In contrast, overall U.S.
consumption of milk,
yogurt, butter, cheese and other dairy products has fallen from 339.2 pounds per person in 1970 to 275.9 pounds in 2012 (Bentley, 2014), although
total milk production increased during this period due to increasing
consumption of
yogurt, cheese, and other manufactured dairy products which take more pounds of milk to produce.
With estimates that 70 - 75 % of the world's population may be lactose intolerant and with
total milk,
yogurt and cheese
consumption at over 200 million tonnes in 2011, lactose free dairy products represent a substantial opportunity for dairy manufacturers.