Food Politics

Amid all the talk about the politics of the upcoming 2010 November elections, there is a process in Washington going on right now that is just as political, and even more important to the dairy industry: the creation of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

Unlike elections, which occur at two- and four-year intervals, the writing of the government’s nutrition guidelines occurs every five years, and sets the baseline for a wide range of federal feeding programs, especially the School Lunch and WIC programs (more on that in a moment). At least five percent of domestic fluid milk demand is tied to those programs, so the stakes are huge for the entire dairy community. Simply put, the power of the government to recommend – or discourage – certain foods is indispensable to the marketing of our products.

The most recent development in this process occurred earlier in the month, when NMPF provided comments in reaction to an expert panel’s recently-proposed updates in the guidelines (other dairy organizations, such as IDFA and the National Dairy Council, have also issued similar comments).

As the current draft stands, the new iteration of these guidelines will continue to support a prominent role for milk, as well as yogurt and cheese, in federal recommendations. Few foods have the same level of nutrient density, coupled with the affordability, that dairy products offer. This value proposition – a great bang for the buck – remains a huge advantage that we can and must continue to highlight. The proposed guidelines still call for two dairy servings a day for children under nine, and three servings daily for adults. That’s the good news.

The bad news, or at least, the more challenging dynamic, comes when the guidelines have to address growing concerns about fat, sugar, and salt. These substances are in the crosshairs as the government grapples with the major public health challenges of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Because sodium and fat are critical to the functionality and safety of cheese – and because sugars are frequently added to flavored milks and yogurts – we will have a challenge in defending the prominent use of those specific products in feeding programs.

Our key point remains that excluding flavored milks and/or cheeses because of concerns about salt, sugar, and fat is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. In other words, the nutrient density of cheese, yogurt, and fluid milk is so beneficial, it’s worth a certain amount of additional sodium and sugar that comes with it. That argument is an increasingly tough sell, however, particularly in the school lunch line.

NMPF’s comments also addressed the increased challenge we have from dairy’s imitators. We’ve been beating back attempts by processors of things like soy “milk” and rice “yogurt” to elbow their way into a position of equivalency with real dairy products. Not only do these pale by comparison from a nutritional standpoint, vegetable- or plant-based products almost always cost more, which is an important consideration when scarce state and federal dollars have to pay for them.

Even so, there are stronger ideological pressures in support of dairy alternatives, from a variety of perspectives. For some, it’s environmental opposition to livestock-based foods; others simply want their kids to have more vegetarian choices. Even PETA has sent in its own comments on the guidelines, which unsurprisingly, criticize dairy’s role and support vegan alternatives.

We’re seeing this contest play out not just in the Dietary Guidelines process, but also in the current legislative process, where Congress is trying to renew the Child Nutrition Act. Many of the same arguments critical of dairy products, or at least those with fat, sugar and salt, are being made on Capitol Hill during the current debate on whether to make major revisions in the Nutrition Act. The jury there is still out.

After the public comments have been parsed about the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee proposal, the USDA and HHS will issue a new set in fall 2010. I am optimistic that the ultimate version will remain very favorable to dairy foods, but the intensity of the opposing voices is growing. That makes it incumbent on the industry to continue promoting the many virtues of dairy foods, because we can’t assume that nutrition science, rather than politics, will always carry the day.

National Milk Producers Federation

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