Approximately $300 million in unopened dairy milk cartons are thrown away at schools every year. Members of Congress and youth groups are working to get vegan milk on the menu to mitigate food waste.
The problems with the dairy industry and milk consumption run a wide, well-documented gamut, with ill-effects that include ecological degradation and resource depletion, such as greenhouse gas emissions and water waste.
On an individual level, dairy consumption has been linked to a variety of health issues, particularly for people who are lactose intolerant. So why is dairy milk still a requirement on school lunch menus?
Established in 1946, the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs (NSLP) is a USDA regulation that is wrapped up in dairy industry lobbying. Under the NSLP, schools are required to serve dairy milk in order to be reimbursed for meals. Federal regulations stipulate that program participants “cannot discriminate against the drinking of cow’s milk before school, after school, on school grounds, or at any school-sponsored event.”
This month, two organizations—athlete-backed Switch4Good and youth group Raven Corps—are taking the outdated rule to task by making a case for ditching dairy on school lunch menus.