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USDA Prepares to Issue Recommendations for National School Lunch Program
Updated October 31, 2008

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has adjourned its public hearings and comment period regarding the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the provisions of which will be open for readjustment when the Child Nutrition Act is reauthorized in 2009. Thanks to the many Farm Sanctuary members and supporters who went to these hearings and sent in their comments, we have taken an important step towards reforming the NSLP. For people who care about children and animals, this invitation provides a great opportunity to speak up and ask the USDA to make plant-based alternatives to cow's milk a part of its programs.

Currently, virtually all children participating in the NSLP are automatically served cow's milk-despite the fact that as many as eight million school children are lactose intolerant, and countless others avoid cow's milk for health, environmental and ethical reasons-due to a long-standing federal policy stipulating that schools will only be reimbursed for meals containing a serving of cow's milk. The effect of this stipulation is that in almost all schools participating in the NSLP, healthy, plant-based alternatives to cow’s milk—such as fortified soymilk, rice milk and almond milk—are unavailble to children.

Denying children easy access to dairy alternatives is especially damaging to minority populations-particularly African Americans and Latino children-who are not only more likely to be lactose intolerant according to the National Institute of Health, but also make up a greater percentage of those dependent upon on the NSLP for good nutrition. The end result of this inequity is that while the dairy industry reaps profits from the NSLP, school children (and cows on dairy farms) suffer unjustly.

Farm Sanctuary is committed to changing this unjust—and ultimately, inhumane—policy, and we welcome your engagement with the issue as you talk to parents, students, teachers and administrators in your community. We have made the steps easy – and effective! Please review our Dairy-Free Campaign and learn more about how you can make a difference.

Did you know?

• The most commonly consumed varieties of milk-2 percent and whole milk-are high in saturated fat, a known risk factor for obesity and heart disease, America's leading cause of death.

• A 2001 review of available studies by researchers at Harvard University found that dairy intake "is one of the most consistent dietary predictors for prostate cancer in the published literature. In these studies, men with the highest dairy intakes had […] up to a fourfold increase in risk of metastatic or fatal prostate cancer relative to low consumers."

• A 2004 study in the International Journal of Cancer found a two-fold higher risk of serous ovarian cancer-the most common and deadly subtype-among those with the highest lactose (milk sugar) consumption compared to those with the lowest consumption.

• Conversely, the National Cancer Institute at the U.S. National Institutes of Health asserts that isoflavones in soymilk can actually protect against cancer.

• A study by the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine demonstrated that when soymilk was made available to students, it was well-received, and the nutrition of the overall student body improved as children previously choosing not to drink nutritious beverages at lunch began consuming soymilk.

Please stay tuned to Farm Sanctuary’s news and alerts as we move forward with our efforts in the months ahead. With your help, we can make a difference!