Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester/Lancaster, and Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter, have introduced House Bill 2397 to allow Pennsylvania schools to purchase whole milk or 2% milk from Pennsylvania dairy farms and sell that milk to students. Federal regulations enacted during the administration of President Barack Obama eliminated flavored milks as well as requiring schools to use skim milk in schools.

“A study cited by the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board in a recent Lancaster Farming article noted that elementary student milk consumption dropped 35% when flavored milk was eliminated from school offerings, and much of the (skim) milk provided to school children these days is tossed in the trash. Students receive zero percent of the nutrients contained in a carton of milk that ends up in the dumpster,” Owlett and Lawrence wrote in their legislative memorandum.

On one front, Lawrence and Owlett aren’t picking much of a fight. Allowing schools to sell milk varieties other than skim milk is not a new idea. Rep. Glenn Thompson, Warren County’s congressional representative, teamed with Congressman Antonio Delgado, D-New York, to introduce the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2021 that would allow schools to use whole or 2% milk.

In 2010, Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which amended nutrition standards in the School Lunch Program. Among the changes, the law mandated that flavored milk must be fat-free within the program.

Submitted Photo Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester/Lancaster, is pictured during the 2022 Pennsylvania Farm Show’s celebrity cow milking contest.

To help encourage nutritious options in the School Lunch Program and increase consumption, Thompson introduced legislation, H.R. 4101, the School Milk Nutrition Act of 2017, which provided schools the option to serve 1% flavored milk varieties. While that bill wasn’t passed, in May 2017 the USDA announced a rule that allowed schools to receive waivers for low-fat (1%) flavored milk, rather than only fat-free, which is the essence of H.R. 4101.

“Milk provides nine essential nutrients as well as a great deal of long-term health benefits. Due to the baseless demonization of milk over the years, we’ve lost nearly an entire generation of milk drinkers, and these young people are missing out on the benefits of whole milk,” said Rep. Thompson. “It is my hope the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act will give children a wide variety of milk options and bolster milk consumption–a win-win for growing children and America’s dairy farmers.”

The fight Lawrence and Owlett are spoiling for comes from their willingness to make the milk on a school lunch menu a states’ rights issue. The state legislators argue the federal government is violating the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s interstate commerce clause if the federal government interferes in the spending of state tax dollars spent on products made entirely in Pennsylvania in Pennsyvlania’s schools.

“The US Constitution is silent on matters of agriculture and education. Purely intrastate production and consumption of food is a state matter, not a federal matter. Pennsylvania milk purchased with Pennsylvania tax dollars and consumed in Pennsylvania schools is a purely intrastate issue. The Commerce Clause does not apply, provided that the milk in question has not crossed state lines.,” Owlett and Lawrence wrote. “With that in mind, in the near future, we will introduce the Whole Milk in Pennsylvania Schools Act. This legislation will ensure Pennsylvania students, at Pennsylvania schools, have the option to consume Pennsylvania whole and two percent reduced fat milk paid for with Pennsylvania tax dollars.

A 2021 study by researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia found little difference between obesity in children who drank whole or low-fat milk. Researchers tracked 49 children between the ages of 4 and 6, randomly placing them into a group drinking either low-fat milk or whole milk while assessing each child’s obesity, body composition, blood pressure and other health factors. The children in each group generally took in the same amount of calories regardless of the type of milk they drank, and neither group showed a significant difference in both cardiovascular health and obesity.

“It had previously been thought young children would benefit from low fat dairy products due to their lower levels of saturated fats and lower density of energy, in turn helping avoid obesity and risk of associated cardiometabolic diseases,” said Therese O’Sullivan, Edith Cowan University study leader and associate professor. “Our results suggest healthy children can safely consume whole fat dairy products without increased obesity or adverse cardiometabolic effects. With consideration of our results and previous research, future revisions of dietary guidelines should consider recommending children aged 2 and over can consume either whole fat or reduced fat dairy,” she added.