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NMPF takes on milk consumption myths

A dairy industry leader says using 20 years of declining fluid milk consumption numbers isn’t an accurate portrayal of overall dairy consumption.

National Milk Producers Federation’s Alan Bjerga points to food disappearance and consumption data from USDA.

“We’ve just gotten data in the last couple of weeks that show that per capita consumption of all dairy products is at its highest in 56 years, it’s the most since 1962, through 2018.”  

He tells Brownfield how consumers want dairy products is changing, but demand is still there.

“If butter demand is at a 50-year high, if cheese consumption has tripled in the past 45 years—that offsets a lot of the concern you may have about declining fluid milk consumption.” 

Bjerga says the total U.S. population has also been growing making a higher per capita consumption rate even more impactful.

“Forty-five years ago, this country barely had over 200 million people, now we’re pushing 330 million.” 

NMPF is highlighting misconceptions about dairy consumption in their Dairy Defined Series.