How to create a more sustainable global food system in the wake of COVID-19

The author asserts that U.S. dairy is part of the solution to global food system crises exacerbated by COVID-19. The industry highlights historical efficiency gains and current initiatives, such as the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Goals and the Net Zero Initiative, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The text emphasizes the role of regenerative agriculture and manure management in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and producing renewable energy.

• The U.S. dairy industry has significantly improved production efficiency over 76 years, producing 60% more milk while using 15.7 million fewer cows, 65% less water, and 90% less land, resulting in a 63% smaller carbon footprint.
• Since 2007, the environmental impact of producing a gallon of milk has decreased, with requirements for water dropping by 30%, land by 21%, and the carbon footprint by 19%.
• In 2020, the U.S. dairy industry established Environmental Stewardship Goals to reach carbon neutrality and optimize water usage and quality by 2050.
• The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy launched the Net Zero Initiative in 2020, focusing on regenerative agriculture to make sustainable practices affordable and accessible for the nation's 34,000 dairy farms.
• A study in the Journal of Dairy Science suggests that removing dairy cows from the U.S. would not provide presumed environmental benefits and would threaten human health by reducing the availability of essential nutrients.

APA

O'Brien, B. (2021). How to create a more sustainable global food system in the wake of COVID-19. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/how-to-create-a-more-sustainable-global-food-system-in-the-wake-of-covid-19/

Chicago

O'Brien, Barbara. How to create a more sustainable global food system in the wake of COVID-19. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/how-to-create-a-more-sustainable-global-food-system-in-the-wake-of-covid-19/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=O'Brien |first1=Barbara |title=How to create a more sustainable global food system in the wake of COVID-19 |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=16 February 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/how-to-create-a-more-sustainable-global-food-system-in-the-wake-of-covid-19/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{obrien2021how, author = {O'Brien, Barbara}, title = {{How to create a more sustainable global food system in the wake of COVID-19}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/how-to-create-a-more-sustainable-global-food-system-in-the-wake-of-covid-19/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }