April 22, 2002
		USDA Rules Continue to Keep Milk Alternatives From School Lunches As a Washington Post report recently noted, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) won't reimburse schools for serving soy milk except in cases of medical need. The federally assisted meal plan requires that cow's milk is served, and some school districts depend on this reimbursement for more than half of their cafeteria funds. Studies have shown that African Americans, Latinos and Asians all have a higher incidence than the general population of lactose intolerance. "I think a lot of what we think about milk is caught up in these romantic American notions of milking cows on the farm," said Julia McMillian, a professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. "Meanwhile, it's ironic that there is promotion of milk to students of all colors at a time when these students have to sit in school with bloated stomachs and gas." The dairy industry, however, has a lot of money and power to influence the USDA's policies. They have aggressively fought any criticism that milk consumption may be harmful. "Soy is no substitute for milk for school kids," said Greg Miller, senior vice president of nutrition and scientific affairs for the National Dairy Council. "Soy does not give you the nutritional package that you get from milk." Miller went on to claim that lactose intolerance was "an issue that animal rights groups blow out of proportion," and further claimed that most people can digest milk in smaller doses with food. The USDA subsidizes the dairy industry and has been unwavering in its requirements. "Milk must be served with school lunch, according to USDA regulations," said Jean Daniel, the USDA's public affairs director for food and nutrition. "If not, it's not considered a reimbursable meal." College campuses are able to serve soy milk because they don't have to worry about federal reimbursements, said Lisa McGary, a registered nutritionist at George Mason University. "The students love it," said McGary of soy milk. "I think it would be really important for Asian American and African American kids in public schools to be able to be served this, especially those who may be getting their only meal a day at school. But without reimbursements, the public schools can't do it." Barbara Adams, a dietician for the Washington D.C. school system, said that the schools would like to serve soy milk, but with 90 percent of the lunch budget coming from federal funds, they cannot manage "I think we're at the mercy of policies that come from the USDA," Adams said. "If we are not going to be reimbursed, we are not going to have much of a choice." When The Washington Post questioned the USDA of whether soy milk was covered under the law that states that schools must offer a "variety of milks", officials were unclear. Officials said that soy milk was not allowed in early interviews with the Post, but in later interviews they said that soy was reimburseable with a doctor's note. "I guess we'll be looking more into soy now," said Kim Tarhan, a registered dietician for a school district in the D.C. area. "Right now, we serve four kinds of cow milk, and if a student brings a doctor's note, they get calcium-fortified orange juice." Following the 1999 decision by the federal government to allow the labels of soy-based foods containing at least 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving to state that the product may reduce the risk of heart disease, the soy industry has had phenomenal growth. Nationwide sales of soy milk rose 160 percent over two years to $201 million, according to the Soyfoods Association of North America. In 2001, sales grew to $550 million. The dairy industry has taken steps to try to diminish soy's inroads. In February 2000, the National Milk Producers Federation filed a complaint with the Food and Drug Administration seeking to ban the soy industry from using the term "milk," saying it is part of dairy's distinct identity. The case is still pending. Animal and nutrition advocates have accused the USDA of having a too cozy relationship with the dairy industry. In October 2000, a federal district court judge ruled that the USDA violated federal conflict-of-interest laws in appointing people with dairy- and meat-industry ties to its dietary guidelines committee. The lawsuit was filed by the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine.