Dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt are at the foundation of healthy eating patterns. Dairy consumption helps Americans meet recommendations for calcium, vitamin D and potassium, three of the four under-consumed nutrients of public health concern. Dairy foods also make important contributions to consumption of protein, magnesium, vitamin A and other nutrients in the U.S. diet. In all, milk is a unique package of 13 essential nutrients that together form an unmatched nutritional benefit.
All age groups, beginning at age 4 and including nearly 80 percent of youth ages 9-13, fall short of meeting dairy intake recommendations. This gap between recommendations and reality, and its resulting negative health consequences, means more work is needed to encourage dairy consumption through expanded offerings and enhanced education. Meeting daily recommendations of dairy foods can help Americans close key nutrient gaps and contribute to healthier eating.
NMPF supports federal nutrition programs that help feed Americans struggling with food security and access, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, as well as enhancing these programs to combat hunger, meet the needs of Americans, and provide nutritious dairy products to program beneficiaries.
NMPF also supports legislative efforts to expand school milk choices to give kids access to healthy, nutrient-dense options. These include the School Milk Nutrition Act, which would permit individual school districts to determine which milk varieties to offer their students consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would allow both unflavored and flavored whole milk to be offered in school cafeterias.
Every five years, the federal government reassesses dietary science and then assembles a set of recommendations about the healthiest eating habits. As research continues to demonstrate the valuable impact milk and dairy has on American diets, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) continues to affirm the pivotal role played by dairy foods.
Due to the significant public health risks associated with the consumption of raw milk, NMPF opposes legislation at the state and national level that expands the availability of the product.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) develop and enforce a variety of regulations designed to ensure that consumers receive safe dairy products. NMPF works to ensure that federal food safety regulations are science-based and effective.
