Tag: nutrition

Congress’s Bumpy Start Could Smooth Farm Bill

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

By Paul Bleiberg, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, NMPF.

The beginning of each new Congress is marked by a period of temporary excitement, borne of optimism that legislators will put aside political differences to finally enact solutions to problems affecting Americans from all walks of life.

The opening of the 118th Congress earlier this month presented a different picture. While the usual political disputes between the two parties remain, the first days of this congress featured not a contrast between Republicans and Democrats, but instead disagreements among Republicans about who to elect as Speaker of the House and, more fundamentally, how to govern the institution for the next two years.

Ultimately, after four days of intense negotiation that occurred both in private meetings and in public on the House floor, Republicans voted to elect California Representative Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress. Six Republican members who had voted against McCarthy on previous ballots chose to vote ‘present’ on the final ballot, clearing a path for McCarthy to claim the Speaker’s gavel.

Personalities certainly played a role in this conflict and its resolution, but so did significant discussions about the ability of individual members to influence the legislation that advances in the House. Part of the agreement that got McCarthy elected speaker allows members to offer many amendments to bills that reach the floor, a departure from recent practice. Amendment debate and votes can sometimes smooth over bumps in the road to a bill’s passage, but they also can create new obstacles.

This may seem like ‘inside baseball,’ but it is of great importance to one piece of legislation expected to advance this year: the 2023 Farm Bill. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) kicked off that process with a recent listening session at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. Many hearings are expected this spring in both the House and Senate agriculture committees.

Soon after that, the work of drafting the bill will begin. Members on and off the committees will seek to have their say. Yes, this means Congress may take votes on a wide range of amendments to the farm bill, good and bad. Hopefully, the amendment process will help to expand the bipartisan, bicameral consensus that will be needed to enact a farm bill, and not detract from it. But dairy will need to do its part to make sure the process doesn’t work to the detriment of its interests. That means we’ll be striving to maintain the Dairy Margin Coverage program and separate risk management tools, with tweaks as needed, and to ensure dairy’s needs are met in other key titles like conservation, trade, and nutrition.

Dairy will be engaging closely to help guide Congress to that outcome. The beginning of the new Congress wasn’t the most auspicious in terms of unity. Even so, policy progress is always possible, and on the farm bill and other issues, we will work with both sides of the aisle – and even both sides of one aisle should there be conflicts – to get things done.

This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Jan. 23, 2023.

NMPF Calls on Lawmakers to Support Domestic Infant Formula Production

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

In a letter to lawmakers, the National Milk Producers Federation urged support for domestic infant formula production as the production shortfalls that stripped store shelves of necessary infant formula have eased. Given the improving situation, tariff waivers that could discourage the production of a safe, secure domestic infant formula supply should be allowed to expire at end of this year as scheduled, NMPF said in the letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee.

“Given that the temporary production shortfall that gripped American families in need of formula earlier this year has abated, we urge Congress to ensure that the unique, unilateral tariff benefits granted to our trading partners under the Formula Act and the Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act end as scheduled at the close of this year,” said NMPF Chairman and CEO Jim Mulhern in the letter, dated Nov. 17 . “We respectfully request your opposition to any effort to extend these preferential tariff benefits beyond the end of this year.”

A strong, diversely sourced domestic infant formula production industry ensures the highest quality, safest products while supporting rural jobs and domestic producers.

NMPF, IDFA Seek to Fix WIC Proposal that Would Decrease Access to Dairy’s Nutrients

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

ARLINGTON, Va. and WASHINGTON, DC – Representing dairy farmers, cooperatives, and processors, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) issued the following joint statement in response to USDA’s proposed changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) released today:

“It is unfortunate for WIC participants that the proposed rule would decrease access to dairy products and the unique nutrient profile they provide, especially considering the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) note that a staggering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population does not consume enough dairy to meet dietary recommendations. At a time of rising food costs and high food insecurity, we should focus on increasing access to a wide variety of healthful, nutrient-dense, and affordable foods, including both fresh produce and dairy products. It’s disappointing that the proposed rule would limit WIC family purchasing power for nutritious dairy foods, particularly at a time like this.

“WIC is central to helping ensure pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children have access to the nutrients needed for growth and development at the critical life stages surrounding pregnancy, birth, and early childhood. The vast body of nutrition science demonstrates that nutritious dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese are especially important in the diets of women, infants, and children. Dairy is a source of 13 nutrients, including three of the four nutrients of public health concern as noted by the DGA, which is why dairy has always played a significant role in the WIC program.

“NMPF and IDFA commend USDA for suggesting approaches to make the nutrient-dense food provided by the WIC program more accessible, including expanded options for yogurt and cheese varieties and for proposing WIC participants be able to purchase these dairy products in a wider variety of product package sizes that are more commonly found in grocery stores. We also applaud USDA for its continued commitment to nutritional equivalency in substitute products, rejecting those that do not provide an equivalent nutrition package, as recommended by the DGA.

“We look forward to working with USDA to modernize the WIC food package for eligible families to access nutrient-dense milk, yogurt, and cheese varieties that are a part of their everyday diets and accessible in neighborhood stores, thus fulfilling the program’s nutritional objectives. IDFA, NMPF, and our members will advocate against reducing the amount of nutritious dairy foods provided through WIC in USDA’s final rule because we are committed to reducing food insecurity, malnutrition, and diet-related disease while improving health outcomes by making it easier for all Americans to access healthy, affordable foods, including nutritious dairy products. We hope USDA will work to achieve these same objectives as they develop a final WIC rule, which, given dairy’s unique nutrient package and incomparable role in nourishing WIC participants, will require USDA not to decrease access to dairy in the WIC program.”

 

NMPF’s Mulhern on FMMO Modernization and the State of Dairy

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern recaps progress made at NMPF’s annual meeting in Denver last week, including unanimous support for a Federal Milk Modernization Order modernization framework. Mulhern also talks about next steps on FMMO modernization and highlights the current popularity of dairy products and their nutritional benefits, noting the highest U.S. per capita consumption since 1959. Mulhern speaks on the “Agriculture of America” podcast.

NMPF’s Larson on White House Nutrition Conference

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

The U.S. dairy industry has a long-standing commitment to the nutrition and health of the nation. Ensuring that people have consistent and equitable access to the nutrition they need is a key priority for the National Milk Producers Federation, just like the recent White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

Claudia Larson, NMPF senior director of government relations, tells the National Association of Farm Broadcasters that most people know that dairy is nutritious, but not everybody knows the details of dairy’s potential in fighting nutrition insecurity.

NMPF’s Bjerga on the Myths of Plant-Based Beverages (Parts 1 & 2)

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

In a two-part interview with Ag Information of the West, NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga takes on the myths perpetuated by plant-based beverage marketers in the context of such beverages’ declining sales.  “If you read some of this media coverage in the last few years, you would have thought that cows were on their way to going extinct,” Bjerga said. “I think the cows are alive and well.” Part 1 is here, part 2 is here.

NMPF’s Bjerga on Back to School (and Milk)

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses the importance of milk to school nutrition programs in an interview with RFD- TV. According to consumer data, about 80 percent of the milk consumed by school-age children at home is whole or 2 percent milkfat varieties, neither of which are part of federal school nutrition programs.

NMPF’s Detlefsen on the False Promises of ‘Lab-based’ Dairy

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

Much like plant-based imitators, precision fermentation technology is a sector working to create so-called animal-free dairy products. However, Clay Detlefsen, National Milk Producers Federation Senior Vice President and Staff Counsel, says a real dairy product cannot be made with precision fermentation technology. “We’re seeing a lot of folks right now really misleading the public as to what they’re doing. You cannot make a real dairy product with fermentation technology,” he said in an interview with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

NMPF, Allied Groups Tell White House: Prioritize Food Access at Hunger Conference

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) led eleven national agricultural, anti-hunger, nutrition and medical groups today in a virtual listening session urging the White House to place a high priority on access to affordable, diverse and nutritious foods when it holds its Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this September.

The NMPF-organized session offered the White House both expertise and lived experience from a wide range of organizations on how important increased access to food and a diverse range of food choices are to fight nutrition insecurity and improve nutrition-related health.

“When the White House announced its Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, we at NMPF were excited by the potential for this conference to help propel meaningful advancement toward achieving the conference’s stated goals of ending hunger, increasing healthy eating and physical activity, and decreasing the prevalence of diet-related diseases in America,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern in remarks at the session. “We, and our collaborators on this listening session, share these goals and know from personal experience and decades of working on this issue that increasing access to food is critical to attaining them.”

The participating organizations said of the session and the White House conference:

“Eggs are one of the most affordable sources of high-quality protein available and can play an important role in fighting food insecurity and malnutrition in America and the world,” said Dr. Mickey Rubin of American Egg Board’s Egg Nutrition Center. “America’s egg farmers are committed to ensuring that nutritious, affordable eggs remain accessible to all Americans.”

“IDFA members are deeply committed to ending hunger by making it easier for everyone — urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities — to access and afford healthy, nutritious milk and dairy foods,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. “SNAP and WIC are central to this conversation. We know from USDA’s Foods Typically Purchased Report that dairy products make up at least 20 percent of the grocery bill for SNAP participants. With creation of the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Projects (HFMIP) passed in the 2018 Farm Bill, policymakers took SNAP incentives a step further and sought to address the dairy consumption gap highlighted in the 2020-2025 DGAs. Yet, HFMIP is not working at the scale necessary to address malnutrition and chronic health diseases. Therefore, we encourage leaders gathering at the White House conference to focus on building a healthy dairy foods incentive program at national scale in partnership with food retailers, local nutrition and health organizations, state SNAP agencies, and dairy foods makers.”

“All Americans deserve the opportunity to live the healthiest life possible, and foundational to that is having access to affordable, culturally diverse nutrient-rich foods” said Katie Brown, EdD, RDN, senior vice president of scientific and nutrition affairs at National Dairy Council. “Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt can be part of the solution to ensuring nutrition security and improving public health.”

“School meal programs are America’s most effective tool to expand children’s access to healthy foods to support their growth, development and academic success,” said School Nutrition Association Public Policy and Legislation Committee Chair Jessica Gould, RD, SNS. “During the pandemic, we witnessed the adaptability of these programs as school nutrition professionals nationwide pivoted to provide grab-and-go meals for curbside pick-up and expand services for families in need. With research showing school meals are the healthiest meals children are eating, these programs should be a cornerstone in efforts to improve food access for America’s families.”

“Egg farmers have been donating their time and resources for years to combat hunger. We commend the White House for organizing the upcoming nutrition conference, and Congress for funding it. We must work together to end hunger in America,” said Chad Gregory, President and CEO of United Egg Producers.

Also sharing stories and potential solutions at the listening session were American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society for Nutrition, Feeding America, Food Research and Action Center, and International Fresh Produce Association.

Today’s event is part of the broader effort to provide input to the White House as it crafts its strategy to end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, which the White House has said it plans to release at the September conference.

NMPF’s Bjerga on White House Nutrition Conference

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses the planned White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health later this year, the first major White House conference on nutrition in more than 50 years. Bjerga discusses the changes in U.S. nutrition and nutrition policy during that time, and how keeping dairy’s place in diets prominent is critical toward ensuring a healthy, hunger-free future for the United States, on WEKZ radio.

NMPF Statement on Califf FDA Confirmation

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

Statement from NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern on the confirmation of Dr. Robert Califf as FDA Commissioner:

“We congratulate Dr. Robert Califf on his confirmation as FDA Commissioner. We are cheering for his success at a particularly challenging time, given the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the urgent need to address the opioids crisis and other public health issues. We are heartened that, in addition to these concerns, he has also cited addressing the proliferation of plant-based products mislabeled as dairy a ‘priority’ issue under his leadership.

“Nutritional confusion over the products is real, with meaningful public health implications, and the Biden Administration has promised guidance by mid-year. We look forward to working with Dr. Califf as he resolves this long-standing, and growing, concern.”

 

NMPF’s Bjerga on Dairy’s Continued Consumer Strength

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

Despite the disruptions of the pandemic era, consumer dairy sales keep climbing, even after the turbulence of 2020 is taken into account, NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga says in an interview with RFD-TV. Butter, cheese and yogurt sales are all over 2019 levels, and even though fluid milk declined, whole milk — in other words, milk that tastes like milk — increased.