In an effort to reduce students’ sugar intake in the mornings, Fayetteville Public Schools will stop offering chocolate milk with breakfast beginning Tuesday, Sept. 6.
“This decision was made after much consideration,” said Alan Wilbourn, the district’s public information officer, in a news release. “It is widely accepted that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If we can help our students concentrate better in class each day by eliminating a significant amount of sugar from his or her school breakfast, we think it is well worth it.”
Chocolate milk bans are a hot topic in several places around the country.
The Santa Monica-Malibu school district in California considered removing chocolate milk from its menu, but ultimately voted against the proposal.
A USA Today story notes that the Florida Board of Education backed away from its recent proposed ban on chocolate milk after the state’s agricultural commissioner urged the board to look at all sugary food and beverages served in schools.
According to the release, chocolate milk will still be available for Fayetteville students with their lunch meal.
Terrible idea. The children should riot! Why does the chocolate milk show to be less fattening?
Most of the time Chocolate Milk is made with 1% or even Skim milk. Since it has exactly 1/2 the lipids of the white milk I would suspect this isn’t a exact comparison.
removing this choice will mean that far less children will get the calcium and nutrients in milk, because they won’t drink plain milk. I’m not a huge fan of kids being offered chocolate milk at school, but research has shown the above conclusions. maybe they could develop a reduced sugar chocolate milk?
There’s plenty of calcium and nutrients that are available in milk from other sources. This will also mean they won’t be getting any BGH, which is only a good thing.
I never drank milk growing up. I have never broken a bone and have extremely strong bones. Calcium deficiency is not a major issue right now, and if it becomes one it can be fixed with a simple nutritional supplement, or drinking normal milk.
On the other hand the Obesity Epidemic is a major issue, Chocolate Milk high in HFCS is one of the leading causes among children, along with the suspected BGH.
The first few comments really show how one dimensional most folks’ nutritional understanding is. It sure would be fascinating to see what the BMI of the commenters and their children is.
My family is extremely healthy, thank you very much, and my understanding of nutrition is thorough. It is a large part of what i’ve been studying at the university for the last 2 1/2 years. Which is why I know that children who rely on school breakfasts are among the most undernourished in our country, and also how i know that when chocolate milk is removed, those children drink less milk. The nutrients from milk can obviously be found elsewhere, but you won’t find it in school meals, which again is where these kids are getting two square meals a day. I am no fan of serving chocolate milk in school. But after quite a while I have accepted that it is a successful way of getting nutrients into children. I wish there were other commercially available ways to make nutrition more palatable to kids.
So you are advocating we put a bandaid (chocolate milk for calcium) on a cancer sore (school meals with low nutitional values). Yeah, your [sic] smart.
Quit using my name. Youre making it look like I care about milk and I don’t.
Man, I love milk! I care about nothing more than sweet, sweet milk!
I dont like milk. I prefer root beer on my cereal…
you stole my name……………………………..
Cow milk is gross. Almond milk, ftw.
Cheese is aight.
Almond milk is expensive – not exactly in the budget for a public school.
When did chocolate milk go from being a treat that you only got occasionally to a regular beverage?
All part of the corn syrup fiasco.
Must have been in the 1970s, because I drank it every single day at school. I’m also skinny.
I am the farthest thing from a health nut or vegan hippie, but I have to question the necessity for milk in the 21st century. We are the only animal on earth that drinks milk past infancy and the only animal on earth that makes it a habit to drink another animal’s milk. Biologically, we weren’t designed for cow or other animal milk, but we develop a tolerance for it because it is foisted upon us by an amazing advertising campaign. When you consider how many hormones are given to most factory-farmed dairy cows, milk and chocolate milk are not good for children’s developing bodies. Children can get those nutrients in healthier, more nutrient-dense foods. Chocolate milk is milk with sugar, and that’s not a part of a daily meal. Chocolate milk should be an occasional treat. We need to stop coddling kids with the notion that DEAR GOD, THEY WON’T DRINK ANY MILK THEN because who cares? Children who don’t drink any cow’s milk won’t die, they won’t crumble. Remove chocolate milk from schools because they’re essentially a liquid breakfast candy bar. If we’re going to subsidize school meals, and I agree that this is important, we need to feed these children meals that will benefit them not just now, and in the long run. Giving in to children’s sugar craving is detrimental for their future.
Although I agree with you, reality renders your argument impractical. The pathetic size of public school budgets alone is enough to guarantee that healthy food choices won’t be becoming a regular option any time soon – milk may be the best bet to get these needed nutrient into kids, particularly the increasing number of poor children who likely won’t get it any other way. Until you can convince Republicans to start raising public education budgets instead of gutting them, change isn’t likely to happen.
Reality is that kids who become obese or who develop Type 2 diabetes and other diseases will cost us much more in the long run as a society. I think we have a unique opportunity in Northwest Arkansas to provide real nutrition to kids from local farmers and food growers. This may not work in a place like Chicago, but can be done in Fayetteville. I completely agree with you, I just don’t think that feeding poor children some malk and Vitamin R is what’s actually good for them.
There is an article in the paper today about jails serving fresh food and lowering their meal budgets by 1/3rd. Schools can do the same and there are recent examples of some districts doing so.
Not true about the animals…my family cat drinks milk from his saucer every time it is offered, and he is 13 years old. In fact I imagine that most animals in this world would drink milk from other species their entire lives if they could develop the technology to extract it on a commercial basis.
Milk gave my cat bloody diarrhea, so I stopped giving it to her. I’m not sure how this is related to a discussion about removing chocolate milk from school lunches, but I felt it was important to jump on one of the bandwagons racing through.
Just because your cat drinks milk, doesn’t mean it should. Most cats are lactose intolerant. To digest lactose, a cat needs to have lactase in his belly. Kittens are born with plenty of the stuff, but as they grow up, they begin producing less. Many cats end up making so little lactase that their stomachs become unable to tolerate lactose. Since the only time cats are naturally exposed to milk sugars is when they are nursing, lactose intolerance is actually very common in cats.
Biologically, we only need to drink milk when we are infants (or baby animals) and nursing.
My dog will put just about anything in her mouth and try to eat it, it doesn’t mean it’s good for her. Feel free to Google “Should cats drink milk” and you’ll find an across-the-board resounding ‘no’.
When I got my cat from the Fayetteville animal shelter, the information said that a saucer of milk is the equivalent to a human eating several cheeseburgers.
I agree that milk isn’t the healthiest thing for kids, all USDA lobbied advertising to the contrary.
Hahahahahahahhahahahhahahhahah! People that think milk is good for you make me laugh! Amazing what an ad campaign can do to a country.
It seems like a lot of people don’t realize that humans have been drinking cows milk for thousands of years, not just since the “got milk” campaign started. In itself, it is very nutritious. Thats why ancient people consumed it. But of course, like so many other foods today, it is now overprocessed.
“Ancient people consumed it.” Source?
Milk is a western thing.
Ancient mesopotamian, Greek, Egyptian, and Indian artwork all depict people milking cows.
And goats.
Check out the entry for milk on wikipedia. It cites the origins of dairy animal domestication at between 7000 and 9000 b.c. in southeast asia, and states that dairy consumption developed independently in many cultures around the world. Tons of references in the article.
Most Asians and people of Asian descent are completely lactose intolerant and don’t use any dairy products in their cooking. Just because it’s convenient for humans to drink, or because you like the taste, doesn’t mean that this is what the human body was biologically designed to do. Biologically, an infant needs its mother’s milk for nutrition and to boost its immune system. Once an infant has been weaned, it has no biological use for milk. Hey, I like milk, and I love chocolate milk, but as part of the human species, I don’t need it to live as an adult. I can get calcium and other nutrients from meats, grains and vegetables.
Also, while it is true that milk and dairy use has been around since 6000 BC, when you consider that Hominid and forerunners of Hominid fossils date back to 7 Million years ago, 8000 years is, from an evolutionary stance, a tiny drop in the bucket. In addition to this, although there was the keeping of cows, sheep and goats for milk, their farming was sparse. If you look at China, Japan and most African countries, they consume the least milk products whereas the US consumes by far the most. I strongly recommend you use sources other than Wikipedia for research.
[For the record, I am not a huge milk drinker. Just occasionally. I really have no stake in this other than it is kind of an interesting topic.]
There is no particular food that is specifically needed by humans. We can get any of the nutrients from a variety of sources. The human body was not “designed” by anything or anyone for any particular purpose or function. It evolves and adapts. A large portion of humanity has evolved to produce lactase throughout adulthood, which enables us to digest milk. So, for many modern people, including myself, the human body IS perfectly equipped (or designed) to drink and digest milk.
I sincerely do not know what people have against milk. I understand that modern food production is nasty, there are issues with hormones and other pharmaceuticals, etc… But is there a beef (ha!) with milk in itself?
Blarrrg, which time period should we look to for the perfect diet? Sounds like it lies somewhere between 7 million and 10,000 years ago.
Don’t forget, the humans who embraced agriculture and animal husbandry where the ones who survived. Not the folks still grubbing around in the forest for nuts and berries. And I mention this with a twinge, because I love nuts and berries.
Agriculture allowed more humans to survive rather than starve because they were able to maximize their calories.
Agriculture also had a downside in the number of degenerative diseases it brought to humans. Google Weston Price and read bout his findings and his photography. It will change the way you look at food.
I’m happy that there are enough intelligent people in Fayetteville (on both sides) that a post about milk in school devolves into an in depth discussion about nutrition, evolution and progress.
Your body is neither equipped nor designed to digest another animal’s milk. Just because you, a person living in North America, have gotten used to it, doesn’t mean it’s what your body is designed for. Your statement is ludicrous. Cow’s milk is made for calves who need to grow their bones very quickly in the first year of life. Also, I would hardly consider Japan to be a nation of nuts-and-berry foragers and yet the Japanese are mostly lactose intolerant and consume a very small fraction of milk compared to the US. It’s not about the perfect diet and I have a gallon of milk in my fridge right now. It’s about fighting ignorance from people who believe that it’s natural for one species to drink the milk designed for another species. That’s CRAZYTALK!
all this talk of “designed for …” is crazy talk to me. Human bodies were not designed for anything. You just made a statement which implied that I am a lone sole whose body became accustomed to milk. That disregards the FACT that a huge portion of the human race has evolved to have a specific genetic trait which allows us to continue producing (beyond infancy) the very specific enzyme which allows us to digest milk. Its not a freak occurance among just a few people. The consumption of milk is time-tested and has proven to be an asset to human growth. Thats why we evolved this very specific trait which allows us to drink milk. It is not necessary to drink milk, but it is a perfectly normal, nutritious food, which happens to be good enough that our species decided to adapt to it.
I understand that a person can be weirded out by the idea of drinking another animal’s milk. I don’t think it is any weirder than a million other things we eat. Do you know where honey comes from? Bees eat the nectar from flowers and then BARF IT UP and save it for later! Then we steal it from their hive and eat it ourselves. That is insect puke we are eating. True story!
Humans eat weird stuff and do weird things. Just because something doesn’t seem “natural” doesn’t mean it is bad for us or we shouldn’t do it. Rollerskating is most certainly NOT natural but it is awesome.
I lived in Japan for three years, ages ago. I drank milk and ate cheese there. I also witnessed and politely declined to eat a wide array of bizarre foods in Asia, because they were unpalatable (or downright disgusting) to me. But that is beside the point. At no point have I said that drinking milk is necessary for humans. I only contend that it is a fine food, completely legitimate and a proven source of nutrition.
Milk consumption may have been going on for a few thousand years in some cultures, but a few thousand years compared to the rest of evolutionary history is nothing.
Humans weren’t designed to drink cow milk. Just like they were not designed (evolved?) to gorge on sugar and processed grains.
Most people can drink milk with few problems, but cutting it out entirely doesn’t hurt. There are much healthier ways to get calcium.
FWIW, I love milk. Having said that, it’s not really natural for anyone past the age of infancy to drink it. (Hey Blarg, now I know why we don’t have any fine Asian cheeses to choose from, too.)
In a nation where chocolate milk is debated about and Reagan had ketchup declared as a vegetable, I think we’ve got larger problems that need addressing as pertains to the foods we feed our children.
Blaaarg – I agree with your comments from a historical perspective but it’s not so much the case anymore, specifically in Japan. Several years ago I lived and taught in Japan and every school meal that was served the students were served milk and drank it. Historically, yes, there has not been much milk consumed in these countries and still on the global scale it remains relatively small. However, they have realized that adding this to their diet improves growth, bone health, and calcium intake much easier than other forms of food. If you look at the older to younger generation of Japanese people you will also easily see a distinct height gap between the two groups, of which many studies will attribute this to the consumption of milk.
Either way, I think it’s a good idea to get rid of choco milk. No need for the added sugar.
Justin, the Japanese people consume a tiny fraction of milk, on average, compared to Americans. 70% of the world’s citizens do not consume milk or do so in very, very small amounts. Cow’s milk is designed for calves in their first year of existence. When you consider the incredible skeletal growth of a calf in its first year, you realize that this milk contains an excessive amount of calcium for human consumption. Cow’s milk is made for calves. Milk does not improve bone health. American women consume the most milk and also have the highest rate of osteoporosis.
Inarested observer – note my original comment above “still on the global scale it remains very small”. Fact is it’s being consumed and I lived day to day with the Japanese people and they used milk in schools and at home. I do not know the science around it, only stating a clear day to day observation.
Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal.
the rational for banning the chocolate milk is the correlation between sugar and attention span, not obesity. if obesity were the concern, school lunches would be serving fewer hash browns for breakfast.
I see no reason 14 extra gams of sugar is going to have a real impact on attention span, particularly where some recent studys say sugary coffee drinks may provide an attention boost. Give them mochas instead!
Um I don’t know where you get your news from but the debate about Chocolate Milk in schools has always been about obesity. It’s pretty much like providing kids soda as part of their school lunches. Hell some soda has less calories.
um, other schools, yes, have framed the issue around obesity, but the issue here is about attention span…from the story above:
“This decision was made after much consideration,” said Alan Wilbourn, the district’s public information officer, in a news release. “It is widely accepted that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If we can help our students concentrate better in class each day by eliminating a significant amount of sugar from his or her school breakfast, we think it is well worth it.”
I am very happy they are removing chocolate milk. Are they also removing it from the lunch menu? I would like to know why is whole milk not a choice. The enzymes necessary for absorbing the good stuff from milk is in the fat. I doubt kids are getting fat from milk. There are many kids who get a good diet without a lot of junk food, but they are robbed of the better nutrition available in whole milk.