Trends in Dairy Consumption

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Many factors and new diet trends have majorly impacted dairy consumption in the past several decades in the United States. The per capita consumption has decreased 25% since 1975 and is expected to decrease even more in future years.

So what is responsible for this decrease in milk consumption? There are several factors that are contributing to fewer milk drinkers and a decreased amount of milk consumed by people who do drink milk. First, the availability of new beverages on the market has increased competition among products. With so many sugar-sweetened beverages available, many people choose these options over milk. Second, the increased prevalence of a vegan diet has led to the increase in consumption of almond, rice, and soy beverages as alternatives. Third, as people are more health conscious and concerned about where their food originates, there is increased concern over the antibiotics and hormones that people claim are in milk. Even though not proven, this has deterred many from milk. Lastly, there is an increased amount of people who are lactose intolerant or who believe they are which leads them to alternative beverages.

With such a decrease in dairy consumption, there has also been a shift in the processing of milk. The number of processing plants has decreased by 87% but the output of those existing plants has increased by 500%. This indicates that the dairy industry has increased efforts to reduce costs by increasing efficiency in processing.

So what has the dairy industry done to combat this decrease in consumption? Packaging has improved as an attempt to try to increase attractiveness of the milk. Advertising has increased and the milk mustache campaign with many famous athletes and actors was supposed to help remedy sales. Since only low-fat milk is sold in schools, there are efforts to maintain taste even in low-fat versions to prevent school children from choosing alternative beverages. Seeing the measures that are being taken to increase sales, it will be interesting to see the direction that dairy consumption goes in future years.
Geuss, J. (2013). Why does the US continue to drink less milk? US Commodities Corner. Retrieved from: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Markets/Why-does-the-US-continue-to-drink-less-milk.

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