Milk with cinnamom and sunflower seeds; photo by Jacqueline on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution).
Official State Beverage of New York
Milk was designated the official state beverage of New York in 1981 (and in 2014 yogurt was adopted as the official state snack). All State Foods & Beverages
New York is a leader in dairy production (it ranks third in the United States for the amount of milk produced). Agriculture is the backbone of Upstate New York economy, with dairy farming being the largest component.
Each dairy cow produces about 6.5 gallons of milk per day. Less than half of this milk is consumed as a beverage - the rest is used for butter, cheese, ice cream, milk powder and other processed products. Milk has been called a nearly perfect food - a source of protein, calcium, and several other important nutrients. Butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream are made from milk.
