By Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – U.S. children could soon drink whole milk at school for the first time in nearly 15 years after President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a law allowing the beverage to be served alongside low-fat and fat-free alternatives.
The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which will expand milk options for nearly 30 million children who eat school meals, enacts a longstanding priority of the dairy industry dating back to the administration of former President Barack Obama.
“These changes will be major victories for the American dairy farmers, who we love and who voted for me in great numbers,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.
The law is also aligned with the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, named for the social movement that backs Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The administration has promoted other MAHA priorities like curbing childhood vaccines and discouraging the use of artificial dyes in food.
“This is exactly the kind of practical change that will make America healthy again,” Kennedy said at the White House.
WHOLE MILK GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
Schools have been required to serve only low-fat and fat-free milk since the 2012 implementation of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, a school meal reform bill championed by former first lady Michelle Obama as part of a broader effort to curb childhood obesity.
Farm and dairy groups have since said the Act led to reduced milk consumption at schools and that higher-fat milk is not associated with poorer health outcomes for children.
Under the new law, schools will be permitted to serve whole or reduced-fat milk as well as lower-fat options. Farm-state lawmakers have attempted to pass similar legislation several times in recent years.
Implementation of the law will take a few weeks, said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at the White House.
MAHA-ALIGNED MILK
School meals are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To receive federal reimbursement for the meals, schools must meet strict nutrition standards that align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The latest dietary guidelines, unveiled last week by the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services, encourage the consumption of full-fat dairy, a major shift from decades-old guidance to opt for lower-fat varieties.
The administration’s MAHA strategy report released last year included allowing schools to serve whole milk.
In his first term, Trump rolled back several other Obama-era school meal provisions, including relaxing curbs on sodium and allowing schools to offer flavored milks.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
