Where does Chocolate Milk Come From?

This is serious, although I am still mystified.

According to a report in The Denver Post, 7 percent of American adults believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

The article, titled, The surprising number of American adults who think chocolate milk comes from brown cows, is really a very deep and interesting discussion about how detached from our food chain Americans are becoming. 

The article summarizes the problem as follows: “At the end of the day, it’s an exposure issue,” said Cecily Upton, co-founder of the nonprofit FoodCorps, which brings agricultural and nutrition education into elementary schools. “Right now, we’re conditioned to think that if you need food, you go to the store. Nothing in our educational framework teaches kids where food comes from before that point.”

The education system, including parents, needs to ensure the entire food chain is known. And it extends beyond chocolate milk and cows.

Brown eggs versus white eggs?

A pickle is a cucumber?

French fries come from potatoes?

Wine comes from grapes? (I had to throw that in)

I am glad that I grew up in rural America where I watched and sometimes helped farmers milk cows, we had a garden, and understood where food comes from.

Drink up and remember that a farmer somewhere is milking cows for their milk, plain white milk no matter the cow color. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD