Show Why Your Milk rE iU is So High In many many places milk prices are set artificially high by law bylaw law lawor lawor or b by monopolies sanctioned by bylaw bylaw law say the editors of Changing Changing Chang Chang- ing Times The Kiplinger Mag Mag- azine Practically e eve every v e r l' y in innovation innovation in- in novation that would make milk cheaper and more convenient to bu buy has been fought by big dairies farm and union groups and hampered by obsolete sanitary sanitary san san- Hary regulations Ten states fix consumer prices and over fifty cities scattered through the center of the country country country coun coun- try still regulate the supply and the price paid to farmers in adjacent farm areas known as ns milk sheds Milk 1 produced in I low cost dairy areas arens is deliberately deliberately deliberately prevented from flowing in into into into in- in to high-cost high areas where there is a potential demand And new and more efficient methods of packaging and distribution a are r e ee e e. e everywhere hamstrung by en entrenched entrenched entrenched en- en trenched interests High prices to local farmers naturally encourages them to produce more In a free market market market mar mar- ket this increased production would bring lower prices and eventually cause a cutback in production But since the market market mar mar- ket is not free high prices tend to cause overproduction and the federal government obligingly buys the excess and stores it or gives it away Artificially high prices in lo local local local lo- lo cal milk sheds sleds might be expected expect expect- ed ec to draw cheaper more efficiently efficiently effi effi- produced milk from big dairy states but this is prevented prevented prevented pre pre- vented by several schemes One is known as compensatory pay pay- ments If a handler in a 3 large city on the East Coast Const wants to buy a n of cheaper milk from the Midwest 1 he may maydo maydo maydo do so but must pay his local farmers the difference between the price of the imported milk and his city's price Another way of keeping milk from reaching its best markets consists of a n maze of sanitary regulations that in many cases are arc really economic barriers in disguise It is essential that health departments in e eve every v e r y city and state check milk for purity and inspect dairy farms and bottling plants But Inmany in inmany inmany many places the regulations are arc used not net only to insure to insure wholesome wholesome wholesome whole whole- some milk but to protect the interests of local farmers big dairies and unions The commonest complaint is I that health departments wont won't accept milk from outside areas even though it is produced un under under under un- un der comparable sanitary regula regula- lions Some cities establish geographic limits beyond which they will not go to inspect f farms or handling plants There are restrictions on packaging packaging pack pack- aging and selling too loo Big dairIes dairies dairies dair dair- ies with home-delivery home routes and also milk drivers' drivers unions naturally want the price of store milk kept high They also op oppose oppose oppose op- op pose paper cartons half-gallon half I and gallon containers vending machines and and milk dispensers Thus despite the fact that t the h e cost of delivering milk to a 3 astore astore store is 3 or 4 cents less than I that of delivering to a 3 home prices are the same for both bothin in many cities In others the differential is only a n cent or two while in a few cities the law of economics is completely flouted and paper cartons bought in stores cost more than bottles delivered to homes But in big cities where free competition has hns won out store milk is 2 to tc 5 cents a quart cheaper What the Consumer Can Do DoIt's Its It's up to the consumer to tomake tomake tomake make a change Support the theU U U. S. S Public Health Services Service's model set of health regulations for milk which gives citizens of any city or county protection and its system facilitating the free fee flow of milk everywhere Attend public hearings to protest protest pro pro- I test price fixing Take advanI advantage tage trige of price savings when and wherever possible Lastly en encourage encourage encourage en- en courage those few enterprising businessmen who are trying to break through the network of monopolies fixing milk prices 0 |