August 16, 2026

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Several styles of glassware containing milk on a blue and white checkered surface with cheese balls and spilled milk

Mischelle Moy

Editor’s note

Good morning. Got milk? Because we sure do. Welcome to Dairy Brew, a special edition all about the business of the stuff that Joey from Friends claims he can drink a gallon of in 10 seconds. We’ll explain why some Americans swear by raw milk despite the health risks, discuss whether soy, coconut, and other plant-based “milks” really count as milk, look into why celebs are lathering dairy products all over their bodies, and a lot more.

unfiltered take

Despite health risks, raw milk is having a moment

Raw milk being poured from one metal container into another with a cow in the background

Adobe Stock

Many Americans are rejecting modernity and embracing tradition not by limiting screen time but by drinking their milk raw. Unlike the stuff sold in most grocery stores, raw milk isn’t heated to kill harmful pathogens in a process known as pasteurization.

Public health authorities advise Americans to stay away from raw milk, due to the risk of illness—especially for children and pregnant women. But more people have been guzzling the untreated cow nectar: Farmers across the country reported growing raw milk sales in recent years, with gallons sometimes going for $20+.

Lawmakers in dozens of states are pushing to loosen restrictions on raw milk sales. And a bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives this year would allow it to be sold across state lines, which federal law currently prohibits.

Why drink it raw?

While some people prefer raw milk’s grassy creaminess, the craze is largely fueled by health influencers and anti-pasteurization advocates, many of whom are aligned with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. They insist it’s healthier than treated milk—a claim public health experts say isn’t supported by evidence.

The drink has champions in high places:

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took a shot of raw milk at the White House while celebrating the release of a MAHA report that promoted it.
Norwegian soccer superstar Erling Haaland recently said he drinks it all the time, claiming it’s good for the stomach, skin, and bones.

Supporters argue that Americans should be able to weigh the risks for themselves.

What are those risks?

Between 1998 and 2019, bacterial outbreaks tied to raw milk have sickened 2,600 Americans and were linked to 225 hospitalizations, according to the CDC. Raw milk products are 45 times more likely than those from pasteurized milk to cause hospitalization, according to a different study.

Raw milk boosters claim that it’s gotten safer due to many farmers adopting precautions, like testing for bacteria. The advocacy organization Raw Milk Institute—run by a California farmer who sells $30 million of it yearly—has created safety protocols for producers to follow. Still, the FDA linked nine recent E. coli food poisoning cases to raw milk and cheddar cheese from his farm this year.—SK

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¿Soy milk?

Arguing about ‘milk’ until the cows come home

Grocery store shelf of alternative milks including almond milk and oat milk

Jeffrey Greenberg/Getty Images

As anyone who’s ever taken a coffee order can tell you, there are a lot more milks out there than there used to be—soy, coconut, almond, cashew, oat, rice, banana, and even pea. But if you ask the dairy industry, those aren’t milks at all. Not even a little. Not even 2%.

Dairy, dairy, quite contrary: According to dairy producers, milk is not milk unless a mammal gets milked (usually a cow). Therefore, they say, plant-based beverages shouldn’t be able to use the term. But no one wants to be in the business of selling “pea water,” so, sometimes, alternative milk companies fight back, and things get litigious:

In February, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that Oatly can’t use the word “milk” on its oat-based products.
In March, a Swiss court ruled that Alpro couldn’t call its oat beverage “Shhh…This Is Not M*lk,” because it might mislead consumers.

In the US, the FDA says that consumers understand that nut milks, etc., aren’t actually milk. In fact, that’s why they buy them. So, as long as they’re clearly labeled, they can still be sold as milk.

A moo(t) point?: While dairy milk sales remain strong thanks to consumers’ insatiable demand for protein, retail sales by volume of dairy-free milks have dropped more than 5% three years in a row, per research firm Circana.—BC

UDDERLY BEAUTIFUL

Why some people prefer to use milk externally

Rhode

Finally, a way to enjoy milk even if you’re lactose intolerant. The dairy product best enjoyed with cookies has recently become a popular ingredient in beauty items.

Credit goes back as far as Cleopatra’s milk baths in ancient Egypt, which may have inspired recent products from the likes of Hailey Bieber. Milk can be found in creams, moisturizers, soaps, and serums for your skin. It’s also a way to keep hair hydrated.

Which milks are showing up in these products? They include cow, goat, buffalo, and—this is not a misprint—donkey. So that’s why Shrek and Fiona put up with him.

There are nondairy options. “Some formulas may contain milk proteins or acids,” cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson told New Beauty. “Some of these products don’t contain any cow’s milk at all. But instead, they may contain vegan alternatives such as nut milks.”—DL

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That’s rich

Buyers still want fancy dairy products despite inflation

Big blocks of butter in a wrapper on a dish with a butter dish in the background

Unsplash

Don’t freak out, but two years ago you ate 6.8 pounds of butter. Not all in one sitting, but still. Americans consumed a record amount of butter (and a ton of other dairy products) in 2024, according to the most recent data from the USDA. And dairy analysts only expect that number to keep growing. One of the creamy culprits driving this demand? Luxury butter.

From grocery store brands like Kerrygold to $60-per-pound Vermont farm butter, expensive butter is something shoppers have been splurging on in the last few years while opting for cheaper options in other categories. The trend can be chalked up to a few things:

Americans’ high-priced dairy tastes may stem from their pandemic-era baking obsessions.
A move away from ultra-processed ingredients like margarine.
With grocery item costs up everywhere, even $10 butter feels like a reasonable little treat.

Whatever happened to a nice T-shirt? American tourists are also snapping up French butter on vacation. Parisian Retailer La Grande Épicerie, a popular tourist destination, said it sold 19 tons of butter last year, a 300% jump from 2023.

Other ritzy dairy products are taking off. It’s never been a better time to be a purveyor of $15 pints of ice cream. Frozen yogurt is also in its third wave, costing up to $30 and creating hourslong lines.—MM

history lesson

How ‘Got Milk?’ became a famed ad campaign

Man on a telephone staring through an empty glass at a carton of milk

California Milk Processor Board

All it took to make dairy cool in the 1990s were two little words and an understanding that distance makes the heart grow fonder:

Rather than feature milk front and center, early “Got Milk?” ads for the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) satirized situations in which empty cartons spell disaster—like trying to win a radio contest with a dry mouth full of PB&J.
The slogan later became paired with the Milk Processor Education Program’s milk mustache campaign, a reportedly low-paying commercial spot that celebrities from Naomi Campbell to Stone Cold Steve Austin still wanted to do.
The CMPB also got Cookie Monster in “Got Milk?” ads, convincing Sesame Workshop that milk’s nutritional value made it a good exception to the company’s policy against brand promotions.

During the two decades that “Got Milk?” reigned over TV and magazine advertising, an estimated 80% of US consumers would see those words on any given day, according to Fast Company. The campaign was retired in 2014 to pivot away from perceived celebrity shilling, before anyone had to see Kylie Jenner with a milk mustache.—ML

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NEWS YOU CAN USE

Pop culture’s most memorable milk moments

Instead of chiding your Midwest roommate for chugging straight from the carton, try to connect with their culture using these dairy-forward conversation starters.

On screen…

Will Ferrell’s “milk was a bad choice” line from Anchorman was improvised and partially true—“it was a really hot day,” costar Paul Rudd later said.
Milk-drinking is a popular trope for villains. See Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, the Nazi Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, psychopath bounty hunter Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, supremacist superhero Homelander in The Boys, and Allison Williams’s Rose in Get Out.

IRL…

In 2020, Olympian Katie Ledecky swam a lap while balancing a cup of chocolate milk on her head, and Tony Hawk shredded a half-pipe while holding a full glass, as part of a social media campaign to resurrect “Got Milk?” as the #GotMilkChallenge.
Life imitated art last year when Nicole Kidman chugged a glass of milk while accepting an award for Babygirl, paying homage to one of the movie’s most talked-about scenes.—ML

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Written by Sam Klebanov, Brendan Cosgrove, Dave Lozo, Molly Liebergall, Abigail Rubenstein, and Adam Epstein

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