World Milk Day (WMD) is observed every year on June 1 globally, with the aim to raise awareness about milk and its importance as global food. The day encourages to talk about the benefits of dairy with regards to health and nutrition, affordability and accessibility, the sector’s passion and commitment to feeding our communities.
Theme for the year 2020: 20th Anniversary of World Milk Day.
Key Points:
i.History of the day: World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) to recognize the importance of milk. The day was first celebrated on June 1, 2001.
ii.Every year, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been actively promoted around the world, dairy is also the livelihoods of 1 billion people.
World Milk Day 2020: Events
i.WMD 2020 celebrations started with the “#Enjoy Dairy” rally from May 29- 31, 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all the global campaigns and other events took place online. The day is celebrated by giving free milk packets to young children in some parts of the world.
ii.The International Dairy Federation (IDF) will host a virtual ‘raise a glass’ event on June1, 2020. The event will include a very short introduction by Dr Judith Bryans, IDF President, to celebrate WMD 20th anniversary, & then IDF experts from around the globe will toast to World Milk Day (with a glass of milk of course) IDF’s ‘Raise a (virtual) glass to World Milk Day 2020.
iii.In India, the day holds a lot of importance considering we are an agricultural nation and the largest producer of milk.
About Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
The FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
Headquarters– Rome, Italy.
Director-General– Qu-Dongyu.
About IDF:
Director-General– Ms. Caroline Emond
Head Quarters- Brussels, Belgium.
