Bring WHOLE Milk Back to School! Whole Milk 4 Healthy Kids

Bring WHOLE Milk Back to School! Whole Milk 4 Healthy Kids

Started
August 30, 2019
Signatures: 25,009Next Goal: 35,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Grassroots Citizens for Whole Milk for Healthy Kids

This a an effort to end the federal prohibition of Whole Milk in schools to allow schools to offer the choice of whole milk. Did you know the federal government only allows fat-free and 1% low-fat milk to be served or even offered at school? We need your support and signatures to make an impact. Our children and grandchildren are depending on us to bring Whole Milk back to school! 

Please support U.S. House Bill 1147 Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act Ask members of Congress to co-sponsor this bill. And urge your local school boards and other groups to pass resolutions supporting Whole Milk as a choice in schools. 

Health, well-being and learning readiness are vital for our schoolchildren to succeed. Children need proper nutrition to grow, develop, and be ready to learn. Whole Milk (standardized to just 3.25% fat) plays a role.

Since 2010, Whole Milk has been prohibited for children over 2 years of age in public schools and daycare centers because of Federal Dietary Guidelines that restrict their milk to fat-free or low-fat (1% fat).

The science, and our children, say it's time for this to change. For starters, whole milk is virtually 97% fat free, standardized at 3.25% fat. Studies show the average child drinking Whole Milk had higher vitamin D status, lower body fatness and less risk of obesity. 

USDA reports show fat-free and low-fat school milk is a most frequently discarded item. Children replace it with ala carte fruit juices, flavored waters, diet teas, diet colas, sports drinks and energy drinks, formulated by beverage corporations to meet federal school calorie regulations using concentrated blends of high fructose corn syrup and sucralose. They meet the "Smart Snacks" calorie requirement, but the concentrated sweetness conditions the palate to crave more, while providing little to no nutrition and no satiety. 

Whole Milk has a benefit called ‘satiety’ -- helping children feel fuller longer. It tastes better, so children drink it -- helping reduce classroom distractions from hunger and cravings and helping children actually get the unmatched bevy of protein, calcium, potassium, and other vitamins and nutrients milk naturally provides.

Whole Milk has zero added sweeteners and less than half the natural sugar found in most juices. Flavored milk has less sugar when the milk is Whole. The fat delays absorption of the natural sugar, so blood sugar rises more slowly over a longer period, and it's easier for individuals with digestive sensitivity to digest.

One PA school did a trial in 2019-20 offering all fat levels of milk from fat-free to whole. They found 52% more students chose milk and 64% said they chose it more often when whole and 2% options were available. Meanwhile, the volume of discarded milk was reduced by 95%!

There is so much to say on this issue of Whole Milk for Healthy Kids. Check out 'Why Whole Milk' at https://www.97milk.com/wp-content/uploads/Why-Whole-Milk.pdf

 

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Signatures: 25,009Next Goal: 35,000
Support now