As June Dairy Month begins, NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud explains for listeners of Dairy Radio Now that NMPF has helped notch two important achievements for the dairy community: the implementation of long-awaited updates to the Federal Order system, and passage by the Senate Agriculture Committee of legislation to expand milk choices in schools.
Tag: nutrition
Whole Milk Legislation has 60% Chance This Year, Sen. Welch Says
The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act has a 60% chance of becoming law this year, with congressional momentum building along with consensus that whole milk in schools is the best option for schoolkids, Sen. Peter Welch, D-VT, said in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.
“This is one of those things where, if we get it on the floor, and get the cooperation of leadership, we get the votes,” he said. “This is one of those areas of rare bipartisanship that we have right now.”
Welch, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s rural development subcommittee, is a Senate co-sponsor of Whole Milk for Healthy Kids, which passed the House of Representatives in 2023 and this year is advancing in both chambers. The legislation would restore the ability of schools to offer whole and 2% milk as options.
Welch also serves on the Judiciary, Finance and Rules committees, touching on agricultural issues including immigration and trade.
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music under the podcast name “Dairy Defined.”
NMPF Celebrates Senate Support for Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act
The National Milk Producers Federation celebrated strong bipartisan Senate support for the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act as senators begin considering this critical legislation.
In a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing held Tuesday to review the measure, committee members and panelists highlighted the role this bill could have in increasing student milk consumption and nutrition access while also potentially decreasing waste.
“NMPF commends Sens. Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Peter Welch, D-VT, for advocating for our nation’s students to have more access to nutrient-rich dairy by allowing schools to offer whole milk with school meals,” NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud said. “We know that Americans are under-consuming dairy products, and as we heard today, students have said they want the milk they are familiar with and that they find satisfying. For many students, that’s whole milk.”
NMPF also thanks Chairman John Boozman, R-AR, and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, for voicing their support for the bill.
“We are grateful to Chairman Boozman and Ranking Member Klobuchar for convening today’s hearing, and we look forward to working with them and the bill’s bipartisan sponsors to move it forward,” Doud said.
The House of Representatives is considering similar legislation led by House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson, R-PA, and Rep. Kim Schrier, D-WA. The bill was approved by the House Education & the Workforce Committee with bipartisan support Feb. 12, and it now awaits floor action. Similar legislation passed the House by an overwhelming bipartisan margin in 2023 but was not taken up in the Senate.
Dairy’s Pronounced Advantage Over Plant-Based Alternatives
“This is a list of ingredients from foods — carrageenan, riboflavin, monosodium glutamate and 20 others that I can’t pronounce.” – HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
This column isn’t here to call out specific food ingredients — carrageenan, for example, has made many an ice cream pint hold together well, proving the value of the raw seaweed extract. But if the idea is to take a more critical look at food ingredients that sound more like science experiments gone bad than healthy, nutritious products, we might just offer one helpful hint: Take a look at the plant-based “dairy” substitutes section and see what you find.
It takes a lot of substances to turn a slurry of chemicals, emollients, emulsifiers, additives and colorings — plus few almonds, oats, etc. — into something that looks like a dairy product. Things like, “mixed tocopherols.” Or “gellan gum,” (which, admittedly, is used in ice cream if you want it to stay stable when placed in flaming alcohol). Or “calcium disodium edta,” (which is also good at treating lead poisoning), among others.
Again, not casting aspersions on anything, just noting that your grandmother probably didn’t talk much about these ingredients over Thanksgiving dinner. Meanwhile, milk is made of… milk, with some vitamin fortification that dates back nearly a century. Cheese is made of… milk, with some additives that follow processes developed over generations. And other dairy products are made of… milk, with whatever else helps keep it safe and stable for consumers who are, in the end, experiencing the same nutrition and wholeness their forebears would have recognized in earlier, less pronunciation-challenged times.
This revelation isn’t anything new: In fact, Dairy Defined did a whole quiz on this theme in 2022 that’s still fun to complete. But it bears repeating as food policy gets a new look. Plant-based products or products derived from the fermentation of a fungus that are engineered to superficially resemble dairy are, by definition, imitations or (poor) substitutes of something that was already out there, already serving a public that understood what it did and what was in it. But in this case, the imposters want to call their product the same thing as the real thing, implying equivalencies in nutrition that just aren’t there and creating confusion in the marketplace.
And that needs to stop.
The last three FDA commissioners, serving both Republicans and Democrats, all recognized the problem — all that’s left is action. Regardless of one’s feelings about specific ingredients or the values they bring to specific foods, being transparent about what something is and what it isn’t, is an important principle from which to build.
Truth in labeling. Not hard to say. And long past time to do.
Lactose-Free Milk Makes Schoolkids Smile
Jessica Shelly is the Director of Student Dining Services for Cincinnati Public Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio. She’s responsible for overseeing the service of more than 60,000 meals a day in the lunchroom operations at 65 schools.
And in 2023, her school system tried something different: It offered its students lactose-free milk. The hugely successful pilot project has now been adopted district-wide, improving nutrition, boosting school lunch participation and reducing food waste. The Cincinnati model points to a promising path for milk in schools, as student bodies become more diverse and millions of children rely on school meals as their main nutrition source for the day.
“These are kids who may not be able to go home to a refrigerator full of food, and so it’s our job to make sure that we are providing them with the most healthy and nutritious meals possible when they’re here with us at school,” she said. “Part of that is making sure they have all the nutrients and protein they need, and we know that milk plays a large role in that.”
For more of the Dairy Defined podcast, you can find and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music under the podcast name “Dairy Defined.”
NMPF’s Bjerga on Milk’s Rising Consumption
NMPF Executive Vice President Alan Bjerga discusses how fluid milk consumption is rising, with whole milk leading the way, in an interview with RFD-TV. With the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act making its way through Congress, this could be the year consumer choices are reflected in federal policy.
Regulatory Register – Winter 2025
Science Makes the Case for Whole Milk, Teicholz Says
You don’t have to be part of the dairy sector to see how important whole milk is for children, best-selling author Nina Teicholz, Ph.D., said in the latest Dairy Defined Podcast.
That’s because nutrition science makes a compelling case for full-fat milk, underscoring the importance of getting whole milk back in schools, the goal of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, she said.
Children who drink whole milk tend to be healthier, she said. “You need the fat in the milk to digest the vitamins that are in the milk, those are fat soluble vitamins. “I’m not a dairy advocate, but it turns out that the science supports the position of those of people in the industry who would prefer to see whole milk back in schools.”
Teicholz, author of “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet,” also discussed how food policy might be shaken up by Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s. confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary.
NMPF has a call to action supporting the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act for listeners who want to get involved, here. For more of the Dairy Defined podcast, you can find and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music under the podcast name “Dairy Defined.”
NMPF’s Bleiberg Offers Update on House Legislation to Increase School Milk Choices
NMPF’s executive vice president Paul Bleiberg tells the listeners of Dairy Radio Now about the passage this week by the House Education and Workforce Committee of new legislation that would increase the range of milk options available to school children. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would give schools the option of serving 2% and whole milk once again. The bill is now expected to move to the full House for further consideration.
NMPF Statement on Bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act
From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:
“NMPF commends House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-PA, and Rep. Kim Schrier, D-WA, for continuing to lead their bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act to help increase kids’ access to milk’s vital nutrients.
“The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reaffirmed in its Scientific Report last December that most kids and adolescents are not meeting daily dairy intake recommendations. Good nutrition is a cornerstone of children’s health and development, and milk plays an unparalleled role in providing the nutrients kids need to grow and thrive. But kids take more milk, and drink more milk, in school when they have nutrient-dense options they like. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that dairy foods at all fat levels have a neutral or positive effect on health outcomes, ranging from lower prevalence of obesity and diabetes to reduced heart disease risk and healthy cholesterol levels.
“We are grateful to the House Education and the Workforce Committee for approving the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act today on a bipartisan vote. It’s a critical step toward finally expanding the popular, healthy milk options schools can serve to improve student nutrition.”
NMPF’s Galen Explains Importance of New Legislation to Increase School Milk Choices
NMPF’s senior vice president Chris Galen discusses the introduction of new legislation in the House and Senate that would increase the range of milk options available to school children. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would give schools the option of serving 2% and whole milk once again. The House passed a similar bill in 2023, but the Senate didn’t act on it – prompting a renewed effort this year in Congress.
Dairy Radio Now Listeners Learn of House Hearing Examining FDA Labeling Failure
NMPF’s Executive Vice President Paul Bleiberg explains for Dairy Radio Now listeners why the House of Representatives held a hearing this week to examine how the Food and Drug Administration is focusing its resources. Bleiberg said Deputy FDA Commissioner Jim Jones faced scrutiny from lawmakers about the agency’s failure to enforce standards of identity for the labeling of plant-based dairy imitators, a point NMPF has been raising for years.
