During the 1990s and early 2000s, it was impossible to open up a magazine without seeing the milk-mustachioed face of a celebrity grinning back at you. The “Got Milk?” ads helped drive demand for dairy products at a time when fluid milk consumption was at its lowest point in decades.
How big government helps big dairy sell milk
For years we were told milk is “essential.” It’s not.
Those “Got Milk?” ads were one example of how, for decades, the federal government has helped sustain the dairy industry by convincing people to drink more milk. Today, the US Department of Agriculture’s dietary guidelines recommend three servings of dairy a day, despite the fact that one in four Americans can’t digest milk. New evidence also shows that drinking lots of milk doesn’t protect against bone fractures and may be linked to certain types of cancer. And all the good stuff in milk — calcium, potassium, and protein — can be found in greater amounts in foods like broccoli, kale, and black beans.
But these foods are at a disadvantage when it comes to competing against dairy. They don’t have trade groups giving millions to members of Congress and lobbying for influence over the nation’s nutrition policy. To find out how the federal government helped create the modern dairy industry, check out the video above.
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