Rising Milk Prices May Mean Less Lactose

Milk prices are rising globally, reported Emma Vandore of the Associated Press.

In China and elsewhere in Asia, chains such as McDonald's and Starbucks are introducing unfamiliar taste buds to cheeseburgers and lattes, increasing the region's demand for dairy.

Rising costs of animal feed, shrinking European production and long-standing drought in Australia and New Zealand, the world's largest milk-exporting region, are also pushing up the price.

Paying more for milk is causing an uproar in Germany, where families consider providing children with an affordable glass of milk a fundamental right.

While farmers see this as a boon after years of low prices, manufacturers have to cope with the costs. They have the traditional alternatives: raise prices or cut product. And that can have a fortuitous effect for those of us who are lactose intolerant.

Hershey's chief executive officer, Richard Lenny, said America's largest candy maker may adjust its formula to use less lactose because of rising milk costs.

Dark chocolate bars are already usually lactose-free. I don't really recommend having milk chocolate candy bars or other milk chocolate candies, but I know that some of us do. If milk chocolate bars have to adjust their recipes so that less lactose is used, so much the better.