Americans and Indians need more clarifications about the super cows

It is reassuring to learn from a recent survey that 93% of Americans — presumably among the most well informed people —do not think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

That 7% of them did think so and a further 48% of the adults surveyed did not know for sure where it came from, however, is a cause for concern. But why blame the gullible? After all, there is a breed of dairy cow in the US called “Swiss Brown” and Switzerland is famous for chocolate.

And it is obvious from its name that the colour of milk chocolate — and chocolate milk — echoes that of this prime milch breed. So, those 7% Americans can be forgiven their scientifically impossible assumption, especially since far more of them — 25%, according to a 2012 survey — do not know the Earth orbits the Sun. Afollow-up question on where strawberry milk comes might have elicited even more intriguing guesses.

Cows and their emanations are apparently capable of many wondrous things but producing coloured and flavoured milk is not one of them. The company that commissioned the survey must be commended for clarifying to all of America that “chocolate milk — or any flavoured milk for that matter — is white cow’s milk with added flavouring and sweeteners”. Indians could do with a few clarifications on certain other mystifying aspects of cows too.