The Dutch are drinking less milk and eating more cheese
In the course of the first two decades of the 21st century, the Dutch were drinking less milk but eating more cheese. This is shown by an overview of per capita consumption figures of dairy products and eggs during 2005-2022, made by Wageningen Economic Research on behalf of Wakker Dier. Consumption figures for butter (oil) and eggs show less pronounced changes over the same period.
Discussions about a less animal and more plant-based diet often focus on the (excessive) consumption of meat and its reduction. But the consumption of animal-based proteins in the form of milk and milk-based foods is also important here. While 21st century meat consumption figures for the Netherlands as a whole show relatively little change so far (Dagevos et al., 2022), consumption figures for dairy products are more dynamic. The figures for milk and milk products show a clear decrease in consumption over time: a reduction of about 20% in volume between 2005 and 2021. This downward trend is offset by an upward trend for cheese and quark cheese products: an increase by about 40% over the same period. Apparently, many Dutch people find it easier to forgo a glass of milk or drinking yoghurt than a block of cheese or a tub of quark cheese.