In the beginning of August, a group of legislators urged the USDA to bail out the dying dairy industry. According to a new Forbes article, it appears the United States Department of Agriculture is answering their cries.
The USDA plans on buying 11 million pounds of cheese — that’s 20 million dollars’ worth — to combat surplus inventories.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explained in a statement:
We understand that the nation’s dairy producers are experiencing challenges due to market conditions and that food banks continue to see strong demand for assistance.
A group of more than 60 lawmakers, along with the National Farmers Union, the American Farm Bureau, and the National Milk Producers Federation, pressured the USDA.
The reason for the extremely high surplus of dairy is simple: a significant decrease in consumption. That’s right. Consumers aren’t buying as much dairy as they used to. This is great news for our planet, the health of Americans, and of course, cows.
According to a 2013 report by the USDA, dairy consumption has been on the decline for decades. In fact, it has fallen a whopping 40 percent since 1970, with each generation consuming less milk than the one before.
The fact that Americans are consuming less dairy is great. But why is the USDA, the department that released the report on the decline of dairy, suddenly surprised that there’s an extraordinarily high surplus of it now?
It’s clear that the USDA is ignoring its own findings. Now it expects taxpayers to bail out the dairy industry. Heck, it’s bad enough that American tax dollars are spent to subsidize factory farming!
Thankfully, you can take matters into your own hands by switching to a compassionate vegan diet and calling Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to express your concerns.
Click here for information on vegan diets.
