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In 2010, United States lawmakers passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which aimed to tackle both childhood obesity and hunger by making school meals more nutritious. Two years later, the Department of Agriculture updated its guidance for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, or NSLP, in accordance with the law. Whereas schools could previously serve fat-free, 1 percent, 2 percent, or whole milk and be eligible for federal reimbursement, now they could only recoup meal costs if they ditched 2 percent and whole milk, which were thought to be too high in saturated fat for kids.

Representative Glenn 鈥淕.T.鈥� Thompson has been on a mission to change that. The Republican legislator representing Pennsylvania鈥檚 15th congressional district believes the 2010 law sparked across the board. 鈥淲e have lost a generation of milk drinkers since whole milk was demonized and removed from schools,鈥� he told a local agribusiness group in 2021.

Between 2019 and 2023, Thompson introduced the 鈥� a bill that would allow schools to serve whole milk again under the NSLP 鈥� three times without success.

In January of this year, he reintroduced the bill 鈥� and inspired a group of animal welfare, environmental, and public health organizations to push for a vegan countermeasure. This month, a bipartisan group of legislators put forward the , or FISCAL, Act, which would expand the definition of milk under the NSLP to include plant-based options. Currently, schools participating in the NSLP can offer milk substitutions to students with a note from a parent or doctor 鈥� but the FISCAL Act is promoting a world where vegan milks are offered freely, alongside cow鈥檚 milk.

If students end up replacing their daily cow鈥檚 milk with a plant-based alternative, this has the potential . But you won鈥檛 hear supporters of the FISCAL Act talking up the climate benefits of plant-based milk in the halls of Congress. Instead, they鈥檙e focusing on the health benefits of soy, oat, and other vegan drinks for students who can鈥檛 digest or simply don鈥檛 want cow鈥檚 milk.

鈥淢ost of this nation鈥檚 children of color are lactose intolerant, and yet our school lunch program policy makes it difficult for these kids to access a nutritious fluid beverage that doesn鈥檛 make them sick,鈥� said Senator Cory Booker, a Democratic co-sponsor of the bill. This focus on student health 鈥斅燼nd the absence of any environmental talking points 鈥� reflect the eternally tricky politics around milk in U.S. schools,聽which have become even more complicated in President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term.

Milk has compared to other animal proteins, like beef, pork, poultry, and cheese. But dairy production still comes with 鈥斅爉ainly from the food grown to feed cows, as well as methane emitted via cow burps and manure. In 2020, researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that through their burps 鈥斅爉eaning, all told, dairy cows are responsible for 2.7 percent of the U.S.鈥檚 total greenhouse gases.

Nondairy milks 鈥斅爁ortified drinks like soy, almond, oat, and rice milk 鈥斅�, but all of these plant-based alternatives use less land and water than cow鈥檚 milk to produce, and result in fewer emissions.

Under the NSLP, schools cannot be reimbursed for the cost of meals unless they offer students milk. The Center for a Humane Economy, an animal welfare and environmental group backing the FISCAL Act, calls this America鈥檚 鈥�.鈥� In 2023, student Marielle Williamson for not allowing her to set up an informational table about plant-based milk unless she also promoted dairy. Subsidized school lunches have been described as 鈥溾�� for farmers鈥� products; this is all but acknowledged when legislators like Thompson blame school lunch for the decline of the dairy industry. Indeed, in a recent Senate agricultural committee hearing over the whole milk bill, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, said, 鈥淣ot only do school meal programs reduce hunger and promote learning, they also support our local farmers and ranchers at a time when it鈥檚 probably the very worst time I鈥檝e seen in decades鈥� for farmers.

The animal welfare groups backing the FISCAL Act argue schools need more flexibility to meet the needs of students with lactose intolerance. Consumption of milk has fallen consistently since the 1970s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 Economic Research Service. That change is thought to be the result of shifting diets, as well as perhaps a reflection of America鈥檚 growing racial and ethnic diversity. It is estimated that , the protein found in milk and many other dairy products. These rates are higher in Black, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, and Jewish communities.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had so much marketing to tell us that the milk of a cow is, you know, nature鈥檚 perfect food, and it clearly is not,鈥� said Wayne Pacelle, the head of Animal Wellness Action, an advocacy group that opposes animal cruelty and supports the FISCAL Act.

Pacelle acknowledged the climate impact of the dairy industry: 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a truth that cows are big contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.鈥� But he noted that arguments related to the climate are unlikely to sway the debate over school lunch beverages. 鈥淭he Republican Congress is not really so attuned to that,鈥� he said.

As a result, his group and the others pushing for the FISCAL Act aren鈥檛 talking much about the environmental considerations of drinking cow鈥檚 milk. This aligns with under the second Trump administration, as producers and manufacturers figure out which talking points are most appealing to leaders like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has .

The Republicans pushing for whole milk in schools are talking up the health and economic benefits of whole milk, an argument that came into sharp relief during a Senate agricultural committee hearing in early April. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, who drank from a tall glass of milk before addressing the committee, referenced the term 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again,鈥� or MAHA, when making his case. The movement, popularized by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., taps into wellness, environmental, and food safety concerns in the general public and offers solutions based . Marshall, a co-sponsor of the whole milk bill in the Senate, said MAHA is 鈥渁bout whole foods, and I think we could categorize whole milk as part of鈥� that framework.

While Republicans and Democrats alike may be sidestepping the dairy industry鈥檚 environmental impact and spending more time talking about student health, there is one environmental consideration that鈥檚 caught the attention of advocates of both whole milk and plant-based milk. That鈥檚 food waste, a . Forty-five percent聽of the because students don鈥檛 take them. When students do grab milk at breakfast, a fourth of those cartons still wind up unopened in the trash.

Krista Byler, a food service director for the Union City Area School District in northwestern Pennsylvania, spoke at the Senate agricultural committee hearing and said serving whole milk in her schools helped milk consumption go up, ultimately reducing the amount of milk wasted.

鈥淚 hated seeing such an exorbitant amount of milk wasted daily in our small district and was hearing stories of even bigger waste ratios in larger districts,鈥� Byler said in her written testimony.

A similar case has been made by Pacelle and other supporters of the FISCAL Act, who argue students will be more likely to drink 鈥斅燼nd finish 鈥斅爐heir beverage at school if they have the option to go plant-based.

Recently, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids bill passed a House agriculture committee vote. If it passes a full House vote, it could then move on to the Senate. Meanwhile, the FISCAL Act is still in committee in both houses of Congress.

Pacelle said the best chance the FISCAL Act has of passing is if its provisions are included as an amendment to the whole milk bill 鈥� framing it not as a rival measure, but as a complementary effort to create more choice for students. 鈥淢oving it independently is unlikely because of the power of the dairy lobby,鈥� said Pacelle, 鈥渁nd the G.T. Thompsons of the world.鈥�

This article originally appeared in at . Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at .

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