Pros And Cons Of White Milk

Following the pasteurization of milk, many organizations, including the US government, launched campaigns and programs in favor of the vitamins and calcium in milk. These stemmed off decreasing milk sales thought to contribute to lower vitamin and iron levels in children (Bower Mateer 165). The first major development in promoting milk was a pilot program to include it in school lunches. The program was launched with 15 low-income schools in the Chicago area in June of 1940, these schools subsidized milk costs making it affordable for students (Gunderson). This expanded throughout the United States in the next couple years as more schools began adopting milk cartons as part of school lunch. In the 1970s efforts continued as the government …show more content…
While many still favor, white milk being included in school lunch and food pyramids, some doctors are questioning whether or not the cons of high fat and low digestible material make milk worth it. In 2001, a group of doctors organized an advertisement campaign against “Got Milk?” in belief that milk was a leading cause of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes (Mellilo 1). The group stood campaigned to increase awareness that the program was created by the government to profit the government rather than to inform the people. This along with the idea that the health claims behind milk were false led the doctors fight against the campaign (Mellilo 2). However, in 2008 a group of researchers came to the conclusion that advertisements like “Got Milk?” weren’t effective in getting more people to purchase milk, but rather just to remember the ad (Bower Mateer 170). Similar to the “Got Milk?” series, 3-A-Day was launched in the early 2000s encouraging children to drink milk as part of living a healthy lifestyle. The campaign was widely popular during the early Obama-era as the First Lady pushed for better lunches in schools. [Program