Does milk still belong on school lunch menus?
Schools are finding it tough to ban chocolate milk. (AP Images)
Does milk still have a place on school menus? The question is provoking debate locally and nationally. And at issue is not just chocolate milk, but plain milk as well.
This week, a Decatur schools committee recommended banning chocolate milk in k-3 and phasing it out for grades 4 and up. The school board did not act on the recommendation but plans to consider further.
In coming months, Decatur school officials will weigh the cost of substituting healthier options; but will children eat them?
Clare Schexnyder, who was among the parents empaneled by the superintendent, said it’s a public health issue. Medical experts have been sounding the alarm about obesity and diabetes.
“There is just no reason to be giving them sugar to start the day,” Schexnyder said.
Some, including Diego Wren, think the proposals go too far. The 7th grader at Decatur’s Renfroe Middle School had just downed a carton of TruMoo chocolate milk in the cafeteria Thursday.
“The other milk is kind of tasteless,” he said. As for the other proposals, such as baking Tater Tots instead of drowning them in sizzling oil, well, his face bunched up in disbelief: “That would be nasty.”
Some grownups, especially those who make their living thinking of ways to get sufficient nutrition into students, fear there are taste lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Nudged along by federal mandates, though, they increasingly think fried foods are on the wrong side of the line.
U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal standards — that took effect in July — set strict calorie limits. Schools must serve more fruits and vegetables and must offer legumes weekly. They must cut all added trans fats and serve only 1 percent, or nonfat, milk. They also must serve “whole grain rich” breads and pastas.
Schools in Fairfax County, Va., banned chocolate milk in 2010 but reversed that decision a year later because of an outcry from parents, students, nutritionists and the dairy folks.
According to a 2011 Washington Post story on the issue:
Most accused the districts of acting rashly, robbing students of a tasty drink and the vitamins and minerals that fuel bone and muscle growth. “We got 10 to 20 e-mails a day,” said Penny McConnell, director of food and nutrition services for Fairfax. “It was a lot of pressure.”
This month — and partly because of that pressure — Fairfax officials announced that they would reintroduce chocolate milk in school cafeterias. The newer, low-fat version includes sucrose, which is made from sugar cane or beets, instead of high-fructose corn syrup, which some critics say is more heavily processed and, as a result, less healthy.
Such reformulations have satisfied some of chocolate milk’s critics. But most scientists and nutritionists, including those employed by local school districts, say that changing sweeteners makes little dietary difference if the total calorie content stays the same.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a physician group based out of D.C., petitioned the federal government in July to remove milk as a required food from the school lunch program. The nonprofit group called milk an “ineffective placebo” and cited research that milk does not improve bone health and does not prevent bone fractures and injury in children and adults.
According to a statement:
“The promotion of milk ingestion in children is, in effect, the promotion of an ineffective placebo,” the petition states. It adds that other products, including calcium-enriched soymilk and rice milk, contain calcium but, unlike dairy milk, are low in sodium and free of animal protein that can cause calcium to be excreted from the body
The petition, filed July 19, asks the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue a report to Congress recommending an amendment to the National School Lunch Act. The amendment would exclude dairy milk as a required component of school lunches. Milk, the petition argues, does not improve bone health or reduce the risk of osteoporosis and can actually create other health risks, especially later in life.
“Milk doesn’t make children grow taller and stronger, but it can make them heavier,” says PCRM nutrition education director Susan Levin, M.S., R.D. “We are asking Congress and the USDA to put children’s interests above the interests of the dairy industry. Focusing on milk as the single most important source of calcium in children’s diets distracts schools and parents from foods that can actually build bones, like beans and leafy greens.”
Among the other 10 recommendations by Decatur’s Ultimate Menu Committee: Eliminate processed baked products, such as muffins, pancakes, waffles and french toast, and replace with healthier versions. Ditto for chips, chicken nuggets, shrimp poppers and Tater Tots. The committee also advised replacing processed cheese with real cheese and ending high sugar desserts.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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101 comments Add your comment
Reign
September 9th, 2012
8:09 am
go to http://www.notmilk.com and to learn about the horror affects of milk in our bodies…
John
September 9th, 2012
8:15 am
The serving portions in school lunches are too small to contribute in any way to child obesity. Children today are hungry at school because the schools are being forced to serve them bland food that they don’t want. If those Decatur parents don’t want their children to drink chocolate milk, eat certain breads and consume fried foods, they should tell their children not to eat them. Leave the rest of us alone.
Tech Prof
September 9th, 2012
8:21 am
The typical American diet is terribly unhealthy. Banning chocolate milk at school is not going to solve our health problems, but it can’t hurt. Chocolate milk is no better than drinking soda pop. Would we allow Coke as a choice in the school lunches? The bigger issue in the school lunches is how much corporate lobbyists dictate what gets served in our schools to maximize certain industries profits. Like many things in education now, it’s not about the kids anymore. Wake up America!
Frugalady
September 9th, 2012
8:42 am
While we’re at it, take fruit juice off the menu too. Even 100% fruit juice is a lot of sugar (albeit, “natural” fruit sugars). Those little fruit cups are awful too. Whole fruit is best. When you get juice / choc milk / ice cream / whatever on a daily basis, it is no longer a special treat. You will lose your enjoyment of and appreciation for it.
Devildog
September 9th, 2012
8:55 am
Frugalady is right. Get rid of all the sugar sources in drink machines. But there will be a huge backlash from administration because of lost revenue. That’s the bottom line, money, not the health of school kids.
katz
September 9th, 2012
8:55 am
When I was in school we used to:
-have a 90 min bus ride each way
-have two 15 min outdoor breaks and a half hour recess where we played dodge ball, flag football, and messed around on the jungle gym
-eat government horse meat stew with metal utensils on a porcelain plate
-get our milk from a big metal box with a white rubber hose and drink it from a glass(made of glass)
-get a free lunch if we worked 30 minutes in the cafeteria kitchen instead of taking recess. I hosed off dishes with 140 degree water at age 9
The world has changed….
IMO the best thing that could be done with student lunches is to vary the menu to include food from a wide range of different cultures. If the kids don’t want to eat what is served, they can go without lunch. It’s a fact that hungry people will eat….
South Georgia
September 9th, 2012
9:03 am
Twenty years from now today’s kids will sue the government because they have become overweight…..mentally unfit….ugly…..depressed…..divorced…..all the fault of their poor education….and drinking chocolate milk at school!
Pride and Joy
September 9th, 2012
9:16 am
Ed Johnson, you are too funny. LOVED this line of yours “High Fructose Corn Syrup laced with chocolate milk.”
Still laughing…..
Thanks.
P and J
PCRM - questionable agenda...
September 9th, 2012
9:37 am
I’m always a bit hesistant to take anything PCRM says or their positions seriously…
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a vegan diet, preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research, and encourages what it describes as “higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research.” Its primary activities include outreach and education about nutrition and compassionate choices to healthcare professionals and the public; ending the use of animals in medical school curricula; and advocating for legislative changes on the local and national levels.
English Teacher
September 9th, 2012
9:41 am
THIS is worthy of a blog post? Of time spent debating during school board meetings? Of a grandparent emailing not one, but several people, to get an answer about high fructose corn syrup in milk?? Geez louise. Our education system is broken and in drastic need to repair in so many ways, and people are up in arms over chocolate milk?
bootney farnsworth
September 9th, 2012
10:17 am
amazing….
we’re now worried about big dairy.
chocolate milk in school will do squat in the scheme of things compared to the crap parents feed kids at home, and the lack of exercise they get.
oldtimer
September 9th, 2012
10:21 am
Until icecream, gatoraide, and chick fil a are all out of the schools chocolate milk is not the problem. What kids do and have at home is the bbigger issue. And looking at most luch food these days sometimes the only thing kids will eat is the chocolate milk…better than nothing.
Mustang100
September 9th, 2012
10:38 am
” … the breakfasts and lunches served at school are the main meals for some students.” That scenario tells me those would be free at that, so one has to wonder where the monthly EBT card balance is going?
ScienceTeacher671
September 9th, 2012
10:55 am
We grew up with nothing but plain, whole milk to drink for lunch in the cafeteria, and did fine. As a child, I’d have preferred chocolate milk to plain, but it wasn’t an option.
The new “healthier” meals are a joke, though. The ever-popular choice of pizza with fries is still on the menu at lunchtime. A recent breakfast offering was whole-wheat pancakes with syrup, “coco-puffs” type cereal (first ingredient = sugar), a piece of fruit and a half-pint of milk.
When the students with diabetes eat in the cafeteria, they spend the rest of the day with the nurse – too many carbs on the menu!
drew (former teacher)
September 9th, 2012
11:00 am
Geez….milk? Milk is a “story”? How about we let parents parent, and let schools educate.
I say close the kitchens down and let the students bring their own food. And for the “less fortunate” who have been so unlucky as to be born to parents who either can’t or won’t provide food for their offspring, give them a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a bottle of water.
And let schools focus on teaching.
Always Skeptical
September 9th, 2012
11:15 am
Chocolate milk has a ton of sugar. My kids don’t get it…EVER. Their preferred drink is regular, white 2% or whole milk. If they get juice, I add 50% filtered tap water. If they won’t drink milk that isn’t loaded down with sugar, let them drink water. That’s it. I make the menu decisions at home, not my children. I’ll bet that the same folks who are screaming for chocolate milk have issues with weight themselves.
Nikole
September 9th, 2012
11:16 am
Pack your kid’s lunch.
Iffy N. Squiffy
September 9th, 2012
11:31 am
“The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a physician group based out of D.C., petitioned the federal government in July to remove milk as a required food from the school lunch program.”
Oops, Maureen.
“I consider PCRM to be a fanatical animal rights group with a clear cut agenda of promoting a vegan lifestyle and eliminating all animal experimentation” — Joe Schwarcz PhD, Director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society.
Also, from reporter Aaron Gould Shenin’s 12/3/10 AJC article:
“Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, has been a paid lobbyist for (The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) a national special interest group and has advocated for the organization’s positions in Georgia….”
Bernie
September 9th, 2012
12:30 pm
Years ago in the Catholic schools in Atlanta, Chocolate Milk was reserved for only on Friday’s. My favorite DAY!…..
Carlester
September 9th, 2012
1:27 pm
I commend parents who’ve decided to step up and hold academic institutions accountable for serving healthier food choices… especially after reading Former FDA Commissioner, David Kessler’s book “The End of Overeating” which will make us all think differently about food and take back control of our eating habits.
Bernie
September 9th, 2012
1:46 pm
If One would look closely at The Governor’ s Charter School Plan you will find not only Milk is off the Menu . But All of the children of Georgia’s quality of education is as well.
All but for a small very selective few, All whom will remain anonymous until the campaign donation list is reviewed.
MsCrabtree
September 9th, 2012
3:18 pm
B.Y.O.L. will solve the problem. Then parents can be accountable for what their child eats. That shouldn’t be the government’s or the school’s decision.
crankee-yankee
September 9th, 2012
3:25 pm
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, now who would be funding this group?
Could it be the “enriched drink” producers?
Lets dig deeper.
Their website preaches some left-wing fringe subjects & has links to companies that produce “alternative” foodstuffs.
The same type items they they refer to in their statement.
I’m sorry, but I have grown overly suspicious of any little-known group promoting something tied to commerce.
Marketing types have gotten very savvy in how they promote products and this one smells.
Ann
September 9th, 2012
4:37 pm
My son’s favorite drink is water. He drinks fat free milk, when he drinks milk. He has had chocolate milk once at a dairy farm. If you don’t serve it to them when young, they won’t know what they are missing.
For those of you who keep saying, “I drank milk (or chocolate milk) as a child and I am fine”, how about telling us how many people in your family have had cancer? Many people over the age of 50 get cancer in their lifetime. Sugar feeds tumors. Many people who are thin or “normal weight” comment that it is fine to eat sugary things and that it hasn’t caused problems. They don’t understand the negative impact of sugar.
High fructose corn syrup was added to nearly every processed food because the government subsidized the corn industry. It was a cheap product and it’s use as an additive coincides directly with the obesity increase.
Ann
September 9th, 2012
4:38 pm
And, Wal-Mart’s store brand milk is now hormone-free.
Halftrack
September 9th, 2012
4:43 pm
This is your Tax dollars at work on school lunches, etc. Someone has an agenda. Poor students who get free food at school as well as those who get reduced meals, are after all getting a good meal for their health. The milk is not the problem. There are many other problems that cause obesity but the school milk is not one of them. Our government bureaucrats are.
Ann
September 9th, 2012
5:41 pm
Read the Omnivore’s Dilemma to see whose agenda is being served with the contracts between huge factory farms and the school system lunch programs.
Mitch
September 9th, 2012
6:41 pm
Sometimes I am amazed that the country survives.
English Teacher
September 9th, 2012
7:00 pm
@Mitch: I agree. I mean really…we’re talking about chocolate milk.
Wilbur
September 9th, 2012
7:01 pm
DCS parents fiddling while Rome burns around them…and their kids.
This is a silly sideshow, staged by a few to enforce their choices on the rest of us.
As for dealing with the real issues of DCS?
Crickets.
crankee-yankee
September 9th, 2012
7:40 pm
PCRM – questionable agenda…
September 9th, 2012
9:37 am
Good that you are looking past the headline. PCRM is not what I would call a reliable source. Their website promotes many fringe theories. The only source they cite for numerous plaudits is the Huffington Post, what, no Wall St Journal, NY Times, LA Times, scientific or medical journals? That’s a red flag in my book.
So the question is…who’s money is behind PCRM? Could it be the commercial interests behind “enhanced beverages” such as soymilk & such?
I’m very leery of any “group” such as this, marketers have become very savvy when it comes to the internet and we are certainly aware (see drug company “studies”) there are doctors who will sell their souls to make few bucks.
P.T. Barnum said it best, “You can fool some of the people some of the time…”
Grob Hahn
September 9th, 2012
9:14 pm
Isn’t it Cuba where children have milk only till age 5? Is this where we are headed?
Grobbbbbbbbbbbb
MsArtTeacher
September 9th, 2012
9:45 pm
At my school students can purchase small half-pints of fruit juice from concentrate. I find that FAR more harmful than chocolate milk. Chocolate milk at least has nutritional value, the sugary fruit juice has none and it isn’t a significant amount of water to say that hydration is a benefit.
Having said that, the cafeteria management at my school has made great strides to offer more nutritious meals and cut out a lot of the added sweets (oversized cookies etc.). . .But, they are still challenged by the food choices (set by the district, based on budgets, I assume) they have when purchasing for the school. I see a lot more vegetables on the lunch line, but ALL of them are the result of canning or some other syrupy-based preservation method. I find all of that to be waaay worse than a little chocolate milk.
We have several vending machines in the school as well. And, before you balk, we are Title I and the monies from these machines help our budget. The new administration had all sugary/unhealthy snacks removed from the machines and replaced them with more nutritious granola bars and trail mixes. The sales were not harmed at all. And, all of our beverage vending machines sell plain and flavored water.
We’re trying y’all. . .But, we need to give our cafeteria management some healthy, fresh, options when making school purchases!
Mom
September 9th, 2012
9:52 pm
I can’t believe people have time to worry about this. The parents in Decatur are absolutely obnoxious. Pack your kids lunch if you are so worried!
Teacher Reader
September 9th, 2012
10:12 pm
Decatur City Schools are becoming overcrowded and this is what parents want to spend time on. Our children spend less time outside, this is why they are fat. They no longer walk to school, have a half hour recess or have time to play outside after school. The lack of movement and enjoyment of free time outside is why our children are fat.
Put recess back into our schools. Stop the hours of meaningless homework and allow children to play outside. Stop over scheduling our children with the activities after school and allow them to be kids and play. Play means learning on so many levels.
I had thought Decatur City Schools were better than worrying about milk making kids fat and not realizing that the kids need more exercise and time outside. Disappointed in Decatur.
Gator Nation
September 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
Its called RECESS. Bring it back. More PE, More Recess. Our kids will be healthier, better at socializing, and their classroom academic performance will probably either go up or maintain. Recess is also a great way to informally discipline students prior to making a formal referral. It gives the teacher a powerful tool to use and insight into how their students interact with thier peers. I can’t say it loud or often enough. Bring back recess.
Hillbilly D
September 9th, 2012
11:01 pm
This is a solution in search of a problem. The key to reducing the number of overweight kids is to get them off their butts and give them some chores. The added bonus would be that they’d be too tired to be hyper-active.
You can serve these kids anything that fits somebody’s agenda but they’re not going to eat it, if they don’t want to.
bootney farnsworth
September 10th, 2012
12:50 am
this is downright milk bigotry.
nobody’s talking about banning the caucasian milk, but the brother milk…
somebody get a Ouija board and contact Hosea. something’s gotta be done
bootney farnsworth
September 10th, 2012
12:50 am
no milk, no peace, dammit
Mountain Man
September 10th, 2012
7:32 am
“High fructose corn syrup was added to nearly every processed food because the government subsidized the corn industry. It was a cheap product and it’s use as an additive coincides directly with the obesity increase.”
Actually, I think that obesity rates are tied directly to the invention of the video game.
Mountain Man
September 10th, 2012
7:34 am
“The key to reducing the number of overweight kids is to get them off their butts and give them some chores. The added bonus would be that they’d be too tired to be hyper-active.”
So the number of ADHD diagnoses would go down? Less SPED spending?
Mountain Man
September 10th, 2012
7:38 am
“Many people over the age of 50 get cancer in their lifetime.”
That has always been the case, since the caveman times. Of course when most people die at age 35, you don’t see these cancers. Nature does not care about people after they are past their childbearing age; good health then has no benefit to the species.
Learn the Truth
September 10th, 2012
7:55 am
PCRM is an unofficial offshoot of PETA and has received substantial funding from the group. Dr. Neal Barnard who founded the group is a psychiatrist not a nutritionist.
Considering their ties to the terrorist group ALF (Animal Liberation Front), I’m surprised that they are not under investigation instead of being treated as a legitimate organization worthy of being quoted in this discussion. They are propaganda pushers, pure and simple.
Bobby
September 10th, 2012
8:19 am
Having milk as an option is good. Requiring it is a problem, and nothing more than a kickback to the dairy industry. One of my kids is lactose intolerant, and it seems every year I have to get doctor’s notes confirming that in order for him not to get milk and have juice (or even water) instead.
“Big Dairy” doesn’t want milk to only be an option though, as most kids prefer juice (or even water) to milk (and sometimes chocolate milk). I personally never cared for milk, one way or the other.
But to remove it as an option is ridiculus.
Milk (white or chocolate) isn’t the reason for childhood obesity, nor is the food served. The reason is all the playstations, xboxs, gameboys, wii’s, ect… that have replaced outdoor activities.
Parent Teacher
September 10th, 2012
9:28 am
How about eliminating the school luch program all together. Let parents pack lunches and eliminate the discussion all together. Personal responsibility for the parents. Use that money to fund classroom instruction. While we are at it get rid of the busses and use that money for classroom instruction as well. We could also eliminate standardized testing that does nothing for improving student achievement.
Schools need to ask a simple question, Does it improve student learning? If the answer is not a definitive yes then stop doing it and focus on student’s education.
Once Again
September 10th, 2012
9:47 am
Milk is served in government school cafeterias as part of the greater government dairy subsidy to the industry. It is the same reason why so much other crap including cheese, too much wheat, etc. are on the plates of kids. They are a capitve audience, just like prisoners (well, they are prisoners when you really look at it) and this is a great way to buy votes from the various processed food industries while making it look like you care about “the children.” Good for the PCRM. Let’s hope more and more school districts take their advice and help improve the health of the kids.
Ashley
September 10th, 2012
10:21 am
A sack lunch should be looking pretty good to parents, a carton of milk causing all this drama is ridiculous. Instead of over-hauling lunch food, why not incorporate physical activities back into schools. besides kids are not getting obese from drinking chocolate milk and tater tots at school. Poor nutritional habits started long before the first school bell rang. I like a Vortex cheeseburger and tater tots every now and then, but I assure you it’s not something I indulge in everyday. A school lunchroom is no place for kids to broaden their palate, let that be the parents job. Never met a person who said they were obese because of school lunches.(lol)
bu2
September 10th, 2012
10:29 am
Maybe we need more modern history in schools to go with the chocolate milk. There was a time not that long ago when there were 2 or 3 channels on the black and white TV, no computers (except room sized ones), no video games and limited or no air conditioning. The kids had to go outside and play. They would suffer in the hot house.
This HFCS paranoia also demonstrates a lack of critical thinking skills. I can show you that for the 1st 25 years of the Super Bowl, if an original NFL team won, the stock market would do better than if an original AFL team won. That doesn’t mean it caused the stock market to go up. Obesity is because kids just aren’t as active. School lunches are VASTLY healthier than they used to be. We shouldn’t go to the extreme of forcing some health freaks or animal activists choices on everyone else.
Personally, we don’t allow our child to have chocolate milk at school because the combination of caffeine (chocolate has caffeine) and sugar makes him hyper (since we’re not there, he probably does sneak it a few times). But for kids who won’t drink milk otherwise, it seems like a good option. Peta would have us drink only water and eat lettuce and bread sticks.
Ray
September 10th, 2012
10:26 pm
Rather than worry about milk, how about looking at the lunches themselves. APS regularly serves nachos as an entree. Nachos.
OTOH
September 10th, 2012
11:56 pm
“Human beings were not meant to drink cow milk or milk in general past infancy.” Meant by God or Intelligent Design? Evolution has no intention. That other mammals do not utilize a particular food source does not say anything about the nutritional value of said food source.
Skim milk is just sugar water. Ose is ose is ose. and kids need both fat and protein.
There is a huge vitamin D deficit in kids today mostly due to the skin cancer absolutism, but the anti- milk crowd isn’t helping any. Don’t be surprised when MS rates soar.