Most of us grew up on milk, in bowls of cereal and slices of cheese, and chugging it by the glassful with lunch, dinner and dessert. The average American eats 23 pounds of cheese per year and, according to market researcher Euromonitor, London, every American consumes almost 22 quarts of ice cream each year the most per capita of any country. Food Pyramid, the government s outline of what Americans should eat each day. Although several animals produce milk that humans can consume, the vast majority of milk in the U.S. comes from cows.
Most milk sold in the U.S. is pasteurized and homogenized.
Pasteurization is the heating process required by law that kills most of the pathogenic bacteria in milk. Each state has its own regulations, but unpasteurized milk cannot be sold across state lines. Homogenization is a process that reduces the size of fat globules in milk by forcing milk through a filter at high pressure. Dairy foods are an excellent source of calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin and phosphorous. And they re a good source of vitamin A, niacin, vitamin B12, protein and potassium.