This post originally appeared at https://wisconsindailystar.com/news/dairy-state-lawmaker-fight-against-biden-administrations-war-on-chocolate-milk/mkittle/2023/06/19/

U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) introduced a bill that would stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s war on chocolate milk in school lunchrooms.

The Milk is Indisputably Liked by Kids Act of 2023 – MILK Act — would amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to offer flavored milk under school lunch program.

Tiffany’s bill follows a report from the Wall Street Journal that the USDA is considering banning chocolate milk from elementary and middle schools. The Biden administration issued a proposed rule in February that would set new nutrition standards for school meals, including limiting added sugars and sodium. If implemented, the new standards proposed could limit the amount of flavored milk — like chocolate and strawberry — in high schools while children in elementary and middle schools would be restricted to a variety of unflavored milk.

It’s not a good look in the Dairy State, or anywhere else for that matter, Tiffany (pictured above) said.

“I believe any legislator from Wisconsin should be indignant about an administration that wants to eliminate milk, in this case chocolate milk, from school lunch programs,” the congressman told The Wisconsin Daily Star last week on the Dan O’Donnell Show.

He said it’s reminiscent of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s war on school lunch.

Obama’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 went over like kale chips (kale anything, really) as she pushed a big-government agenda to fight childhood obesity. Kids and schools across the nation rejected her “healthier” meal options, with participation in the school lunch program seeing sharp declines.

Tiffany said he remembers as a state senator hearing from constituents about how lousy school lunches were. He said a school lunch director stopped him at a gas station and told him that the district was throwing away more food than ever because kids hated the first lady’s menu.

The congressman said the latest attack on chocolate milk is another example of Washington, D.C. thinking it knows best.

“These school lunch directors know how to put out a good, nutritious meal for kids in their school lunch programs. It does not take the heavy hand of the federal government,” Tiffany said.

The milk industry certainly is sour on the proposed new federal rules.

“Providing our children access to a healthy, complete and nutritious product such as flavored milk is the fundamental basis to maintain a healthy diet. It is preposterous to think that the USDA would limit access to flavored milk for school children,” said Brody Stapel, president of Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative.

USDA’s target on chocolate and strawberry milk is part of a bigger proposal to “gradually” cut sugar and salt in meals. Breakfast cereals, yogurts, and desserts also would get the federalized treatment. The guidelines would be phased in over the next seven years, beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

One option considered would be to “allow” flavored milk (fat-free and low-fat) at school lunch and breakfast for high school children (grades 9-12) only.

USDA cites a 2021 study that found flavored skim milk was the leading source of added sugars at school breakfasts and lunches.

Tiffany said the Biden administration again has its priorities messed up.

“Out of all the crises the Biden administration should be focused on, how did chocolate milk in school lunches become public enemy number one?” the congressman said in a press release announcing his bill. “From the looks of things, maybe instead of trying to cancel chocolate milk, President Biden ought to drink a carton or two.”

There’s a bipartisan effort to spoil the proposed chocolate milk rule.

U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tina Smith (D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, are leading the campaign.

“When we encourage students to choose dairy, it’s not only helping them achieve a balanced and nutritious meal, it’s also supporting our dairy farmers,” Ernst said in a press release Friday.

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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Tom Tiffany” by Representative Tom Tiffany. Background Photo “School Cafeteria” by Nadia Eimandoust. CC BY-SA 4.0.

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