Providing safe, nutritious food to a growing world population is one of the defining challenges of our time. U.S. dairy stands ready to meet this need through ongoing investment, collaboration, and expanded trade opportunities. 

Nutritious food is foundational for a healthy life and promising future. Yet hundreds of millions of people around the world lack access to safe, varied, and nourishing diets. In the face of this persistent challenge, U.S. dairy contributes to more resilient global food systems by making high-quality nutrition accessible through trade.

In 2023, as many as 757 million people worldwide experienced hunger. Data from 2022 highlights the crisis among children, with more than one in five children under the age of five stunted and 7.5% suffering from wasting. This widespread undernutrition has long-term health, cognitive, and economic consequences. 

A nutrient-dense powerhouse
The most critical window for nutritional intervention is the first 1,000 days of life, when sufficient nourishment is essential for healthy growth, brain development, and long-term potential. While no single food can meet all nutritional needs, dairy’s nutrient density makes it especially important during this critical development window. Dairy is consistently recognized as a key source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, and vitamin B12—nutrients vital for everything from bone development to cognitive function and motor skills.

In the fight against malnutrition, adding dairy to the diets of young children can be transformative. Examples include nutrient-rich yogurts and cheeses, milk powder that can boost the nutritional profile of commonly consumed foods like porridge, and infant formulas with ingredients like lactose, casein, or whey when breastfeeding is not possible or desired. 

U.S. dairy’s contribution to global markets
As one of the world’s most efficient and reliable producers, U.S. dairy helps meet global nutrition needs through trade. In fact, one recent study demonstrated that in some lower- and middle-income countries, U.S. dairy exports increased availability of vitamin A by 136%, zinc by 108%, and vitamin B12 and calcium by 88%.

These gains underscore how trade in dairy plays a complementary role where domestic production is insufficient to meet demand. With roughly one of every six tankers of American milk exported as finished product, U.S. dairy is positioned to supply nutritious products around the globe.

U.S. dairy cooperatives and processors offer a wide variety of high-quality ingredients and products that serve food manufacturers, foodservice operators, and retailers worldwide. These exports help customers deliver reliable, affordable, and innovative products to consumers.

Beyond traditional commercial channels, governments and institutions can turn to U.S. dairy to bolster local nutrition programs. In Indonesia, for example, American dairy offers a promising solution to support an expansion of their national school milk program. Through rule-based trade, U.S. dairy exports can enable continuity and access in child nutrition efforts when local supply runs short.

Trust, transparency, and reliability
From family-owned farms to state-of-the-art processing facilities, U.S. dairy supply chains emphasize transparency, quality and reliability. This commitment is driven by both regulatory oversight and industry-led protocols that prioritize safety, consistency, and continuous improvement to align with global market expectations.

USDEC actively engages in influential multilateral forums and builds key partnerships to push the industry forward. Reflecting a legacy of animal care, U.S. dairy collectively launched its FARM Program in 2009, which now covers 99% of the U.S. milk supply and was the first livestock program to meet World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) animal welfare standards.

Today, USDEC works with UN agencies, WOAH and Codex to advance science-based standards, support objective international guidelines and foster adoption of policies that facilitate trade. To complement these efforts, we partner with governments and NGOs to defend common food names, expand trade opportunities, and remove technical barriers to U.S. dairy worldwide. 

Advancing sustainability while expanding access
Our industry’s ability to meet growing global demand for nutrition rests on a parallel commitment to sustainable practices that reduce environmental impact. As we nourish more people, we are working to shrink our footprint in ways that also strengthen producers’ bottom lines. Innovations like methane-capture, water reuse, and advances in cow nutrition and feed efficiency benefit both the environment and farm economics.

Thus, U.S. dairy exports are backed by environmentally responsible production practices that demonstrate our industry’s progress, ambition and commitment to producer viability and stewardship. For international customers, this translates to a reliable supply of high-quality, sustainable nutrition, produced with integrity and aligned with the expectations of today’s global marketplace. 

A global responsibility
Feeding a growing world is one of the defining challenges—and opportunities—of our time. By 2050, the global population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion. With continued investment and collaboration, U.S. dairy stands ready to meet this growing demand.

As we build on our critical role in the global food system, our direction is clear: We will keep engaging, innovating, and collaborating, advocating for a world where everyone has the nourishment to thrive.

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.