Did you know Pennsylvania has a state beverage?

PENNSYLVANIA (WHTM) – Pennsylvania has a state dog, a state animal, a state bird, a state flower, and more, but did you know the Keystone State has a state beverage?

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Pennsylvania produced 825 million pounds of milk in 2023 with around 466,000 milking cows.

So as one of the leading milk-producing states, it’s only fair to have milk as the state beverage (Pennsylvania ranks 8th in America in milk production).

In 1982, the Pennsylvania General Assembly officially adopted milk as the state beverage with 1982 Act 98.

1982 Act 98 says, “Selecting, designating and adopting milk as the official
beverage of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows: Section 1. Milk is hereby selected, designated, and adopted as the official beverage of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.”

Other than Pennsylvania, 20 other states recognize milk as a state symbol, those states are:

• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Rhode Island

According to Healthline, Milk can improve your health in five ways:

• Milk is packed with nutrients
  • calcium
  • riboflavin
  • phosphorous
  • vitamins A and B12
  • potassium
  • magnesium
  • zinc
  • iodine.
• It’s A Good Source of Quality Protein (one cup equals eight grams of protein)
• Milk Benefits Bone Health
• Helps Prevent Weight Gain
• Milk Is a Versatile Ingredient
  • Used in smoothies, oatmeal, coffee, soups, etc.

According to Google Trends, Pennsylvania’s favorite type of milk is white milk, topping both chocolate and strawberry (data from December 2022 through December 2023).

White milk was searched more in the Harrisburg-Lancaster-York-Lebanon metro, Johnstown-Altoona metro, and Wilkes Barre-Scranton metro.

Chocolate milk was searched more in the Pittsburgh metro and Philadelphia metro.

According to Google Trends, white milk is the most popular milk choice in America topping both chocolate and strawberry milk in 39 states.