Who Lies The Most

The Dairy Checkoff Program is an industry-funded federal program that has a profound impact on what Americans choose to consume. Prompted by the dairy industry, Congress created the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board in 1983 whose sole purpose was to promote dairy products by way of marketing and “nutritional education.” To fund this effort, dairy farmers agreed to pay a small fee based on the weight of the milk they sold.

This program is responsible for targeting low-income communities with some of America’s most craveable (and least healthy) food products including Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust Pizza and Taco Bell’s Quesalupa and Quesarito. The Board has worked with dozens of companies to promote dairy-heavy menu items, resulting in 40 percent more cheese on Domino’s pizzas, more milky drinks at Starbucks, and larger cheese slices on Egg McMuffins.

In addition to these corporate collaborations, the research studies that demonstrated a positive correlation between athletic performance and chocolate milk were funded—at least in part—by the dairy industry and specifically designed to favor dairy. Scientists ensured the industry’s desired result by comparing chocolate milk to a protein-deficient sports drink. Of course, BIG DAIRY relies on the fact that most people don’t read below the fold, let alone analyze scientific studies.

People see the professional athlete sporting a milk mustache when they flip the page in a magazine, or they scroll through the headlines and see that a new study confirms the benefits of chocolate milk in teen athletes, and they’re reminded to add milk to their grocery list. Milk has become so ingrained in our culture that we cannot see past the smoke and mirrors to what milk really is—a century-long problem the government cannot spend enough money to get rid of, no matter how much cheese Pizza Hut stuffs into its crust.