How big government helps big dairy sell milk
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the history and marketing behind milk consumption in the U.S. It highlights how the dairy industry shaped public perception, convincing people that milk is essential for health, despite evidence showing that dairy isn't necessary for a balanced diet. The script delves into how government policies, advertising campaigns like 'Got Milk?', and powerful political influences have driven milk's prominence in schools and dietary guidelines. The video raises questions about whether milk's dominance is due to health benefits or marketing, while alternative, nutritious food options are often overlooked.
Takeaways
- 🧀 Dairy ads have promoted milk as a healthy alternative to sugary drinks for decades.
- 🤔 The belief that milk is essential for health is more a product of marketing than necessity.
- 🥛 People can be healthy without consuming any dairy, and many Americans can't even digest milk.
- 🦴 Research shows that drinking lots of milk doesn't necessarily reduce the risk of fractures.
- 💼 The dairy industry is a powerful economic force influencing federal dietary guidelines.
- 🌍 Milk was originally a survival tool for populations in cold climates with limited access to produce.
- 🪖 The U.S. government promoted milk during World War I to combat soldier malnutrition, which spurred large-scale dairy production.
- 💡 After the war, the dairy industry shifted to large-scale production, leading to milk surpluses that the government had to buy up.
- 📊 In the 1980s, the government stopped buying surplus milk, leading to a dairy checkoff program that funds advertising to increase consumption.
- 🍕 Dairy checkoff funds partnerships with fast-food chains to promote cheese-heavy menu items, while the USDA promotes dairy consumption in its guidelines.
Q & A
Where did the idea that milk is essential for health originate?
-The idea that milk is essential for health was heavily promoted by the dairy industry through marketing campaigns and 'milk education' programs. This belief is not necessarily based on scientific evidence but rather on the need to sell surplus milk after World War I.
Are there other foods that provide the same nutrients as milk?
-Yes, there are many foods that provide similar amounts of calcium, potassium, and protein as milk. For example, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and fortified plant-based milks can offer comparable nutrients.
What percentage of Americans cannot digest milk, and what are the implications?
-Around 25% of Americans cannot digest milk due to lactose intolerance. This means that a significant portion of the population does not benefit from the high dairy consumption recommended by federal dietary guidelines.
Did drinking more milk reduce the risk of fractures?
-No, studies have shown that people who drink large amounts of milk are not less likely to experience fractures, which challenges the idea that milk is essential for bone health.
How did World War I impact the U.S. dairy industry?
-During World War I, the U.S. government sent large amounts of canned and powdered milk overseas to combat malnutrition. This led to an increase in dairy production, but after the war, demand dropped, leaving farmers with surplus milk.
What role did the U.S. government play in promoting milk consumption?
-The U.S. government played a major role by including milk in school lunch programs and buying up surplus milk. This helped establish the idea that milk was a necessary part of a healthy diet, despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting this claim.
What is the dairy checkoff, and how does it influence consumer behavior?
-The dairy checkoff is a program where dairy farmers pay a mandatory fee, which funds marketing campaigns designed to increase milk consumption. These campaigns, like 'Got Milk?', are approved by the USDA and aim to promote dairy-heavy products.
How does the dairy industry's influence affect federal dietary guidelines?
-The dairy industry's financial contributions to politicians and lobbying efforts make it difficult for dietary guidelines to reduce dairy recommendations, even though research shows that dairy is not essential for health.
Why is milk still recommended in U.S. dietary guidelines despite conflicting evidence?
-Milk continues to be recommended because of the powerful political and economic influence of the dairy industry, which works to protect its interests in the face of scientific evidence that questions the necessity of milk consumption.
How do the marketing strategies for milk compare to other foods like vegetables?
-Milk is heavily marketed through large-scale advertising campaigns, unlike vegetables like broccoli, which do not have industry groups with similar marketing budgets. This disparity in marketing has shaped public perception and dietary habits.
Outlines
🧑🎤 The Ubiquity of Milk in Advertising
This paragraph highlights the prevalence of milk advertisements, often promoted by celebrities, and the perception that milk is a healthy alternative to sugary drinks. However, it questions where the notion of milk being essential for health originated. Experts argue that individuals can be healthy without dairy consumption, and research shows no strong link between drinking milk and a lower risk of fractures. Despite this, U.S. dietary guidelines still recommend three servings of dairy daily, raising questions about the motivations behind this advice.
🥛 The Rise of Milk Consumption in the U.S.
The paragraph traces the history of milk consumption in America, noting that for most of history, milk played a minor role in people's diets. It was primarily used as a survival tool in cold climates. During World War I, the U.S. government heavily promoted milk, leading farmers to shift to large-scale dairy production. However, after the war, there was a surplus, forcing farmers to find new ways to keep the dairy industry afloat, including through 'milk education' campaigns and legislation that pushed milk consumption in schools.
🍕 Managing Milk Surplus and Government Intervention
This section explains how the U.S. government dealt with massive milk surpluses in the mid-20th century. To manage the excess, the government purchased surplus milk and distributed it to schools, the military, and as food aid. However, this storage and distribution system became unsustainable, prompting the Reagan Administration to halt the buying program. This led dairy producers to establish a mandatory fee system, or dairy checkoff, to fund advertising campaigns like 'Got Milk?' and form partnerships with restaurants to increase dairy-heavy menu options.
💸 Politics and the Influence of the Dairy Industry
The paragraph discusses the powerful influence of the dairy industry on U.S. dietary guidelines and politics. Despite evidence that milk isn’t necessary for a healthy diet, the dairy industry has successfully maintained its position in dietary recommendations through lobbying and political donations. Politicians, supported by the dairy industry, resist any effort to reduce dairy recommendations. The paragraph concludes by pointing out that other food groups, like vegetables, do not have the same lobbying power, which shapes how nutrition guidelines are formed.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Milk consumption
💡Dairy industry
💡Dietary guidelines
💡Calcium
💡Milk education campaigns
💡Surplus milk
💡Dairy checkoff
💡Got Milk? campaign
💡Saturated fat
💡Political influence
Highlights
The perception that milk is essential for health is heavily influenced by marketing, not scientific necessity.
Dairy products are not necessary for a healthy diet, as many foods offer similar nutrients like calcium, potassium, and protein.
A quarter of Americans cannot digest milk, yet dairy is still promoted as an essential part of a healthy diet.
Despite the widespread belief, research shows that drinking milk does not significantly reduce the risk of fractures.
The federal dietary guidelines recommend three servings of dairy daily, but this may be driven by economic, not health, interests.
Milk was originally a survival technology in cold climates where other food sources were scarce.
During World War I, the U.S. government promoted dairy to combat malnutrition among soldiers, which led to major shifts in farming practices.
After World War I, farmers heavily invested in dairy production, leading to a surplus when the war ended and demand decreased.
In the 1940s, 'milk education' campaigns in schools promoted drinking four glasses of milk a day.
The National School Lunch Program, created in 1946, required lunches to include a glass of whole milk.
Despite all the promotion, the U.S. still faced huge milk surpluses in the 1940s and 1950s, leading to the government purchasing the excess.
By the 1980s, the government was spending $2 billion annually to manage surplus milk, which led to the creation of the 'dairy checkoff' program.
The 'Got Milk?' campaign and partnerships with companies like Domino’s and Starbucks were funded by the dairy checkoff program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, responsible for dietary guidelines, also approves advertising campaigns aimed at increasing dairy consumption.
Political forces make it difficult to revise dietary guidelines to limit dairy or red meat consumption, due to strong lobbying by the dairy industry.
Transcripts
If you’ve opened a magazine in the past 20 years, this is probably a familiar image.
It’s easy to flip past these ads and think, “Hey, great. Stars promoting a healthy
alternative to sugary sodas and sports drinks,” awesome
There’s this idea that we have to drink milk to be healthy.
But where did that idea come from? There are
plenty of foods with just as much calcium, potassium and protein
Willet: Individuals can be very healthy with no dairy consumption at all.
In fact, a quarter of Americans can’t even digest milk!
and researchers have found that people who drink lots of milk aren’t any less likely
to get fractures. milk was a bad choice
And yet… the federal dietary guidelines recommend three servings of dairy a day. Why!?
Willet: Our dairy industry has become a very powerful economic force
For most of human history, milk was a small part of the lives of a small number of people.
Willet: Milk was really a survival technology for living in cold places where the long winters
made it difficult to grow fruits and vegetables. Then, around World War I, The US government
sent huge amounts of canned and powdered milk overseas, to fight malnutrition among soldiers.
And farmers made huge changes in response. Many got rid of their other crops to focus
exclusively on dairy. But when the war ended, demand dried up, and
the country was left with a whole bunch of milk it didn’t need.
At this point, farmers and milk processors had invested too much to shift away from large-scale,
year-round milk production So instead of making less milk, they convinced
people to drink more. “Milk education” campaigns in public schools
encouraged students to drink four glasses a day.
And milk producers got a boost from legislation that created the national school lunch program
in 1946, and required those lunches to include a glass of whole milk.
Even with all this promotion, the U.S. still saw huge milk surpluses in the 1940s and 50s.
So the federal government started buying up the extra. It sent some to schools, the military,
and to other countries as food aid. But much of the surplus sat unused in vast, underground
storage caves. By 1980s, the government was spending $2 billion
a year on surplus milk. The Reagan Administration, in its quest to cut government spending, put
a stop to the buying program. That didn’t sit well with dairy producers.
They convinced Congress to change the rules so that they could create something called a dairy checkoff.
Dairy farmers would into the checkoff with a mandatory fee. That fee would
go toward advertising campaigns aimed at making people buy more milk. And the U.S. Department
of Agriculture would approve those campaigns. The “Got Milk?” Ads are one example. The
fees also pay for partnerships with restaurants like Domino’s, Taco Bell and Starbucks to develop dairy-heavy menu
items, like a pizza with 40% more cheese. This means the USDA, the same federal agency
writes our dietary guidelines, is also in charge of a multi-million dollar campaign
to get us to eat a cheese pizza where one piece has two-thirds of a day’s maximum
recommended amount of saturated fat. So, if we know milk isn’t necessary, then
why not change the recommendation? Instead of milk with every meal, why not tell people
to drink water? Willet:...I think it’s impossible at this
point in time...because the political forces would not allow the dietary guidelines to say antying about limiting
red meat or dairy consumption. The dairy industry gives millions to politicians,
who protect their interests whenever the nutrition guidelines come up for review
Susan Del Bene: how do we continue to make sure students have access to appealing and
nutritious dairy products? Glenn Thompson: what can we do to remove policies
that are hindering milk consumption or promote policies that enhance milk consumption?
Milk and other dairy products can be a part of a healthy diet, but the idea that they’re
essential? That’s just marketing. And it's not like there's broccoli trade groups giving
money to politicians and running multi-million dollar ad campaigns. If there were, our dinner
tables might look a little different.
Browse More Related Video
The Truth About Milk - Nectar or Poison?
Dr Ken Berry | Why You Should Avoid Cow Dairy (Milk & Cheese)
Got Millet? How Marketing Could Improve the Lives of African Farmers | Zoë Karl-Waithaka | TED
Cientista revela verdades que ninguém te conta sobre o leite!
Procedures for Milk Sampling and Weighing.mov
Milk. White Poison or Healthy Drink?
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)