Milk Life Answers the Question: Got Milk?

For the past couple of decades, we have all been familiar with the popular slogan: Got Milk? We have seen plenty of celebrities throughout the years embrace the iconic "milk mustache" on billboards, in television commercials, and in magazine ads. Celebrities ranged from international soccer super star, David Beckham and one of music's #1 hit artists, Taylor Swift, to the caped crusader of Gotham, Batman.

Recently however, the national milk industry has introduced a new slogan to promote milk to consumers. Now when you think of milk, think:

Milk Life

This new slogan, which first showed up near the start of this year is a revamped version of the Got Milk? campaign. Instead of just telling people they should just drink more milk, the new slogan leads more into the health benefits of consuming it. In a way, it answers the question that the old slogan asked. Why should people drink more milk? What is in it for my family and me if we do drink milk?

By drinking milk, you are consuming a wholesome beverage that includes nine essential nutrients that other dairy imitators cannot compete with. These nutrients help build strong bones and teeth and provide a good source of energy for being physically active. Drinking milk is also a great way to refuel after an activity as well. In this chart from Midwestdairy.com, one can see milk is the best choice when compared against other drinks. 

	Milk	Soy (fortified)	Juice (fortified)	Enhanced Water	Sports Drink	Iced Tea	Soft Drink
Calcium	+	+	+
Potassium	+		+
Phosphorus	+
Protein	+	+		+
Vitamin D	+	+	+
Vitamin A	+	+		+
Vitamin B12	+	+			+
Riboflavin	+				+
Niacin (or niacin equivalents)	+			+

The Milk Life campaign is not only promoting milk consumption and speaking about all the good healthy benefits from drinking it, but it is also advocating for The Great American Milk Drive. Partnered with Feeding America, the milk drive allows people to donate a gallon of milk to a food bank. As it states on the Milk Life website, "While milk is one of the top nutritious items requested by food bank clients, it's rarely donated." Millions of people, just in the United States, are missing out on an easy way to get nine essential nutrients. By donating a gallon of milk, you are helping families in your community and supporting the dairy industry. What a great pair! 

In the end, when you consume milk, you are bettering yourself, your community, and dairy farmers. Everyone benefits when you purchase that gallon of milk from the grocery store. Until next time, remember your three servings, have a dairy good day, and go out and "milk life" for all it is worth.

Information located at:

http://milklife.com/

http://www.midwestdairy.com/0t209p213/milk/

http://milklife.com/give

Pictures located at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/milk-ads-retired-20-years-milk-moustaches-article-1.1701064

http://blogs.ubc.ca/kpcave/2010/10/11/got-milk/

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Batman_Got_Milk_01.jpg

http://cargocollective.com/samanka/IDENTITY-BRANDING

https://milklife.com/articles/fun/milk-life-1

Recalls for Oasis Brands Inc. Products

About a month ago, the dairy product distributor Oasis Brands Inc. put out a public statement to recall roughly over a dozen of their dairy products. Based in Miami, Florida, the products that were sold were only distributed in the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The reason for the recall as stated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was due to the fact that the dairy products have the potential to be contaminated with the strain Listeria monocytogenes.  

One of the products in the recall.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Listeriosis is a serious infection that is caused when a person consumes food that has been contaminated the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The CDC says those who are to be most affected by the Listerosis are primarily pregnant women, newborn babies, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. On the CDC website, it gives a list of possible symptoms for those affected. Those who have it will show typical symptoms of:

• headache
• stiff neck
• confusion
• loss of balance
• convulsions
• fever
• muscle aches

The CDC further states that Listerosis is treatable and curable in a majority of cases when treated with antibiotics. They even state those who have consumed foods with the Listeria bacteria and show none of the symptoms do not need any treatments.

The products being recalled have the expiration dates of July 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. A full list of the dairy products with their batch ID code from Oasis Brands Inc. is provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and as is follows:

Queso Seco Centroamericano (Dry White Cheese) 1Lb	UPC 876593 001874
Queso Seco Olanchano (Dry Cheese) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000840
Queso Seco Hondureno (Dry Cheese) 12oz	UPC 876593 001690
Quesito Casero (Fresh Curd) 12oz	UPC 635349 000406
My Queso (Latin Flavor Cheese) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000406
Queso Cuzcatlan (Salvadorean Flavor Cheese) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000406
Queso para Freir (Cheese for Frying) 12oz	UPC 635349 000758
Queso Fresco (Fresh Cheese) 12oz	UPC 635349 000703
Cuajada en Hoja Queso Casero Hecho a Mano (Fresh Curd) 12oz	UPC 635349 000895
Crema Centroamericana (Soft Blend Dairy Spread) 1Lb	UPC 876593 001898
Mantequilla Hondurena (Honduran Style Cream) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000772
Crema Nica (Grade A Cultured Cream) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000468
HonduCrema Olanchana (Olanchana Style Soft Blend Dairy Spread) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000598
Crema Guatemalteca (Guatemalan Style Cream) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000819
Crema GuateLinda (Guatemalan Style Cream) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000390
Crema Cuzcatlan (Salvadorean Style Cream) 1Lb	UPC 635349 000444

As of right now, the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and all states that have been affected are working together and investigating how the strain got into the products. Oasis Brands has also stopped all production of these products while the investigation is ongoing.

As a consumer of dairy products myself, I like to be informed what is going on with my food just as much as the next person. I'm glad they discovered the origins of the bacteria before anyone else ate the products or became sick. There are still plenty of other dairy food distributors as well in the region not contaminated that can provide people with wholesome dairy products. Well, until next time friends, remember your three servings, and have and dairy good day!

Information located at:
http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/definition.html
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm419283.htm
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/10/recalled-mexican-style-dairy-linked-to-death-3-listeria-illnesses/#.VG7ScPnF-So

Picture located at:
http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/after-listeria-illnesses-oasis-brands-recalls-dairy-products/#.VG663fnF-So

Social Media in the Dairy World

Social media has become a normal part of our lives the past several decades. A person can barely go through a single day without the mere mention of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or any other of the social media websites on the Internet. And now with the advancement of technology, a person can look up their Facebook or Twitter account in seconds on their phone or mobile tablet. With this availability of the Internet to everyone, it gives dairy farmers a great way to give out information about the dairy industry to people all around the world. One of these awesome social media sites in particular is the Midwest Dairy Association's Facebook page.

The Midwest Dairy Association (MDA) has a lot of positive things going for them on their Facebook page. The page holds a lot of material for readers, but presents it in an easy to navigate manor. The about section does a great job in explaing who the MDA is and gives readers their mission statement in a clear concise manor. This section also gives people a link to another dairy related website in case there are further questions or if they want to learn more about the dairy industry (http://www.dairymakessense.com/). The MDA also adds a link to a different social media site, Pinterest, so people can share information from the Facebook page to a second site.

Another positive thing that the MDA Facebook page does is that it posts numerous articles, stories, and videos that can reach out to people of varying interests. Topics range from different recipes to try at home, stories about some of the dairy farms around the midwest, and what things the dairy industry have been doing lately. They also like to get viewers involved on the page. They sometimes will ask questions from the readers to see what they are thinking about a certain topic. 

One of the things I wish they would post more about is explaining different aspects of what a dairy farm is and what all goes on at a typical dairy farm. Many consumers are still unsure of what actually happens on a dairy whether it is big or small. They want to know the process behind taking care of the cows, the different steps milk takes before getting to the grocery store, and just who the people behind the wholesome product are. The actual homepage of the MDA provides more in depth information than on the Facebook page. I would also recommend the Dairy Farming Today web page. This site does an excellent job as well in explaining what dairy farmers strive for and what their job is.

That's all for now and until next, remember your three servings and have a dairy good day!




Pictures located at:
http://www.midwestdairy.com/0t43p35/logos/
http://www.anglindairy.net/2014/04/no-foolin-dairy-makes-sense.html#.VGQR8vnF-So
http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/Pages/Home.aspx

The Dairy Famers Sing "Feedin' a Nation"

Many of you are probably familiar with parodies of popular songs than can be found on YouTube or other common social media websites. The topic of these parodies can range from talking about bad grammar (Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic) to what farmers do on a daily basis (I'm Farming and I Grow It by Peterson Farm Bros). A parody I found recently fits perfectly with my blog's main focus which is the dairy industry. The song called "Feedin' a Nation" is a parody to one of the Beach Boys greatest hits, "Good Vibrations". 

The video was made by actual dairy farmers from around the Midwest and was shot on their farms. No actors or actresses from Hollywood were paid large amounts of money to act like dairy farmers and sing the song. The dairy farmers in the video did the parody themselves because they are passionate for what they do 365 days a year. In the video, it does an awesome job with telling people what dairy farmers are all about. 

It shows that dairy farms can come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small and others are larger leading many to think of them as factory owned farms. When in reality, around 97% of all dairy farms in the United States are family owned. The video also does well in speaking about how dairy farmers strive for cow comfort and care. They feed them when hungry, give the cows medicine when they are sick, and give them protection from the weather and the elements. 

 In the parody, "feeding a nation" is one of the key messages that dairy farmers are trying to send to people. All farmers, not just in the dairy industry, partake in providing wholesome food and products for clothing for America and the world. The video also mentions how as dairy farmers, their other duty includes being stewards of the land. The farming practices used today by modern dairy farms conserve more water, use less electricity, and are in general more environmentally friendly now more than ever. 

The only negative thing from the video I would have to say are the less appealing dance moves used throughout the parody, but that is beside the point.

Overall, I thought the video did an excellent job in showing just what dairy farmers are all about. They care for their cows, the land, and most importantly, the consumer. After all, the job of the farmer is to feed a nation. So the next time you see a farmer, thank them for all their hard work. Until next time, I'll end this post with a little farm humor. Remember your three servings and have a dairy good day!

Information located at:

http://www.dairy.org/for-consumers/farming

Picture located at:

http://frabz.com/2yz4

Video can be found at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss2XGxblNZY