On nostalgia and the now
Credit: SChrist
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends. I went to see a singer, Paul Young, who we all loved when we were teenagers – at least, we people of a certain age. Sadly, his voice is not what it was, so we had the clips of his videos from back in the day before YouTube, and it was a really enjoyable night nevertheless, with his stories, audience interaction and singalongs.
Our friends were also there and we went afterwards and had a toast to our teenage selves. While my friend and I grew up in different countries, she was still a rabid fan of the same singer and we compared teenage concert notes. A lovely night and a reminder that some experiences are global events and there are many connections, even if we don’t know it at the time.
And so to the Tetra Pak Dairy Hub Handbook, which was released ahead of World Milk Day on 1 June. The global handbook advises on Dairy Hub projects, which connect smallholder farmers to a dedicated dairy processor in a selected region. “By providing farmers with ‘hands-on’ practical training and setting up appropriate milk collection infrastructure and technology, it boosts the supply of locally produced quality milk and cuts down food loss. As a result, the dairy processor gains a stable milk supply, while smallholder farmers access formal markets, boosting their productivity, profitability and livelihoods,” the company says. “In low-income countries, for instance, the FAO estimates that there are 238 dairy farms for every 10,000 people.” These Dairy Hubs provide a way to process and distribute safe dairy, and put profit into the pockets of the local population.
The small things that people do in their local areas can act like pebbles in a pond, causing many ripples outward. Sometimes you might not even know how or why the effect occurs, but you had similar experiences, many miles apart. It is often true in dairy as it is in life.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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