Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

14
Milk and dairy products in human nutrition
albeit to levels that are still well below those in developed countries. The declines
in energy and protein intake from foods of livestock origin in the developed countries
in the 1990s were largely the result of declines in consumption in the former
centrally planned economies caused by elimination of subsidies, falling incomes and
reduced waste in supply chains (Figure 2.5). As a result of these trends, there has
been a significant narrowing in the gap between the two country groups in terms of
the share of livestock in energy and protein intake.
Overall, food consumption levels and dietary patterns of developed and developing
countries are converging. This applies also more specifically to dairy products,
although the convergence has been slower than for livestock products in general.
The percentage of total dietary energy coming from dairy products increased only
slightly in developing countries, from 3.4 percent in 1961 to 4.4 percent in 2007, and
was largely unchanged in developed countries over the same period (Figure 2.6).
There were marked differences between regions in both the percentage of dietary
energy derived from dairy products and trends (Figure 2.7). The contribution of
dairy products to dietary energy intake increased in South Asia between the late
1960s and 2007, and has increased rapidly in East and Southeast Asia since 2001,
albeit from a very low base. Elsewhere the contribution of dairy products to dietary
energy intake has been largely static or declined.
In spite of the convergence in per capita consumption of livestock products,
there are still large differences between developed and developing countries,
between regions and even within regions both in per capita consumption of livestock
products and growth rates of consumption (Table 2.1). These differences are
particularly marked in dairy products (Table 2.2).
figure 2.5
Per capita energy intake from dairy products* in developed countries, 1961–2007 (kcal/year)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1961
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
kcal/person/day
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
Industrialized
Formerly centrally planned economies
* Milk, butter and ghee, cheese.
Source: FAOSTAT, 2011.