Change is hard, but good for the planet

Amy Vodraska is publisher of Dairy Foods. Contact her at vodraskaa@bnpmedia.com.

Welcome to Dairy Foods’ inaugural sustainability issue. Sustainability is a big issue to tackle. Basically, it means trying to figure out how to meet the needs of the present generation without robbing future generations of the ability to meet their needs. In other words, how can the Earth and human civilization continue to coexist?

Sustainability can mean many things to many people, but in general, it’s agreed that the concept is built on three pillars: economic, environmental and social — also commonly referred to as profit, planet and people.

So what does this mean for dairy? How can dairy processors make a profit while helping the planet to sustain its people?

That’s going to take change, and change can be hard. It means modifying the way we do business and committing to initiatives such as reducing waste, investing in renewable energy and utilizing recyclable or reusable packaging. In this issue, we showcase dairy processors and suppliers that have made the commitment to change in the hopes of preserving the planet for future generations.

Dairy Foods’ parent company, BNP Media, made the decision to go digital roughly a year ago. Clearly one of the advantages of going digital is a reduced impact on the environment. Other upsides include easily available content, portability, convenience and interactivity.

You may have noticed that in February, we switched formats from the traditional, difficult-to-read flipbook style to a more interactive, easy-to-read web-based format. Now you can read Dairy Foods on your phone, tablet or desktop like you would a web page — easy peasy! I literally read our March issue while waiting in line to get my COVID-19 vaccine!

The new platform offers a number of features to make our content more interactive and interesting for you. For example, in addition to reading our quality content, you can watch video interviews with processors or listen to our monthly podcasts, where we chat with industry experts and thought leaders.

Speaking of quality content, we’d love to hear from you. What topics would you like to see covered in Dairy Foods? What kind of information would help you do your job more efficiently?

We’d be grateful if you’d take a moment to look at the options below and let us know which of them you’d most like us to explore in future issues of Dairy Foods.

Amy Vodraska is publisher of Dairy Foods. Contact her at vodraskaa@bnpmedia.com.