Dairy 101

Introduction

You’re not getting what you pay for in the dairy aisle these days. While shoppers are led to believe that the milk they purchase comes from tranquil pastures, where farmers watch over happy milk cows grazing on green fields, the reality is not so idyllic. There are some good options in the dairy case, but consumers need to know what to look for.

Over the last 20 years, the dairy industry has been transformed at all levels, from the cows that produce its raw materials to the cooperatives that secure its prices and the processors that turn milk into finished products for consumers. Massive mega-dairies, whose herds may receive antibiotics and growth hormones to boost production, ship milk across the country to be mechanically separated and resold as everything from ice cream to industrial protein concentrates.