Seven percent of American adults believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, according to a nationally representative online survey.
Nearly half of them, 48%, didn’t know where chocolate milk came from at all.
A new survey by milk industry body Innovation Center of US Dairy uncovered the startling statistics in a survey of more than 1,000 American adults.
Despite the upsurge in the consumption of plant-based milks, cow's milk remains one of the country’s most widely consumed beverages.
Just 5% of those surveyed said they abstained from drinking cow’s milk and a further 6% admitted to leaving the house before 6am to pick some up for breakfast.
More than a third of respondents, 37%, admitted to swigging milk straight from the container, while 29% said they use their kids as an excuse to buy chocolate milk for themselves.
People continue to enjoy a love affiar with cheese - 95% of survey respondents have some type of cheese in their fridge.
Common sense?
For decades, observers in agriculture, nutrition and education have complained that many Americans are basically agriculturally illiterate.
One Department of Agriculture study, commissioned in the early 90s, found that nearly one in five adults did not know that hamburgers are made from beef.
Many more lacked familiarity with basic farming facts, like how big US farms typically are and what food animals eat.
