You're listening to Civics 101. I'm Nick Cappadice. Would you be surprised to learn that the federal

government is responsible for maintaining a document about milk? I'm talking about the gallon you might

have in your fridge right now. The document, and I've got a link to it in the show notes, is called

the pasteurized milk ordinance. It is long. It outlines how distributors must process milk

in order for it to cross state lines. It is constantly being edited, and as of this moment,

April 2026, it is a whopping 465 pages long. Now, if you were to do what I just did and sort of thumb through a couple of those pages,

oh my goodness, this is a good reminder that our government makes a lot of decisions about what

gets to go into our grocery stores and eventually our bodies.

And, as with so many things that the federal government has a say in, there are people out there

who do not like this.

One little bit.

Turns out that milk can actually tell us a whole lot about how American citizens relate to

our government.

We've got private rights versus the public good, state versus federal law, and finally, public

health versus misinformation. So today we are going to play an episode all about milk from our

sister show Outside In. And instead of just focusing on the milk laws,

which you know that Anna and I could have had a field day with,

Outside In does what they do best and starts with the science.

But do not worry, gentle listener, all roads,

even the well-trod cattle roads from a dairy farm lead to civics.

Stick around.

Springs blooming at Starbucks. A new season calls for new discoveries like our iced ube vanilla matchelate, smooth, creamyty balanced with notes of vanilla it's a treat for

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