ABSTRACT
Any discussion on the overall global impact of the dairy sector must include all the important socio-economic and environmental benefits and costs associated with the sector: people, planet and prosperity. In this respect Fig. 1 and 2, and the following quotations from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provide a useful context:
Sustainable consumption and production in food and agriculture is a consumerdriven, holistic concept that refers to the integrated implementation of sustainable patterns of food consumption and production, respecting the carrying capacities of natural ecosystems. It requires consideration of all the aspects and phases in the life of a product, from production to consumption, and includes such issues as sustainable lifestyles, sustainable diets, food losses and food waste management and recycling, voluntary sustainability standards, and environmentally friendly behaviours and methods that minimize adverse impacts on the environment and do not jeopardize the needs of present and future generations. Sustainability, climate change, biodiversity, water, food and nutrition security, right to food and diets are all closely connected. (FAO, 2016a)
Billions of people around the world consume milk and dairy products every day. Not only are milk and dairy products a vital source of nutrition for these people, they also present livelihoods opportunities for farmers, processors shopkeepers and other stakeholders in the dairy value chain. (Muehlhoff et al., 2013)
Clearly, to determine the overall impact of dairying from the perspective of sustainable consumption and production is an extremely complex undertaking. It is also clear that the dairy sector impacts billions of people.
