USDA Funds Domino's Secret $12 Million Bailout

In a surprising move in 2010, Domino's finally admitted that the rubbery board that they had long been trying to pass as pizza needed a revamp. What would make this processed mess tasty? More cheese of course. And so they went with it, adding loads or hormone-laden, over processed cheese to their pizza.

This is all well and good because I can choose not to eat it right? Except it turns out I'm still paying for it. Apparently this pizza bailout flew under the radar, though it was later exposed in the New York Times. The $12 million campaign was funded by the USDA's Dairy Management organization, all to give the dairy industry a boost.

According to the New York Times, Domino's and the USDA teamed up to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and funded a pricey campaign to go along with it. One slice of the new pie contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat.

So basically, the USDA, which is also charged with the latest anti-obesity campaign, is funding a bailout for one of the most fatty chains on the market. What's next, Mickey D's needs a French fry boost?

The Question of Cheese

It's not that cheese is necessarily a bad thing. I heart a good, local stinky cheese on a house made baguette. But pounds and pounds of cheap, over processed dairy does little more than add difficult to discern additives and unnecessary fat to your waistline. And if you're concerned with animal mistreatment it becomes an even larger issue because factory dairy farms can often be as frighteningly inhumane as factory beef and poultry farms. Mickey wrote that 9 million cows living on dairy farms in the United States spend much of their short lives in feces-caked mud lots. Cows raised for their milk are repeatedly impregnated and their babies are taken away so that humans can drink the milk intended for the calves. When their exhausted bodies can no longer provide enough milk, they are sent to slaughter and ground up for hamburgers. You might as well enjoy a quarter pounder with cheese.

Is There a Better Pizza Choice?

Sometimes it's difficult to ignore that voice in the back of your head repeatedly reminding you how delicious a slice of pizza would be. So what are some healthy choices in the pizza department? For my money zpizza is the best takeout pizza on the market. Spread across the country, the pizza chain boasts organic, vegetarian, and even vegan pizza choices. Pair it with one of their organic beers or a glass of organic wine and it's a guilt free takeout night. If you don't have a zpizza nearby, you can also find lower calorie pizza choices like a slice of Papa Johns 14” Thin crust Garden Fresh pizza at 210 calories 11g fat or a slice of Little Caesars large Hot-N-Ready Cheese at 240 calories, 9g fat. Or consider ordering your pizza loaded with veggies, minus the cheese to significantly reduce fat, calories, and the chemicals that you're taking in.