Human lactation has evolved to produce a milk composition that is uniquely-designed for the human infant. Not only does human milk optimize infant growth and development, it also provides protection from infection and disease. More recently, the importance of human milk and breastfeeding in the programming of infant health has risen to the fore. Anchoring of infant feeding in the developmental origins of health and disease has led to a resurgence of research focused in this area. Milk composition is highly variable both between and within mothers. Indeed the distinct maternal human milk signature, including its own microbiome, is influenced by environmental factors, such as diet, health, body composition and geographic residence. An understanding of these changes will lead to unravelling the adaptation of milk to the environment and its impact on the infant. In terms of the promotion of breastfeeding, health economics and epidemiology is instrumental in shaping public health policy and identifying barriers to breastfeeding. Further, basic research is imperative in order to design evidence-based interventions to improve both breastfeeding duration and women’s breastfeeding experience.

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The purpose of this Special Issue “Cow’s Milk and Allergy” is to provide an overview of the association of cow’s milk with allergy. This topic has two quite different faces. On the one hand, we are all aware of the importance of cow’s milk allergy in early life. What is less known is that the consumption of raw, unprocessed milk is associated with a lower incidence of asthma and rhinitis. This Special Issue takes a closer look at all of these aspects of cow’s milk and allergy and focus on the following questions:

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Food quality, including dietary quality and diversity, is as essential to human health as air is to human life. In addition, other healthy lifestyle factors, including a healthy body mass index, regular exercise, no smoking, and sufficient sleep duration, are associated with a lower incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases and longer life expectancy. More importantly, maternal healthy lifestyle factors are also associated with a substantially reduced risk of chronic diseases in their offspring. Childhood is a critical period for the development of a healthy lifestyle and the prevention of chronic diseases in adulthood. However, the prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing and unhealthy lifestyles are becoming an epidemic, posing a potential future burden of adult chronic disease. The aim of this Special Issue is to identify and assess dietary factors, including dietary diversity and specific nutrients/phytochemicals, as well as other healthy lifestyle factors, in the prevention and management of childhood chronic diseases. Additionally, we want to identify gaps and tools that could help with the assessment of children’s health. We wanted to encourage all researchers who work in this field to submit original research, reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses to this Special Issue to broaden our knowledge and pave the way for new research directions.

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Food insecurity is a complex ‘wicked’ problem that results from a range of unstable and uncertain physical, social, cultural and economic factors that limits access to nutritious food. Globally, 800 million people are under-nourished, and around 2 billion are overweight/obese or have micronutrient deficiency. These populations are largely positioned in developing countries where disease burden is high and impacts health budgets and productivity. Similarly developed countries, cities and neighbourhoods are experiencing a greater emergence of vulnerable populations. This is in part explained by the change in the food production and manufacturing, the retraction in economic climates, the increase in food price, and in some regions reduced food availability and access.Vulnerable groups include but are not limited to migrant populations, Indigenous people, elderly, pregnant women, those with disability, homeless, young children and youth. Poor nutrition at significant periods of growth and development and during life impact long term health outcomes increasing non-communicable disease prevalence, health cost and reducing economic productivity.

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