Dumping Milk, Then and Now
(Left: Sueddeutsche Zeitung/Alamy. Right: Golden "E" Dairy Farms)
In 1933, a coalition of Wisconsin dairy farmers protested the collapse of milk prices by intercepting shipments headed to market and dumping milk cans. The strikers hoped that reducing the supply would drive up prices. Today, dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other states are dumping their own milk for the same reason. The closure of schools, restaurants, and other large commercial dairy purchasers as a result of COVID-19 has gutted the American dairy market.