Eating dairy foods may lower the risk of heart attack, according to a recent study published in the May 19, 2010, issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Eva Warensjo of Uppsala University in Sweden compared the intake of fat from dairy against heart disease risk of 1,000 patients (both heart attack and healthy patients).

David Mills, University of California Davis microbiologist received a $100,000 Great Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct a study to determine if certain complex sugars found in milk can be used in the prevention of life-threatening diseases found in young children.

According to the World Health Organization, the gastrointestinal diseases Mills will be focusing on are responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million children around the world - making them the second leading cause of death for children under five years old.

A study released by the CMAB confirmed the dairy industry's positive impact on the state's economy, including job creation. In 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, the dairy industry created a total of 443,574 jobs in California, approximately three percent of the total overall job production for the year. The 2008 report shows that for every single ‘on-the-farm' job, 22 additional ‘beyond-the-farm' jobs are created.

In February, first lady Michelle Obama announced the launch of an ambitious new program called, “Let’s Move,” that aims to put an end to childhood obesity. Let’s Move has set a goal of eliminating childhood obesity within a generation by encouraging an increase in physical activity, requiring schools to serve healthier meals, empowering parents to make healthy choices and increasing access to healthy, affordable food in underserved neighborhoods.

Everyone knows that milk comes from dairy cows, but have you ever stopped to think about where the dairy products you’re buying were produced and processed? A new online tool called “Where is My Milk From” is doing just that. To find out where the dairy products in your refrigerator came from, simply go to www.whereismymilkfrom.com and type in the code from your milk carton and the Web site will show you a map and the name of the processing plant.

Demand for Real California Cheese and other dairy products made with Real California Milk is growing both in the U.S. and abroad. U.S. dairy exports to China were up 40 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, with more than 35 percent of U.S. dairy exports coming from California.

Overall U.S. cheese exports have steadily increased over the past decade, and earlier this year representatives from the CMAB