The House passed, on an overwhelming 330-99 roll call on Wednesday, a bill that overrides USDA regulations to allow schools to serve whole milk as part of the school lunch program. “Let’s end the war on milk,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee. The bill now goes to the Senate.
At present, schools can offer students low-fat and fat-free milk, with the option of including flavored versions. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that children and adults consume low-fat or fat-free milk. One out of five children and adolescents and two out of five adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity increases the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson, sponsor of the whole milk bill, HR 1147, scorned “out of touch federal regulations” for the restriction. “The only special interest here is our kids,” said Thompson in response to arguments that the bill would benefit the dairy industry. Most of the lawmakers speaking in support of the bill during House debate were from dairy states.
Republicans were “attempting to make school meals less healthy,” said Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the senior Democrat on the Education Committee. The school lunch regulations were based on the Dietary Guidelines, written by nutrition experts, said Scott. Low-fat and fat-free milk have the same nutrients as whole milk, he said.
“While milk is the cream of the crop,” said Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, one of the top 10 milk-producing states. Children and adults prefer the taste of whole milk, he said, while citing figures that Americans do not consume the recommended amounts of dairy products.
The school lunch program cost $18.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, estimated the Congressional Budget Office.