Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 157

Introduced by Senator Cannella

(Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Runner, Stone, and Vidak)

June 21, 2016

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 157—Relative to June Dairy Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 157, as introduced, Cannella. June Dairy Month

This measure would proclaim the month of June 2016 to be Dairy Month in California and would encourage Californians to continue to support the American dairy industry by including dairy products as part of a healthy diet.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The annual tradition of National June Dairy Month,
originally known as National Milk Month, began in 1937 and is
an opportunity for Americans to honor dairy farmers, acknowledge
dairy farmers’ contributions to the economy, and recognize the
importance of dairy products to a healthy diet for many Americans;
and

WHEREAS, California is America’s number one milk-producing
state, the number two cheese-producing state, and dairy is the
state's number one agricultural commodity; and

WHEREAS, Ninety-nine percent of California dairy farms are
family owned, and dairy farming in California has a 200-year
heritage; and

WHEREAS, One hundred eighty-nine thousand jobs depend on
California’s dairy industry, including 55,000 milk production and
processing jobs; and

WHEREAS, The landscape, economy, health, and nutrition of
California would not be the same without our dairy farms and the
approximately 1,450 families who run them; and

WHEREAS, Twenty-five percent of Americans do not meet
their recommended intake of calcium; and

WHEREAS, The Office of the Surgeon General predicts that
by 2020, one-half of all Americans older than 50 years of age will
be at risk for fractures as a result of osteoporosis and low bone
density, and one in five people with a hip fracture dies within a
year of their injury; and

WHEREAS, The United States Surgeon General’s 2015 report
on bone health and osteoporosis reveals that people can improve
bone health and prevent fractures by boosting calcium and vitamin
D intake; and

WHEREAS, Dairy foods provide essential nutrients, including
calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin A, and milk is the
number one source of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin
D in the American diet; and

WHEREAS, Obesity has more than doubled in children and
quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, and more than
one-third of adults are considered to be obese; and

WHEREAS, Consumption of dairy foods plays a beneficial role
in maintaining a healthy weight, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention; and

WHEREAS, Dairy farming is a leading agricultural commodity
in California, producing $7.6 billion in annual retail sales in 2014;
now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the
month of June 2016 to be Dairy Month in California in honor of
the work of dairy producers in California and encourages all
Californians to continue to support the American dairy industry
by including dairy products as part of a healthy diet; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.