Seven percent of American adults said they believed chocolate milk comes from brown cows. The figure came from a 2017 online survey commissioned by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.
The survey questioned more than 1,000 American adults about dairy products and food knowledge. News reports converted the 7% figure into roughly 16 to 17 million people, making the result an especially memorable piece of trivia. The statistic was widely shared because it sounds like a children’s misconception appearing in an adult survey.
Chocolate milk does not come from a special color of cow. It is ordinary cow’s milk mixed with cocoa or chocolate flavoring and usually sugar. The milk itself is generally white because of its water, fat, protein, and other components—not because of the animal’s coat color.
There is an important caveat: this was an online, industry-commissioned survey, and the survey’s methodology and wording drew criticism. The 7% figure is therefore best presented as a reported survey result, not as a definitive measurement of American scientific knowledge.