Dairy Industry Urged to Stop Promoting High-fat Milk in Schools

Kids Need Calcium and Vitamin D but not Saturated Fat, Says CSPI

The dairy industry uses its lobbying muscle to make it harder for schools to serve only low-fat milk, even though whole and 2% milk are by far the largest sources of saturated fat in children’s diets. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) today accused the dairy industry of putting its profits ahead of the hearts of America’s school-aged children.

“Low-fat milk provides all of the valuable calcium and vitamin D that whole and 2% milk provide, but with little or no saturated fat,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. “Yet the dairy industry markets high-fat milk to school kids, despite the fact that it clogs kids’ arteries.”

Today nearly 200 nutritionists and researchers called on the dairy industry to work with schools, USDA, and Congress to ensure that milk sold in school cafeterias and vending machines is 1% or fat-free. In a letter to the heads of the National Milk Producers Federation, the International Dairy Foods Association, and Dairy Management, Inc., the nutrition professionals pointed out that three out of four children consume more saturated fat than the government recommends, and that a quarter of five- to 10-year-olds have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or other risk factor for heart disease.

Congress is currently reauthorizing school lunch and other child nutrition programs. Thanks to the dairy industry’s lobbying efforts, the bill passed by the House of Representatives includes language that requires schools to offer milk in a “variety of fat contents.” Since there are only four varieties of milk and half of those are high in fat, schools likely will offer at least one high-fat choice. According to CSPI, the House bill is only slightly better than current law, which all but forces schools to offer whole milk.

“We’re all for variety, but schools should provide a variety of good choices, not a variety of bad ones,” Wootan said.

Another industry-backed provision in the House bill would prohibit schools from restricting the sale or promotion of whole or 2% milk in schools anywhere on school grounds. That means schools would not be able to exclude from vending machines milk drinks that have more calories than 20-ounce sodas, such as Hershey’s 14-ounce Vanilla Cream Milk Shake, which has 560 calories plus 8 grams of saturated fat.

“It’s great that the dairy industry is using its clout to help push soda out of schools, but it shouldn’t try to strong arm school systems into selling high-fat milk,” Wootan said. “Some lawmakers are cheerleaders for ‘local control’ of school foods, when Congress is asked to ban junk food in schools. Yet, when schools actually want to provide more nutritious foods, the food industry’s friends in Congress bring the hammer of big government down on them.”

A girl who drinks one cup of 1% milk instead of 2% milk each school day would cut 47,000 calories and 11 pounds of fat from her diet during her 13 years in school, according to CSPI.

“Yet the dairy industry markets high-fat milk to school kids, despite the fact that it clogs kids’ arteries.”

To quote Frank Barone, "Holy Crap."

Show me the numbers! I don't think I've ever heard of a case of pediatric arteriosclerosis! What a load of schlock. Kids NEED fat. Their little brains are still developing.

Oh no, where will the insanity end? I can't believe what I'm reading. And how will the calcium be absorbed in the absence of fat? Those poor kids will be getting nothing but sugar in the skim milk. And I agree with Kristine "Kids need lots of good fats." Holy Crap!

There are about 180 school days in a school year (more or less).

Over 13 years, that makes 180 x 13 = 2340 days.

47,000 calories divided by 2340 days?

Roughly 20 calories a school day would be "saved".

Ditto to everyone!

How about continue with the whole milk and give the kids more recess and gym to burn off those extra 20 calories?

"200 nutritionists and researchers called on the dairy industry to work with schools, USDA, and Congress to ensure that milk sold in school cafeterias and vending machines is 1% or fat-free"

I still can't believe it. And why not pick on orange juice? Why milk?

Yipe.

Is THAT why so many kids are obese?? Because they get 2% milk in school? Back in the 60's BEFORE the food police appointed themselves gods, we drank -- get this. . . FULL 4% fat milk in school. And obesity wasn't a problem back then

Geez, these CSPI crackpots are almost as idiotic as the PCRM crackpots.

because everyone knows kids need HFCS!

Who cares about fat soluble vitamins or anything.

'“Low-fat milk provides all of the valuable calcium and vitamin D that whole and 2% milk provide, but with little or no saturated fat,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan.'

There was an analysis done not too long ago that found that a lot of non-fat milk had no vitamin D in it. 1% was not much better. You would think that a nutrition policy director would know that vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin (actually its more of a hormone) and not expect to find it in a product that has had all the fat removed.

Skim Milk is marginally higher in Calcium than Whole Milk, but its significantly lower in Vitamin A, which is why some Skim Milks contain added Vitamin A. Milk is fortified with Vitamin D. It is not naturally that high. Vitamins A and D are Fat-Soluble, as in they require fat to be absorbed properly. Most important of all, Skim Milk tastes horrible. These are young children, if you suddenly change their tasty Whole Milk to disgusting Skim Milk, they could give up Milk for years as I did, when my Elementary School made that change.

As for the Hershey's Milk Shake, that is not 2% or Whole Milk by any stretch.

14 ounces of 2% Milk contains:

240 kcal
9g Fat
24g Carbs
17g Protein

14 ounces of Whole [3.25%] Milk contains:

256 kcal
14g Fat
19-23g Carbs
14g Protein

If this Hersheys Shake has 8g Saturated Fat [Milkfat is about 63% Saturated,] then it was made with Whole Milk. But, it has 304 kcal more Calories than Whole Milk. So, that means they added something to it, either 71g of Protein [Highly Unlikely...,] or more likely 80g of Sugar, most likely in the form of HFCS. If this "Milk-Based Beverage" has 80g of HFCS added to it, no kid should be drinking it, regardless of its Saturated Fat content.