The history of human consumption of animal milk for food dates back to the eighth century BC, but only five thousand years later could adults drink the drink on an equal basis with children. Currently, there is not only animal, but also plant milk made from wheat, coconut, buckwheat and other products.
But milk of animal origin is still in great demand, as it is considered healthier than other types of drink. Edition Knife toldwhere the myth about the usefulness and safety of the product came from.
When the first milk factories appeared, business really began to flourish. However, achieving success was not enough; it also had to be maintained. After huge capital has been invested in the industry, logistics have been established, discoveries have been made that have secured the product, and huge tracts of land have been given over to dairy cattle breeding, it would be a shame to lose all this if humanity abandons dairy products. However, in the twentieth century this began to happen.
The fact is that at the turn of the century a healthy lifestyle came into fashion. People began to promote a balanced diet, which prohibited the consumption of any animal products, including milk.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, milk was most often produced in unsanitary conditions and was not pasteurized, which caused the spread of various dangerous diseases, including tuberculosis. Manufacturers of the drink, who processed it, tried to convince the population that only their product could be consumed. However, the general public poorly understood the process of destroying vegetative forms of microorganisms, and, being frightened by advertising posters about the dangers of unpasteurized milk, they concluded that it was better to abandon it altogether.
However, everything changed in 1912 when future Nobel laureate Frederick Hopkins explained that certain additional factors found in milk, in addition to carbohydrates, proteins and fats, were necessary for rats to grow. Over time, this formed a new diet, diets and ideas about the benefits of the product.
Due to the fact that information about the benefits of milk quickly spread through advertising campaigns that were not regulated by the authorities, the drink was called a cure for almost all diseases and a source of longevity. Of course, the reality was greatly embellished.
Thus, milk acquired the status of “essential”, and this despite the fact that at that time only in the USA 20% of the population was lactose intolerant.
The advantage for the drink’s producers was that people didn’t know about it until 1965. Before this, the product was advertised as something that should be present in every person’s diet.
In June 1940, the first federal dairy program was launched in the United States at 15 elementary schools in low-income areas of Chicago. Back then, half a liter could be purchased for just one cent, but for children from families who could not afford it, it was supplied free of charge through donations.
In 1946, President Harry Truman signed The National School Lunch Act, designed to provide children with nutritious lunches. In total, three options for complex nutrition were developed, each of which included a mandatory liter of milk.
As market demand for milk declined and supply increased, the U.S. government began distributing “Milk Changed the Game” brochures. The photographs show a skinny, oil-fed rat next to a plump, butter-fed rat. The authors drew an analogy with the nutrition of human children.
Farmers began investing in the “Milk: Good for America” and “Milk is Good for the Body” campaigns. Despite the advertising, they did not buy more milk; farmers had an excess of products. The thing is that people are simply tired of hearing about the benefits of the drink.
Then advertisements began to appear that did not talk about the benefits of the product, but were very interesting from a plot point of view. People were intrigued, because only at the end of the videos did they find out what was being advertised.
There was no glut of dairy products outside of America, but the US media left its mark on history. Theses used by American propaganda to sell surpluses of their own dairy products have become folk wisdom in many countries. Scientific discoveries funded by the dairy industry were replicated around the world.
The governments of many countries were convinced that even citizens with lactose intolerance were obliged to drink milk. For this purpose, manufacturers began to make milk with flavoring additives and sugar.
Of course, milk is considered a healthy product. However, the fact is that the idea of the need to use it in large quantities was not based on scientific research, but solely on economic factors.
Earlier scientists discovered new danger of drinking milk.
Anna Morozova