Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act picks up steam in Congress

Congress is considering legislation that would once again allow schools to serve whole milk to their students. Earlier this year, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act was reintroduced with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. These bills would provide children, parents and schools with the option to serve any variety of fluid milk, including whole milk, which they believe will best meet their students’ nutritional needs. Under current USDA rules, schools can only serve their students low-fat (1%) or non-fat (skim) milk.

In April, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing on this legislation. Several witnesses testified in support of the bill, including Dr. Keith Ayoob, an associate clinical professor emeritus of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. According to Dr. Ayoob, whole (3.25% milkfat) and reduced-fat (2%) milk have been banned from school cafeterias for nearly 15 years due to a mistaken belief that higher-fat milk varieties were at least partially to blame for increased rates of childhood obesity. In fact, Dr. Ayoob testified, “numerous systematic reviews have found higher-fat milk consumption to be associated with lower childhood obesity.”

J. David Carlin leads the International Dairy Foods Association's legislative, political and economic policy activities. Prior to joining IDFA, Carlin was a partner with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. From 1995-1998, he served as assistant secretary for Congressional Relations under Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman at USDA. 

No matter the fat level, kids need to drink more milk, not less. According to multiple cycles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), all Americans, including schoolchildren, need to consume more dairy products because they provide 13 essential nutrients, including high-quality protein, calcium, phosphorous, vitamin D, and potassium. Moreover, multiple scientific studies have demonstrated that consumption of cow’s milk provides children with better bone health, a lower risk for type 2 diabetes, and a lower risk for cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, between 67% and 79% of school-age males and between 74% and 94% of school-age females fail to meet recommended levels of dairy intake.

Providing students with greater access to milk they enjoy will lead to increased milk consumption, according to another witness at the Senate hearing. Krista Byler, a foodservice director for a school district in Northwestern Pennsylvania, testified that students in her middle school and high school participated in a survey during the 2019-2020 school year that gave students freedom to choose any variety of milk, including reduced-fat and whole milk. Given more options, milk consumption among participating students increased by 50% and there was a 95% reduction in milk waste. These results are not surprising given that many students simply don’t like the taste of the low-fat and non-fat milk that can be offered under USDA’s existing school meals regulations.

Cow’s milk is currently in about 93% of all U.S. homes, and 75% of that milk is whole or reduced fat. It’s no wonder that kids who drink whole or reduced-fat milk at home find that the milk they are served at school just doesn’t taste as good, and as a result, they don’t drink as much milk as they should.

Enactment of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would encourage milk consumption within the school meal programs by providing schools, parents, and students the ability to choose and consume the milk they prefer, whether that be fuller fat milks like whole and 2%, low-fat or non-fat milks, or lactose-free milks, all of which contain the same essential nutrients to meet students’ health and nutrition needs.

Make your voice heard by asking your Representative and Senators to support this legislation. You can do this easily by visiting the IDFA campaign center (https://www.idfa.org/advocate) to send a customizable email message to your Member of Congress and your Senators. Working together as an industry, we can get this bill across the finish line this year and ensure that our schoolchildren have access to the milk varieties they most enjoy! DF