Dairy Checkoff

We have a program in this country called the "dairy checkoff" which levies a kind of tax on dairy producers and uses the funds to promote dairy products. But what specifically does that entail? Marion Nestle delves into the latest USDA report and finds, among other things:

— Focusing on dairy health and wellness by helping to combat childhood obesity by encouraging schools to implement physical activity and good nutrition, including dairy.

— Partnering with Domino's Pizza to develop pizzas using up 40% more cheese than usual. This worked so well that other pizza chains are doing the same thing.

— Partnering with McDonald's to launch McCafe specialty coffees that use up to 80 percent milk, and three new burgers with two slices of cheese per sandwich. The result? An additional 6 million pounds of cheese sold.

— Creating reduced lactose milks in order to bring lapsed consumers back to milk. The potential result? An additional 2.5 to 5 billion pounds of milk each year.

— Partnering with General Mills' Yoplait to develop yogurt chip technology that requires 8 ounces of milk.

— Maintaining momentum for single-serve milk by offering white and flavored milk in single-serve, plastic, resealable bottles.

40 percent more cheese! This was sent to me by a reader who suggests, rightly, that it's probably relevant to the discussion of why there are no ads for brocoli.