Dairy Counsel

Mike Sieminski RD, LD from the American Dairy Association who is a Nutrition Communications Coordinator came to speak to us about the Dairy Association.This is funded by 15 cents for 100 pounds of milk sold. The planning for the ideas come from the group of 12 or so people that work in the office. Basically one person brings it up and they discuss if they think it is a good idea and how to accomplish this idea. They have many programs such as refuel with chocolate milk, and three a day. The American Dairy Association goal is to improve the nutrition that is in the community and provide education, science backed nutrition information and try to improve the nutrition of the entire society. It is really hard to monitor and evaluate programs because there are so many people that process milk and milk products. They do try to look at milk sales and other dairy product sales to see if the programs are working. Overall, it is still a hard to feat to accomplish.

I thought it was really interesting what Mike did. I was surprised and how much communication was involved with his job. I can see how having his background in communication really work to his advantage as a dietitian. He does alot of tv spots and interviews for all sorts of reporters. It would be really hard to do that everyday and be on all the television shows. You really need to be careful about what you say to make sure their is scientific evidence behind it. I do not really think that I would doing his job. I do not like being in the spotlight. I much rather work behind the scenes. I don't think I would comfortable doing all those interviews with all those reporters. It was really nice him giving us all the tips for communication. I will definitely keep those in mind and they will be really great to use in the future. It was great to know that there are such a wide variety of nutrition related jobs out there. It is great that they design all those programs to increase the consumption of milk. I will definitely look to them for the latest projects and other events that are going on. I will also use their education materials.