people are just not getting enough daily nutrition.”

This was why milk and dairy products were so important, Anderson said.

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“Milk delivers so much nutrition, in fact, 49 per cent of the world’s calcium intake comes from dairy.”

Anderson said World Milk Day was also a great time to celebrate Kiwi dairy farmers.

“So it’s these critical nutrients, and all the amazing work of our farmers here in New Zealand, that makes our milk such a good choice.”