Whole milk should be back at schools, experts say: 'Nutrition science has evolved'
The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing Tuesday morning on the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act 2025, which would revise requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Current USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored.
"The bill modifies these restrictions and instead permits schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk," the legislation's summary says.
Since 2012, whole and reduced-fat (2%) milk has been banned from school meals due to saturated fat and calorie content, according to The Associated Press.
Matt Herrick, International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) executive vice president and chief impact officer, told Fox News Digital that "milk is one of the most nutritious, complete whole foods available."
Herrick added, "Milk is more than 90% water, plus a minimal amount of healthy fat, and the rest are essential nutrients: protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5) and cobalamin (B12), iodine, potassium, selenium and zinc. That's it."
He continued, "When Americans shop at the grocery store, 83% of shoppers purchase whole and 2% milk for their families, meaning this is what children are getting at home."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that children age 2 and older consume some amount of dairy milk daily.
Pediatric nutritionist and clinical practitioner Keith T. Ayoob, Ed.D., testified on Capitol Hill, advocating for the passage of the bill.
Ayoob shared in his testimony that lawmakers previously removed whole and reduced-fat milk "to keep saturated fat levels in school meals low, below 10% on average, to help reduce the risk of heart disease."
He shared that "the body of credible nutrition science has evolved." It no longer supports the previous policy of only allowing fat-free and low-fat milk in schools.
"A systematic review of studies that looked at cardiometabolic health in children ages 2 to 18 years found that consumption of dairy products, including whole and reduced-fat milk, had no association with cardiometabolic risk," Ayoob said.
In his testimony, Ayoob continued, "Nutrition is not a static science. It is dynamic. It should be. We should constantly be learning, revising and fine-tuning our recommendations as credible science keeps evolving."
Ayoob also stated there's "no correlation" between milk and obesity.
"The correlation is inverse," he said.
A spokesperson for MAHA Action, a 501c4 organization based outside Washington, D.C. — and one that creates reforms to America's public health policies — told Fox News Digital the group is in support of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.
"We agree that whole milk is the healthiest option for kids," the spokesperson said.
"Current science shows that healthy fats are critical to a balanced diet – and one of the best forms of healthy fats is whole milk."
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