Is Milk A lie?

In 1981, President Reagan made a decision to provide free cheese to America's poor. The government cheese program became popular in movies and hip-hop lyrics, with artists referencing the cheese they grew up on. However, after government cheese, people were able to enjoy steak and powdered milk cheese. Despite its popularity, the story of milk in America reveals how the government often prioritizes protecting certain industries over informing the public about the food they consume. The famous "Got Milk?" ad campaign featuring celebrities with milk mustaches was part of a larger industry effort to promote milk consumption. Milk has been a key source of sustenance for centuries, particularly in regions like northern Europe where people relied on it during long, cold winters. The ability to digest milk varies around the world, with some countries being better adapted to digesting it than others.

In the early 1900s, milk was considered a magical and perfect drink in the United States that could cure all ailments. However, it went from being something that humans could only digest until the age of six to being a hotbed for pathogens. Pasteurization was introduced as a solution to this issue. Interestingly, the version of milk 100 years ago is not much different from what we have today. The government also played a role in promoting milk as a healthy drink through the "milk for health" campaign, which encouraged children to drink a quart of milk every day by 1937. However, science funded by industries with certain agendas can muddy the waters of what's considered healthy. Furthermore, when the Great Depression hit, Americans could no longer afford milk, and this interference by the government affected the market's supply and demand link.

In the 1950s, milk became ingrained in the American consciousness due to creative storytelling, scientific messaging, war, and a government that was increasingly influenced by dairy farmers. This pattern repeated itself in the 1970s when the economy tanked and dairy farmers struggled again. President Jimmy Carter bailed out farmers, perpetuating a distorted market with fake demand, and incentivizing farmers to produce excess milk that nobody wanted. The surplus grew to the point where the government had to pay farmers to stop producing milk and slaughter their herds. When this failed, they passed a law that allowed all dairy farmers to pitch into a fund for advertising and research to convince people to drink more milk. The modern version of this involves the dairy lobby partnering with fast-food restaurants to create cheesy products, and the dairy industry even has its own marketing agency called Dairy Management.

The dairy industry exerts a significant influence on the government and the public, and this is evident in the marketing campaigns that promote milk and cheese consumption. The former CEO of a major dairy marketing company stated that increasing the cheese content in pizzas by just one more ounce could result in an additional 250 million pounds of cheese sales per year. However, recent studies suggest that consuming too much milk may be detrimental to bone health. Despite this, the dairy industry continues to be deeply entrenched in the government and the economy, making it difficult to enact meaningful change. Nonetheless, there are many small, family-owned farms that operate with integrity and provide high-quality products. By supporting independent journalism and content creators, we can help ensure that important issues like this are brought to light.