TG Lee Dairy here in Florida used to have the BEST Chocolate Milk.

Sometime in August 2011, I noticed that I could not find TG Lee Chocolate Milk in any of the stores and the only Chocolate Milk I could find was TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk.

I did some investigating and found that TG Lee Dairy and MANY other well known Dairies (which used to be independently owned and operated) are now owned by Dean Foods in Dallas Texas.

I had never even heard of Dean Foods until I did some research into what happened to the Regular Chocolate Milk we had been buying for years and could no longer find in any of the stores.

When I called Dean Foods customer service on October 03, 2011 I was told they completely stopped making the better tasting Regular 100% Chocolate Milk and replaced it with TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk. They also stated that they would not be making the better tasting Regular 100% Chocolate Milk again.

Now, a customer has little choice… it’s TruMoo Chocolate Milk or buy another brand if you can find one which makes 100% Chocolate Milk.

Most major stores like Walmart, CVS, Dollar General and supermarket chains carry Dean Foods products including TruMoo.  So there are now very few places you can buy the Creamy 100% Chocolate Milk in the United States due to Dean Foods buying up most of the independently owned Dairy Plants.

My family HATE’S this TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk and I think Dean Foods replacing the Regular Chocolate Milk with TruMoo Sucks!

So do lot’s of other people…

Here’s a few comments I found on the Internet posted by people who are upset by Dean Foods Eliminating 100% Chocolate Milk…

“What happened to the real PET chocolate milk? This TruMoo stuff is terrible! It’s no coincidence that it rhymes with Yoohoo, because thats what it tastes like. Good ‘ole chocolate water!!!!!!!”

“I have been wondering the same as most of you…why can’t I find my chocolate milk ANYWHERE? So upseting! I live in Florida and have grown up on the good stuff, TruMoo is not it!”

“It angers me that ever since they dropped the old stuff and went with the True Moo branding the chocolate milk taste went downhill. The old stuff used to be creamy and now the new stuff is just smooth and has even less chocolate taste. I hate when companies sacrifice taste to promote healthy stuff!”

“If I wanted watered down nasty ass chocolate spit, I would have spat in a cup, added water, and mixed some chocolate syrup in it”.

“i hate trumoo and its sour aftertaste with a burning passion”.

“TruMoo is terrible, it tastes like watered down chocolate milk”

“TruMoo is the devil”

“I’ve been drinking the same Schepp’s / Oak farms chocolate milk for damn near 20 years. I almost had a heart attack when the company’s merged and was relieved when the milk stayed the same. But now, this is WAR”
“Yeh, My family and I used to buy deans chocolate milk all the time, Then This TRuMoo crap came out…WTF happend DEANS..?!? Stop makin a dollar and give us our REAL chocolate milk back..! Since then I had to venture to other chocolate milk brands…”

“Hey thanks for ruining Broughtons chocolate milk! Trumoo is disgusting!”

“I’m a chocolate milk advocate, and im really pissed off that TruMoo is replacing all the good chocolate milk around the country with its shitty tasting milk. THIS NEEDS TO STOP!”

“MY CHOCOLATE MILK IS SACRED. HOW DARE THEY MESS WITH IT!”

“PET Dairy is the latest victim it seems. TruMoo has supplanted the most awesome kick ass chocolate milk in the history of the Southeast with its watery, no-chocolate tasting nastiness. I thought it was a local problem, but apparently not”.

“This was the foulest worst tasting Chocolate Milk I’ve ever had. My girlfriend, son and myself couldn’t even finish it off. I dumped most of it down the drain. Hershey syrup and white milk is far far better. Save your money and don’t spend it on this crud”.

“TruMoo is the worst brand of chocolate milk in existance. Stick to Byrne Dairy”.

“I have been drinking Schepp’s (then Oak Farms) chocolate milk since I was 6 years old! That’s 18 years. And I always loved it so much. I used to drink it when my mom took me to grandma’s. When I was having a bad day, it always made my day better. Now I’ve asked all around and they’ve destroyed one of my favorite things in life”

Here’s TruMoo’s typical response;

“We changed the recipe to make it more nutritious, with less added sugar and no high fructose corn syrup. It’s still made with fresh PET milk so it has the necessary nutrients like calcium and vitamins A and D. Maybe a higher milkfat percentage (making for a thicker milk) would better suit your palate? We are truly sorry you dislike the new recipe. Thank you for taking time to provide feedback.”

Note how they are putting the “more nutritious, with less added sugar and no high fructose corn syrup” SPIN to make it seem that they are only doing what’s best for their customer’s to justify eliminating the Chocolate Milk everyone wants and can no longer get.

With all that “Less of everything” I’ll bet the REAL reason they stopped making REAL 100% Chocolate Milk was…. less good tasting ingredients = more corporate profits.

Maybe this explains why they stopped making REAL 100% Chocolate Milk and I’ll bet 1% Chocolate Milk is CHEAPER to make.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120110185736/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/18/10-american-companies-that-will-disappear-in-2011/

Dean Foods is listed in the “10 American Companies That Will Disappear” in Daily Finance

 

 

Dean Foods Reviews: What Is It Like to Work At Dean Foods?

599 Dean Foods reviews. A free inside look at company reviews and salaries posted anonymously by employees.

Here’s what an employee of Dean Foods had to say about working for Dean Foods; (Source: glassdoor.com/Reviews/Dean-Foods-Reviews-E3878.htm)

“Dean Foods Analyst in Fort Worth, TX:   (Current Employee)

“Unless you’re a robot, BEWARE! They work their employees into the ground, then stomp them in further.

Dean Foods is a great example of why labor unions came into existence. They lay off thousands to save money, then demand the remaining employees to work 16-18 hour days to get all the work done. This is a problem that extends all the way from the corporate admin personnel to the guy herding cows on the dairy. No one is exempt from their “cost savings” which has equated to exhausted employees walking off the job because they just can’t take the abuse anymore. HR has tried to get to the root of the problem, however the leaders who are the problem in the first place, hand pick the employees who are allowed to talk to HR and they DO NOT speak for the majority.

Add to that, the fact that in 2011 employees who were not protected by a union agreement did not receive one dime for a raise, and the bonus calculations were nill. Yet, these same people who decided to “punish” us, lined their own pockets with millions in bonus payments just weeks after they told the masses that the company didn’t do well enough financially to give raises and the reason given was because we didn’t do our jobs efficiently. However, they didn’t blink an eye to approve giving themselves big raises and bonuses. Disgraceful!”

If they treat their own employees this way then it’s no wonder that they don’t give a damn about customers who feels betrayed by them eliminating the REAL Chocolate Milk we all enjoyed.

While investigating, I also found out that Louis Trauth Dairy based in Newport, KY (where I’m from) was recently bought out by Dean Foods.  Trauth used to have the BEST Chocolate Milk and Eggnog.

Louis Trauth Chocolate Milk

I spoke with someone at Trauth Dairy who told me they no longer make ANY products at the Louis Trauth Dairy plant in Newport.

Check out this article about 80 jobs being lost after Dean Foods took control of the Louis Trauth Dairy plant in Newport, KY which had been privately owned and in business for over 90 years (click image above to read article).

The above article was written on 2/27/2012 by someone who claims to be an Employee for Dean Foods in Newport, KY says “Since they switched to this tru moo milk it sucks sales are down way down“.

 

In the article above titled “At 91, end of the line for Trauth Dairy, Ms Liliana Esposito  the VP of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs at Dean Foods (phone number 214-721-7766) states “As for Trauth’s chocolate milk, “we have significantly reduced the sugar and calories that are in our chocolate-milk formulas”

Ms. Esposito also states “It’s true that Dean Foods has moved away from formulas Trauth and other regional dairies used in the past”

In other words, the unique and great taste of the Milk Products from Trauth Dairy we grew up with in Northern Kentucky are GONE FOREVER, thanks to Dean Foods.

And the same thing is happening to local dairies all over the United States which has been taken over by Dean Foods.

Ms Liliana Esposito…. did it ever occur to you and Dean Foods that a lot of people want their Chocolate Milk to taste the way it always has and we don’t want it RUINED!

Here’s 2 comments posted about Trauth Dairy being taken over by Dean Foods

Brian Lucas
Deans chocolate milk SUCKS. Screw you Trauth for selling out….
February 26 at 8:19pm

Fabienne Fadeley Christenson
Well, that explains what happened to Trauth Egg Nog. I suppose UDF is the next best one. RIP Trauth. Customer dis-loyalty :))))
December 27, 2011 at 3:38pm

Sidenote:  UDF stands for United Dairy Farmers, a chain of shops offering ice cream and other dairy products started by Carl Lindner in 1940. The chain has stores throughout the Greater Cincinnati area, Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland.

Dean Foods buying up Dairy Plants all over the United States
Looks like Dean Foods is buying up Dairy plants all over the United States.  Here’s a list of Dean Foods brands.  (Source: Dean Food’s website)

altadenadairy.com – Alta Dena ®
barbedairy.com  – Barbe’s
barbersdairy.com  – Barber’s
berkeleyfarms.com  – Berkeley Farms ®
broughtonfoods.com  – Broughton Foods
brownsdairy.com  – Brown’s Dairy ®
enjoycountryfresh.com – Country Fresh ®
creamland.com  – Creamland
dairyease.com  – Dairy Ease
enjoydeans.com – Dean’s ®
friendshipdairies.com – Friendship Dairies
gandysdairy.com  – Gandy’s
garelickfarms.com – Garelick Farms ®
horizonorganic.com  – Horizon Organic
internationaldelight.com  – International Delight
enjoydeans.com – LAND O LAKES
lehighvalleydairyfarms.com  – Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms
trauthdairy.com  – Louis Trauth Dairy Inc. ®
mayfielddairy.com  – Mayfield Dairy ®
mcarthurdairy.com  – McArthur Dairy ®
meadowbrookdairy.com  – Meadow Brook Dairy ®
meadowgold.com  – Meadow Gold ®
lanimoo.com  – Meadow Gold, Hawaii
oakfarmsdairy.com  – Oak Farms Dairy ®
petdairy.com  – PET Dairy ®
pricescreameries.com  – Price’s Creameries
puritydairies.com  – Purity Dairies
rachelsorganic.co.uk  – Rachel’s Organic
reiterdairy.com  – Reiter Dairy
robinsondairy.com  – Robinson Dairy
silksoymilk.com  – Silk Soymilk
skinnycowmilk.com  – Skinny Cow Milk
tgleedairy.com  – T.G. Lee Dairy ®
Shenandoah’s Pride ®
trumoo.com  – TruMoo
tuscandairy.com – Tuscan Dairy ®

How about all of the employees who used to work at these Dairy Plants?

Why hasn’t the US Government stopped this from happening?

I don’t want to buy my milk from a corporate giant in Texas.  I want to get my milk from LOCAL independently owned dairy companies which got their milk from local dairy farmers.  I want to help support local dairy farmers and their families, NOT some corporate giant.

Our elected officials should do something to stop corporate giants like Dean Foods from taking over local independently owned and operated businesses.  Such acquisitions and mergers seldom benifit consumers. I think the US Department of Justice should make Dean Foods divest of all the independent companies they bought so they are once again independently owned and operated.

No wonder there’s no jobs with local companies being bought up like this!

Independent Dairy Plants being bought out and brought under the control of a single company means LESS Choices for Consumers.

 

Nov 13, 2019 UPDATE: Dean Foods Files For Bankruptcy

America’s largest milk producer, Dean Foods, files for bankruptcy as the dairy industry undergoes massive changes

 

Mar 8, 2018 UPDATE: Dean Foods ending business with local dairy farmers

The days of driving down the road and seeing farms and cows owned by your neighbor could become a thing of the past.

 

Mar 14, 2018 UPDATE: Tennessee dairy farmers look for new buyer after Dean Foods terminates contracts

 

NEWS: 11 Senators Back House Progressives in Demand for Passage of Entire Biden Agenda ” Senator Bernie Sanders

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 – Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) issued the following statement Wednesday on upcoming votes regarding infrastructure and reconciliation legislation: “In the […]

According an article from Sen. Bernie Sanders (Dem) of Vermont website at sanders.senate.gov, some Dairy Farmers has Sued Dean Foods:

“In a well-functioning market, farmers should have competition for where they can sell their milk,” Brown said. “This case is about a conspiracy to monopolize and monopsonize, a case about the defendants’ efforts to basically tie up those outlets.”

“Dean Foods, which controls roughly 70 percent of the fluid-milk buying market in New England, and Dairy Farmers of America, already are the subjects of numerous probes into alleged antitrust violations. The U.S. Department of Justice last month announced an investigation into the companies’ dealings”.

(Source: sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=8f6da8d9-cfc5-4099-8773-4d8506323bd6)

If you type in “Dean Foods Complaints” in Google you will find articles about Dean Foods like these…

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No Description

Class Action Filed Against Dean Foods Milk Products Challenging Advertising Claims of Supporting Brain Health

 

Video games mod

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Dean Foods (Horizon Organic) Killing USDA Investigation

 

http://www.suraforchange.com/2009/07/05/dean-foods-sucks-kiss-your-organics-goodbye/

Dean Foods Sucks: Kiss your Organics Goodbye

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-10-04/business/chi-dean-foods-sued-for-milks-health-claims-20111004_1_dean-foods-milk-products-health-claims

Dean Foods Sued for Horizon milk’s health claims

 

http://www.naturalfoodlist.com/4663/cornucopia-institute-files-complaint-against-dean-foods-for-improper-organic-labeling/

Cornucopia Institute Files Complaint Against Dean Foods

 

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt_and_politics/article_ac0574a4-893e-11df-8e61-001cc4c03286.html

Does Dean Foods have Unfair Advantage?

 

I feel Dean Foods exemplifies why one company should not be allowed to buy up smaller companies and how their doing so hurts consumers and causes harm to the US economy by causing job losses.

This is a classic example of “Capitalism Gone Amok”

When Dean Foods management decided to completely stop making the Regular Chocolate Milk, they proved that they didn’t give a DAMN about the millions of customers who had been enjoying Regular Chocolate Milk all of their lives.

It is WRONG that our choice to buy Regular Chocolate Milk has been taken away by Dean Foods.  I think the persons responsible for discontinuing the Regular Chocolate Milk and replacing it with TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk Should Be FIRED.  They have caused a LOT of people unhappiness, stress and grief as you can see by posts on the internet from people who are passionate about this matter.

I will expose this matter TO THE MAX until Dean Foods puts Regular Chocolate Milk BACK in ALL of the stores which they removed it from.

If you want to help, post references to this article in as many places as possible to get the word out.

If you like REAL Chocolate Milk and don’t like this TruMoo 1% garabage you can Boycott ALL Dean Foods products so they get the message that they are NOT going to cram this down our throats so they Bring the REAL Chocolate Milk back.

You can call Dean Foods at 800-395-7004 / 800-854-3243 tell them what you think about it.

You can call TG Lee Dairy and complain at 800-432-4872

You can call your local Dairy if they are owned by Dean Foods

You can call the Manager at your Supermarket and complain.    Also search for your Supermarket headquarters on the net, then call them and complain.

Call your local TV Stations and write letters to your newspapers and complain.

If you own a website, blog or facebook page, copy & paste any of the links below on your site with a note about this article.

Dean Foods

TruMoo

Chocolate Milk

businessreporter.net/hate-dean-foods-trumoo-chocolate-milk

If enough people complains and refuses to buy TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk, Dean Foods will have to do what Coca Cola did when they changed their formula in the 1980’s and bring back the Good Tasting regular Chocolate Milk.

Since Dean Foods has bought up most of the Dairy Plants in the United States and eliminated consumers product choices, they should be REQUIRED by the US Government to make 100% Chocolate Milk.

If you agree, contact your Congressmen and tell them how you feel about Dean Foods buying up Dairy Plants all over the US and eliminating your product choices.

I have written to the Director of the United States Department of Justice about this. Here’s information about a Lawsuit the Department of Justice filed against Dean Foods.

United States, State of Wisconsin, State of Illinois, and State of Michigan v. Dean Foods Company

http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/deanfoods.htm

 

You can also file a complaint by writing to;

Citizen Complaint Center
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530
[email protected]

3/1/12 UPDATE:  Walgreens was selling Borden Dairy Dutch Chocolate with 100% milk and it tasted Great.  As of 2/14/12,  Walgreens discontinued selling Borden Dairy products and has put Dean Foods TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk in ALL Walgreens stores.  Now consumers has even LESS places they can buy Regular 100% Chocolate milk.

On 2/14/12, I sent a letter to the President of Walgreens, Mr. Gregory Wasson asking him to reverse Walgreen’s decision to remove Borden Dairy Dutch Chocolate and NOT replace it with Dean Foods TruMoo 1% Chocolate Milk.

Mr. Gregory Wasson
President of Walgreens
200 Wilmot Road
Deerfield, IL 60015

On 3/1/12, I received a email from Dean Foods:

“Thank you for contacting Walgreens regarding your request for Whole Chocolate Milk.  Your contact information was forwarded to me for resolution.   TG Lee Chocolate TruMoo is available in 1% and Whole milk.  However, in order to promote a healthy lifestyle, Walgreens has chosen to sell the 1% chocolate TruMoo”.

Isn’t that Freeking incredible??  I wrote to Walgreens President Mr. Greg Wasson and he didn’t have the DECENCY to acknowledge my letter

Instead his office / Walgreens sends a copy of my PRIVATE letter DIRECTLY to Dean Foods without my permission and my letter to Walgreens is answered by none other than DEAN FOODS!

Does Dean Foods now own Walgreens?  Since when does Dean Foods answer letters addressed to Walgreen customers?

Mr. Greg Wasson office / Walgreen had NO RIGHT sending my private letter to Dean Foods without my consent or permission.  I have therefore filed a complaint to the Chairman of the Board of Walgreen about this!

 

CVS Pharmacy

We used to buy the TG Lee Regular Chocolate Milk at CVS because you could get 1/2 gallon for only $2.95.  Like WalMart and so many other stores which carry Dean Foods products under different brand names, they stopped selling Regular Chocolate Milk and replaced it with TruMoo.  Since they no longer sell the Regular Chocolate Milk we rarely buy anything at CVS.  I called CVS’s supplier headquarters and let them know how discontent we are about the TG Lee Chocolate Milk being discontinued and you can too by calling 401-770-4410 or writting to

CVS Corporation
Customer Relations
One CVS Drive
Woonsocket, RI 02895
(401) 765-1500

 

Dollar General

We also used to buy TG Lee Regular Chocolate Milk at Dollar General, but Dollar General stopped selling the Regular Chocolate Milk thanks to Dean Foods and now only sells TruMoo Chocolate Milk.  I just sent Dollar General a complaint letter (3/8/12) and ask them to discontinue selling Dean Foods products and to carry Borden Dairy products instead cuz Borden Dairy Dutch Chocolate Milk is awesome!

You can contact them at…

Dollar General Corporate Office
100 Mission Rdg
Goodlettsville, TN 37072
Phone: 615-855-4000

My family HATE’S TruMoo Chocolate Milk and how Dean Foods stopped making the Regular Chocolate Milk we enjoyed.  We have stopped buying all TJ Lee / Dean Foods products in protest.

2017 UPDATE:  To my surprise and delight I found that Walgreen’s  is now carrying the BEST tasting Chocolate Milk… Borden Dairy Dutch Chocolate Milk!

Walgreen’s discontinued selling WORST PRODUCTS EVER… TruMoo / Dean Foods products…  THANK YOU Walgreen’s!

 

ARTICLES:

Nation’s Largest Corporate Dairy Violates USDA Ruling, Acts as if it’s above the Law

New Organic Milk Contains Illegal Synthetic Additive – Cornucopia Institute

Nation’s Largest Corporate Dairy Violates USDA Ruling, Acts as if it’s above the Law CORNUCOPIA, Wis. A prominent organic industry watchdog filed a

Disclaimer:  I’m not a professional writer…. I am a consumer, parent and this article is only my opinion. I believe companies should SERVE their customers and do what their costumers want.  I am willing to correct any factual errors brought to my attention., however any legal threats will be IMMEDIATELY reported to National News Media outlets.

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