Impact of the Pathways to Dairy Net Zero initiative on US dairy farmers

The Pathways to Dairy Net Zero (P2DNZ) initiative, launched in September 2021 during UN Climate Week, brings together major dairy companies and cooperatives. Its members control a significant share of the milk, butter, and cheese markets. A number of EU member states are already introducing stringent environmental restrictions for the agricultural sector, and global dairy giants are seeking to extend similar requirements to producers in the United States and worldwide.

In the United States, major processors and distributors are sending individual dairy farmers requests to report on energy consumption, methane and carbon dioxide emissions, and measures to reduce fossil fuel use. Refusing to cooperate threatens farmers with the termination of business relationships and the loss of product sales channels, as retailers are bound by contracts with major processing structures. P2DNZ participants include such players as Dairy Farmers of America, Land O’Lakes, Nestlé, Schreiber, Lactalis USA, Danone North America, Saputo, and Leprino, as well as trade groups National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Management, Inc.

According to a report by Heartland Impact and Consumers Defense titled "War on Dairy: Foreign Influence Undermines America's Dairy Sector," under President Joe Biden, the USDA supported this initiative. The report notes that climate requirements impose fixed monitoring, reporting, and consulting costs on farmers. This hits small and medium producers disproportionately hard, forcing them to sell their assets to large enterprises and reducing the number of independent farms.

The authors of the report and representatives of Heartland Impact and Consumers Defense sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding the disclosure of the agency's cooperation with P2DNZ and its complete withdrawal from the project. For her part, Brooke Rollins has previously criticized such mandates for creating excessive financial burdens on small farms. A USDA representative also stated that the administration of President Donald Trump does not intend to allow American farmers to be coerced into handing over personal data in exchange for the right to sell milk.