CHICAGO
– Concluding the first International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF
WDS) held in the United States in 30 years, more than 1,240 dairy leaders from
55 countries celebrated IDF’s 120th anniversary and highlighted dairy’s
innovations, market opportunities and contributions to global sustainability,
food security and more.
IDF President Piercristiano Brazzale and
Director General Caroline Emond, along with U.S.-IDF Co-Chairs Nick Gardner and
Shawna Morris, emphasized the importance of bringing the global dairy sector
together and released a declaration
statement that called on governments, global organizations and the world’s
food and beverage sector to support “Being Dairy.”
“As it has been since the first World Dairy Congress held in 1903 in
Brussels, the IDF WDS has been an unmatched opportunity to collaborate
on the most promising opportunities and most important challenges in the dairy
sector,” Brazzale said. “The hard work and dedication of everyone in the dairy
sector produces delicious, nutritious, and simply irreplaceable food that feeds
more than 6 billion consumers and sustains one billion livelihoods globally.”
The
summit delivered four days of dynamic programming, including eight main
sessions and 21 break-out sessions focused on policy,
scientific and technical insights and exclusive market analysis. IDF also released
the World Dairy Situation Report 2023, its 2022-23
annual report and announced the winners of its second annual IDF
Dairy Innovation Awards, which celebrate and encourage innovative practices
across the world.
“U.S. dairy is
honored to have hosted this momentous IDF WDS 2023, bringing dairy’s premier
annual gathering to the United States for the first time in three decades,”
said Gardner, who also serves as the Chair of the U.S. Committee to IDF and as U.S.
Dairy Export Council senior vice president for sustainability and multilateral affairs.
“Hearing from world-renowned speakers, forging relationships with peers, and
even visiting some of the United States leading dairy regions – IDF WDS 2023
participants have seen U.S. dairy’s contributions first-hand and further
strengthened our collective ability to champion dairy’s critical role in
nutrition, food security, environmental stewardship, and more.”
Session highlights included:
·
Global
Leaders Forum featuring Piercristiano
Brazzale, President (International Dairy Federation); Barbara O'Brien,
President and Chief Executive Officer (Dairy Management Inc.); Yohichi Ohnuki,
President (Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd.), and Chairman (J-MILK); Miles
Hurrell, Chief Executive Officer (Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd.); Patricia
Stroup, Chief Procurement Officer (Nestlé); and Jayen Mehta, Managing Director (Amul
- Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing).
·
IDF’s
collaboration with international standard setting bodies, featuring Dr. Jamie Jonker, Chair (Chief
Science Officer, National Milk Producers Federation); Raj Rajasekar, Vice Chair
(Codex Alimentarius Commission); Paul Mennecier, Chair, (ISO Technical
Committee on Food Products); and Caroline Emond, Director General (International
Dairy Federation).
·
Global efforts to
build dairy demand together featuring Lloyd Day
(Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture), Ida Berg Hauge
(Norwegian Dairy Council) and Ricardo Villavicencio (Canilec).
·
Dairy
farming around the world panel,
featuring Joanna Shipp, Chair (National Dairy Promotion
and Research Board); Eduardo Schwerter, President (The Pan-American Dairy
Federation – FEPALE); Steen Nørgaard Madsen, Chair (Danish Dairy Board); Margaret
Munene, Managing Director (Palmhouse Dairies Ltd.); and Simon Vander Woude,
Chair (California Dairies, Inc.).
·
Global dairy
processing opportunities and challenges,
featuring Philip Vanderpol, Chair (Dairy
Processors Association of Canada) and President and Chief Executive Officer
(Vitalus Nutrition Inc.); Mike Durkin, President and Chief Executive Officer, (Leprino
Foods); Claudio Rodriguez, Executive Director and Chairman of the Board (Gloria
Group); Zhanyou Yun, Vice President (Yili Group); and Heike Steiling, PhD, Head
of Nestlé Product Technology Centers Dairy (Nestlé).
Details on the full program can be found on the website.
IDF WDS 2024 will be held in Paris, Oct. 15-18, with
the theme “Dairy 4 the Future.”
“Closing IDF WDS 2023 and looking ahead to IDF WDS
2024 in Paris, we are more inspired and energized than ever by the consistent
improvements and successes our industry continues to drive,” Brazzale said.
For more information and to subscribe for updates,
visit www.idfwds2024.com/.