Gov. Andrew Cuomo will decide whether yogurt becomes the official snack of New York state after a bill memorializing the honor passed through the Legislature.
In a move that became fodder for late night talk show hosts David Letterman and Jon Stewart, the state Senate debated the measure for 45 minutes in May. Legislators analyzed the semantics of calling yogurt a “snack” when it could be eaten for breakfast, according to The New York Times. Other legislators reportedly questioned if other snacks like the New York apple muffin were more deserving of the title.
Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, acknowledged the silliness of the debate and said that was exactly the point. Republicans lead the Senate in a coalition with five breakway Democrats. Krueger, who during the debate questioned if the designation would be offensive to lactose intolerant New Yorkers, said Senate leadership rarely debates meaningful bills.
“We agree with Jon Stewart, David Letterman and the countless everyday citizens who have all said that this is a silly bill that doesn”™t actually do anything in the real world and isn”™t worth our legislature”™s time,” she said on her Facebook page. “While there”™s some irony in taking even more time to make that point, we thought it was a point that needed to be made.”
The bill also made it out of the Democrat-controlled Assembly last week. Perhaps fittingly, June is “Dairy Month” in New York state.
New York produces more yogurt than other state, according to timesunion.com, producing 741 million pounds of yogurt in 2013.
The governor”™s office said in a news release that dairy accounts for half of the state”™s entire agricultural income. New York is the third-leading state in milk production and accounts for 6.7 percent of national production, according to Cuomo”™s office.
