According to the California Farm Bureau Federation, it takes 48.3 gallons of water to produce one eight ounce glass of milk. This water usage includes not just the water that the cow drinks but also the water it takes to grow the cow's food and the water it takes to process the milk.
The Old Testament of the Bible makes about fifty references to milk and milk products and refers to the holy land as a "land which floweth with milk and honey."
As of 2004, the retail sale of raw cow's milk for human consumption was illegal in 42 states. Eight states - AZ, CA, CT, ME, NM, PA, SC, and WA - allow retail sales of raw cow's milk in stores.
In a 1939 strike by the Dairy Farmers Union, milk farmers engaged in militant tactics such as blocking roads, confiscating and spilling out milk, physically fighting strike breakers, and setting fire to trucks that tried to cross road blockades.
The 1990 Fluid Milk Promotion Act(105 KB) requires that "fluid milk products must be readily available and marketed efficiently" to the people of the United States.
A 1998 EPA study showed that US dairy cows produced 54 billion pounds of manure(553 KB) - 2.6 times the amount produced by the human population. [Note: We've been unable to find a more recent study.]
In 1996, the California Milk Processors Board and Mattel came out with a limited edition "got milk?" Barbie doll to advertise milk.
Since 1937, the wholesale price of milk has been set by the federal government under federal milk marketing orders (FMMO's). In 2006, about 60% of all milk sold in the United States was regulated under these FMMO's.
The National School Lunch Act(397 KB) requires that schools serve milk as part of the federally subsidized National School Lunch Program.
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