More than 48 percent of Americans aren’t sure where chocolate milk comes from – and seven percent are convinced it comes from brown cows, according to a new survey.
The astonishing figures were released by the Innovation Center of US Dairy, who surveyed 1,000 Americans over the age of 18. The group believes the results to be “nationally representative,” suggesting more than 16 million people think brown cows directly produce the dessert drink.
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The study also found that 29 percent of those surveyed use their children as an excuse to buy the sugar and cocoa-filled beverage for themselves.
FoodCorps co-founder Cecily Upton believes the results are part of a much broader issue of Americans simply not knowing enough about where their food comes from.
"At the end of the day, it's an exposure issue," Upton told The Washington Post. "Right now, we're conditioned to think that if you need food, you go to the store. Nothing in our educational framework teaches kids where food comes from before that point."
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This isn’t the first time Americans have been shown up for their apparent lack of agricultural knowledge. In the 90s, a study by the Department of Agriculture found nearly one-in-five adults didn’t know what hamburgers are made of.
“We still get kids who are surprised that a french fry comes from a potato, or that a pickle is a cucumber,” said Upton. “Knowledge is power. Without it, we can’t make informed decisions.”