More than ten years after the Obama administration put restrictions on whole and 2% milk in schools to combat childhood obesity, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and several lawmakers are advocating for the return of these milk options.
Kennedy, who serves as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has criticized the current US Dietary Guidelines for Americans as outdated. He is urging Head Start programs to reconsider their reliance on low-fat dairy and embrace full-fat options like whole milk.
The U.S. Senate is also getting involved, with the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry hosting a hearing recently on the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. This proposed legislation would allow higher-fat milk options in school meal programs alongside the existing requirements for fat-free and low-fat milk for kids over age 2. Similar legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, with both bills launched by Republican lawmakers in January but gaining bipartisan backing.
“I think back to when I was a child, and how my grandparents would deliver milk to our home a couple of times a week. Whole milk was just a staple in our diet,” remarked Sen. Roger Marshall from Kansas during the hearing. “The Make America Healthy Again initiative emphasizes whole foods, and whole milk definitely fits within that concept.”
The National Milk Producers Federation expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with lawmakers to advance this legislation, anticipating it could lead to increased milk consumption among students, as stated in a recent news release.
