Dean Foods Co (DF), Monsanto Company (MON), And A Not So Sweet Deal for Milk

The milk producers are pushing the health aspects of their argument in that kids drinking more milk would be healthier. As the largest dairy producer, Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF), notes, while about half the sugar in flavored milk is from naturally occurring lactose, all the sugar in soda is added sugar. Of course soda is facing falling consumption levels, too, these days.

The WhiteWave Foods Co (NYSE:WWAV), the Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF) spinoff whose organic products go out of their way to certify that they avoid being tainted with GMO ingredients, still sells Land o’ Lakes products that contain sucralose.

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With the price of milk tightly regulated, industry margins are thinner than skim milk. so it’s understandable why they might want to petition the FDA to hide the artificial ingredients, yet they may be left crying over spilled milk from the backlash if their products are seen as something that can’t be trusted.

The article A Not-So-Sweet Deal for Milk originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey owns shares of Dean Foods. The Motley Fool recommends Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) and owns shares of Dean Foods, WhiteWave Foods, and Whole Foods Market.

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