World Milk Day was first designated by the FAO in 2001. June 1 was chosen as the date because many countries were already celebrating a milk day during that time of year. The Day provides an opportunity to focus attention on milk and raise awareness of dairy’s part in healthy diets, responsible food production, and supporting livelihoods and communities. This is supported by FAO data showing that more than one billion people's livelihoods are supported by the dairy sector and that dairy is consumed by more than six billion people globally. The fact that many countries choose to do this on the same day lends additional importance to individual national celebrations and shows that milk is a global food. World Milk Day Celebrations World Milk Day 2016 In 2016, World Milk Day was celebrated in over 40 countries. Activities included marathons and family runs, milking demonstrations and farm visits, school-based activities, concerts, conferences and seminars, competitions and a range of events focusing on promoting the value of milk and illustrating the important role played by the dairy industry in the national economy. World Milk Day 2017 In 2017, 588 events took place in 80 countries reaching 402 million impressions on social media for #WorldMilkDay. Events included open houses at dairy farms, milk donations to schools, contributions to food banks, photo contests, sports competitions, fairs, dance shows, parties, nutrition conferences, tastings, exhibitions, food carts, and milk bars. World Milk Day 2018 In 2018, World Milk Day was celebrated with 586 events in 72 countries. Farmers, staff, families, politicians, chefs, nutritionists, doctors, academics and athletes raised their glasses of milk and shared information about the benefits of milk and dairy products in their lives. #WorldMilkDay achieved 868 million impressions with over 80,000 posts from May 1 to June 2. The global campaign received over 1.1 billion impressions and 291 million in reach on social media. Celebrations will happen again on June 1, 2019.
Controversy
In response to this event, a "World Plant Milk Day" was created in 2017, which occurs annually on August 22. Their objections to World Milk Day center around the environmental impact, health effects, and animal abuse of the dairy industry. The movement is promoted by the use of the #WorldPlantMilkDay hashtag.
