Students Push for More Drink Variety

The Federal  government says that they will only reimburse funds at public schools if they serve milk at breakfast and lunch. Schools cannot offer water or other beverages if they want to take advantage of the reimbursement. Many students object to this mandate due to students with dairy allergies being denied access to water and only being offered dairy.

The federal government should adjust their policy to allow students who can’t have dairy the opportunity to receive water or another type of beverage while still allowing the schools to be reimbursed for those meals.

Forty-one percent of students throw the unopened milk away, which is a waste and adds to landfills. These landfills create greenhouse gasses and can release toxic emissions into the air. Dairy milk production has been shown to have a higher carbon footprint than non-dairy alternatives, such as soy milk.

Nutrition experts and scientists say that adults and adolescents do not need to consume milk to have a healthy diet and that you definitely do not need to consume three servings a day of it. While experts do say that children and adults should receive calcium in their diet, there are many other ways to consume it than milk, like nuts or even dark leafy vegetables.

Some students with specific religions or cultures are not allowed to consume any form of dairy/milk products that the schools will supply. This could lead to students feeling uncomfortable and excluded from others. Without having other options, these students are left with bringing their own drinks or bringing money in hopes of being able to pay for alternative beverage choices.

Those opposing will say that the government has made exceptions to the mandate by allowing lactose-free milk to qualify for the requirement by allowing lactose intolerant people to consume the milk, plus a student can get a doctor’s note to qualify for exemption. However, people who have dairy allergies or are faced with different religions and cultures that do not allow for any dairy consumption still cannot consume lactose-free products and are left with the inconvenience of having to go see a doctor to be excused from the regulation.

The government should allow the students who have dairy allergies to be excused from the rule and still allow the school to qualify for federal reimbursement, and they should allow all students the option to receive an alternative beverage that will benefit their well being that is not milk.

The federal government is simply using this milk consumption as an excuse to pass as a form of a healthy school meal drink when in reality the mandate is simply out of date and uses inaccurate information to convince the public of their choice. It’s time to act now and promote a more positive, unified school environment.