The New York Times and numerous media outlets have inaccurately reported on the US’s farmer-funded dairy promotion programme recently, Dairy Management says. “Much of the reporting is fundamentally wrong,” it says in a statement. “Contrary to the myth that has been perpetuated, Dairy Management Inc. was not created by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), nor is it an agency of USDA. It is a private, non-profit corporation created and run by America’s dairy farmers who established it to unify national and local dairy promotion efforts.”
The claim that taxpayer dollars are used for promoting dairy consumption are false, DM says. “All of the programs created by Dairy Management to promote dairy consumption in the US are paid for completely by America’s dairy farmers. USDA does not contribute money to promote dairy products in the US. In fact, dairy farmers actually pay USDA for all of the costs to oversee the promotion programme.”
The original news item in the New York Times claimed that Dairy Management was a “marketing creation of the USDA” and pushed consumption of cheese, contradicting the US government push to have Americans reduce fat in their diets. “The government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese,” it said.
Dairy Management disputes this. “America’s dairy farmers are proud of the nutritional contributions of milk and cheese to the US diet and support the consumption of a balanced diet which includes room for all foods in moderation. The US government’s dietary guidelines for Americans, which call for the consumption of three servings of low-fat or fat-free milk products each day, are the cornerstone of Dairy Management’s nutrition guidance.
“Efforts to misrepresent this programme, and the federal government’s role in administering the programme, are an unfortunate and unacceptable assault on the hard work and dedication of America’s dairy farmers.”