Milk Biz Scrambles as Sales Sour

The long decline in American milk drinking has accelerated, leaving producers facing what they describe as a major crisis, the Wall Street Journal finds. Americans still get through an average of more than 20 gallons each of the stuff per year, but that is down nearly 30% from 1975 and last year's 3.3% decline was one of the biggest on record. Trends behind the drop in milk drinking include the rise of bottled water and the lower proportion of children in the population.

Though sales of yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products have risen, producers and retailers are scrambling to find ways to reverse the slide in milk sales, including selling it in smaller packages. Specialist products like the "muscle builder" version of Rockin' Refuel high-protein milk are proliferating, and the milk industry plans a major marketing campaign to portray milk as the "real thing" in contrast to "imitation milk" like soy or almond milk. (More milk stories.)