You all know how I feel about this. But friend of the blog Brad Flansbaum sent me this report. Here’s the introduction, which should sound familiar:
The United States is in the midst of a public health epidemic due to poor diet. While much of the focus has been on obvious culprits such as sugary soft drinks and fast food, dairy foods often get a pass. The dairy industry, propped up by government, has convinced us of the health benefits of milk and other dairy products. But the context of how people consume dairy matters. This report shines a light on the shifting patterns of consumption away from plain milk toward dairy products laden with sugar, fat, and salt.
Did you know that about half of all milk is consumed either as flavored milk, with cereal, or in a drink? Did you know that 70% of milk consumed in schools is flavored?
Did you know that 11% of all sugar goes into the production of dairy products? Mind blowing.
The report also talks about all the ways in which the government supports the dairy industry, and how that in turn supports fast food companies. The executive summary is like two pages long.Go read. And watch this again:
