Although many students' relationships with dairy products often extends no further than a trip to Topside, the processors and distributors which supply Dartmouth have a complex interaction with the College.
The recent change to Garelick followed more than 15 years of HP Hood LLC serving as the College's dairy distributor. DDS chooses distributors like Hood and Garelick based on a bid system which includes both economic and practical considerations.
Beth DiFrancesco, DDS' purchasing manager, explained the distribution deal with Hood was simply outdated.
"We were dealing with a dairy bid situation that was pretty old," DiFrancesco said. "In this particular situation we put out proposals or request for bids to companies in the area that we know of and we think can fill our needs here."
While not crying over spilled milk as the clich goes, some students have praised or criticized subtle differences between the two milk brands.
"I hate the new brand," Emma Baumgartner '08 said. "Hood was low-fat but it was still richer and creamier than this one, which tastes artificial."
Ian Murphy '09, on the other hand, said that the new milk is an improvement from Hood but expressed concern over possible ramifications of such a large company.
"There is not much of a difference except Garelick doesn't have the dried milk crud on the lid when you open it, which is nice," Murphy said. "Although, they exploit farmers or something."
DDS' deal with Garelick reflects the monopolization of the dairy industry by massive companies. Conglomerates like Dean Foods, which is Garelick's parent company, win distribution deals with companies like DDS because independent small farms are often unable to meet large demands.
Although originally a local company, Garelick was acquired in 1997 by the country's second largest dairy company, Suiza, and, as a result of a 2002 merger between Suiza and Dean Foods, became a branch of the nation's leading dairy conglomerate.
Dean Foods, which includes familiar brand names like Land O' Lakes and Silk Soy, has more than 110 plants and 26,000 employees in the United States and abroad.
Like Dean Foods, Hood is also a large company, with $2.2 billion in annual sales, according to its website. It purchased Crowley Foods and Kemps LLC in 2004, making it one of the nation's largest branded dairy operators.
Brian Baenig, Agriculture Policy Adviser to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), said that with the advent of mergers and acquisitions, like those which habitually occur with Dean Foods, the small farmer is adversely affected.
"For decades, dairy farmers seemed immune from the effects of agriculture concentration because, through their cooperatives, they also served as milk processors for their local or regional markets," Baenig said. "Unfortunately that structure has changed dramatically over the past several years, and the result is that farmers are not getting their fair share of the retail price of milk."
This means that milk Dartmouth students drink with the Garelick label could come from a local farmer who has little choice but to sell to Dean Foods and may not see a substantial amount of the retail profit.
Already a hot topic on Capitol Hill, some students see the switch as an example of an important issue that should be discussed more on campus.
Libby Hadzima '06, who is active in the Dartmouth College Progressives, said that this change is consistent with those of a similar nature which have occurred in recent years. Hadzima cited Ben and Jerry's acquisition by Anglo-Dutch corporation Unilever in 2000 and Stonyfield Farm's acquisition in 2001 by France-based Groupe Danone, which manufactures Evian water and Dannon yogurt.
Hadzima said that it is often very difficult to know where the money is going when purchasing food products because of the high number of consolidations and acquisitions.
"I think many times, with food producing, it's really difficult, because you have a division of a large food company like Stonyfield, and it's hard to track these small companies and to know how the money is being managed once a smaller company is acquired by a multi-national corporation." Hadzima said.
She added that she hopes to see a growing awareness of milk issues on campus.
"Some issues, like coffee, really get a great deal of traction, and milk happens to be something that hasn't gathered this traction," Hadzima said.
