It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that the provisions of this chapter are enacted in the exercise of the police power of this state for the purposes of protecting and furthering the public health and welfare. It is further declared that the dairy industry of this state is affected with a public interest, in that, among other things:
(a) The production, processing, manufacture, and distribution of milk and other dairy products constitute a paramount industry of this state which not only provides substantial and required revenues for the state and its political subdivisions, and employment and a means of livelihood for many thousands of its population, but also furnishes essential foods that are vital to the public health and welfare.
(b) The stabilization, maintenance, and expansion of the dairy industry of California, and of the state, nationwide, and foreign markets for its products, are necessary to assure the consuming public an adequate supply of foods which are indispensable in a proper human diet, to protect, for the state and its political subdivisions, a necessary source of tax revenue, to provide and maintain an adequate standard of living for a great segment of the population of this state, to maintain proper wage scales for those engaged in the dairy industry, and to maintain existing employment.
(c) Due to the significant role of milk and other dairy products in balanced human nutrition and the maintenance of public health, it is appropriate to provide for the dissemination of accurate and scientific information relative to the healthful qualities of dairy products, and to make the public thoroughly aware of that information.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 304, Sec. 70. (AB 590) Effective January 1, 2020.)