Stop Dumping Milk. Dump Trump Instead

Why are we dumping milk down the drain when the grocery store shelves are empty?

So here we are in a time when food banks cannot get enough food to feed those who are food insecure and grocery stores are limiting the amount people can buy so there is enough for everyone and We're dumping hundreds of thousands of pounds of milk down the drain?

Here's what Sonny Perdue, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said on his Twitter today:

"During this national emergency, @USDA is continuing our mission to “Do Right and Feed Everyone." He also tweeted that he wants to ensure that "kids all across the country are fed". On his website it says "America’s farmers and ranchers are some of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the world".

So let me get this straight. We have unprecedented food insecurity as a result of the current Covid crisis (not to mention the inequality between rich and poor). We have an excess of milk that could go toward feeding hungry kids/families. And even though our farmers are some of the most innovative entrepreneurs, the only response we can dream up to solving the problem of excess milk production is to throw away the milk? What in the actual F**k?

Here's how we problem-solve at my little company:

1. We clearly identify the business problem we are trying to solve.
2. We transparently communicate the problem to the stakeholders who are affected by the problem.
3. We ask our stakeholders (staff, customers, suppliers, investors) for their ideas on how we can solve the problem. Because we figured out a long time ago that more brains at the table working together to creatively solve a problem is way better than fewer brains at the table. In Sonny's case, I'm not even sure there is one brain at the table.

I'm sure that our dairy farmers do not want to dump milk (and their hard work) down the drain. If this problem of having too much milk was put forward to the people who buy/sell/consume dairy products we would not be dumping massive amounts of milk right now. I can think of lots of ways we could have used this milk. Here's a few obvious ideas off the top of my head:

1. Package the milk and give it away to people who need it.

2. Make more cheese and give it away to people who need it.

3. Make more butter and give it away to people who need it.

4. Make milk powder for infant formula and give it away to people who need it.

5. Make more Ice Cream and give it away to people who want it. Never underestimate the power of Ice Cream in a crisis!

Now, are there details to figure out in executing any one of these ideas? Of course. But when there's a clear and compelling reason to do something, people figure it out. Had we been asked about how to solve the problem of excess milk production, I know that grocers, manufacturers, cold storage facilities, food banks would have stepped up to avoid this unconscionable act.

Sonny says "we need to ensure our food supply chain remains safe and strong". How is dumping thousands of pounds of milk down the drain ensuring our food supply chain is safe and strong? Oh but wait....we can't overlook the fact that the dairy industry has a long history of price manipulation. Did we not get asked to help solve the excess milk problem because some people, perhaps lobbyists and loyalists wanted to prop up the falling price of milk? Um, Yeah.

If you are as upset about this dairy dumping debacle as I am then join me in getting up out of your chairs, stick your head out the window and yell "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!".

Just watching that video felt good right? Now take that energy and email your congress-person about this issue. Blog about it. Post on your social about it. Talk about it. And when the time comes in a few months, cast your vote to get people into office who will truly "do right and feed everyone".