Why Nutritionists Can’t Get Rid of Chocolate Milk in Schools

You remember being a kid in school: the bell rings. You rush out of your classroom, head to the cafeteria, and ask the lunch lady for a slice of cheese pizza and an apple. As you wait to pay, you notice a giant poster of a teenage pop star with a white mustache painted over her lip. The text reads, “Got Milk?”

This nostalgic ad campaign asks the question that has been on everyone’s lips for nearly two decades, from the dairy industry to health experts to Congress. Should milk be served in schools? Should it be full-fat or nonfat? And most importantly, what about chocolate milk? The sweetened dairy product has been a welcome addition to kids’ meals at home for decades, but when it comes to whether or not it belongs in schools, there are conflicting views.

In general, nutritionists who support removing chocolate milk from schools, such as officials at the American Heart Association (AHA), worry about the link between sugar content and childhood obesity. However, supporters of the brown beverage, such as dairy industry lobbyists, worry about children’s overall milk consumption, student nutrition (especially those with low incomes), and food waste. Yet because decisions about what schools serve in their cafeterias are made not by health experts but by Congress, chocolate milk remains available.

Read more: 30 Healthy Snack Ideas That Won’t Break Your Diet

The History and Future of Milk in Schools

The first time half-pints of milk appeared in schools was in 1914 in Florida, where students were served the beverage daily. The National School Lunch Program was created in 1946, but milk wasn’t added until 1966, when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) took control. Since then, a variety of milk has become available to students: whole, 2%, skim, chocolate, and even strawberry. In 2006, however, a wellness policy was instituted for all schools participating in federally supported school lunch programs, calling for a reevaluation of nutritional guidelines. At that time, the most progressive districts, such as Berkeley, California, eliminated chocolate milk from schools altogether and served only low-fat organic white milk.

While school district officials were allowed to make their own decisions about the types of milk served at the local level, the issue became a federal issue in 2012 when the Obama administration mandated that flavored milk served in schools be nonfat. In 2018, the Trump administration reversed that rule, allowing low-fat flavored options to return to cafeterias. More recently, in 2023, there was talk that the USDA could ban chocolate milk from elementary and middle schools in order to help children develop healthy eating habits from an early age. In April 2024, however, the USDA ruled that chocolate milk would remain in elementary and middle school cafeterias, though there would be a limit on its added sugars.

Is chocolate milk nutritious or not?

With all these rules and regulations coming and going over the past 18 years, chocolate milk has become the center of attention, prompting an important question. No, not “does chocolate milk come from brown cows?” but is chocolate milk nutritious or not? It all depends on how you look at it.

Proponents of keeping chocolate milk on cafeteria menus, such as the National Dairy Council, argue that it offers the same nutrients as plain milk, with vitamin D and calcium, while still appealing to children’s tastes. Without the chocolate option, children risk going without milk altogether and getting nothing out of it, which is particularly concerning for low-income students who rely on school lunches. While chocolate milk proponents acknowledge that it has 60 more calories than plain milk, they argue that it is not as unhealthy as many sugary alternative beverages, such as soda.

Some nutritionists, such as those at the AHA, argue against these arguments. They say that adding sugar (24 grams per cup) to milk is unhealthy and that if we want kids to drink milk, it should be white. Additionally, dairy alternatives are likely to gain popularity as understanding of their health benefits grows. As always, there is a middleman, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, who recognizes the benefits of children drinking milk as well as the progress made in reducing the amount of sugar in chocolate milk.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.