Industry pushes chocolate milk in schools

Kindly note: Actual article (Italics are my comments)

By EMILY FREDRIX (AP) – Nov 8, 2009 (and Supermom101 - my comments are in italics)

MILWAUKEE (Boston) — The creators of the "Got Milk?" campaign are getting ready to make a big push to keep chocolate milk on kids' minds and on school lunch menus, a plan that has some educators and obesity activists none too pleased. (My husband thinks that cow's milk was flavored back in the days because it was going sour. Doesn't it have more sugar than most candy bars?)
The new ad campaign from the dairy industry, set to launch Monday, emphasizes that sugary flavorings are ways to get kids to drink milk. Without them, some youngsters won't drink regular milk and won't get its nutrients, the ads say. (And the reason that we need to drink another mammal's milk is... Suppose one could claim that a candy bar has "nutrients" too?)

The "Raise your hand for chocolate milk" campaign starts Monday with an ad in USA Today featuring chocolatey brown colors and the launch of a Web site that asks people to sign a petition declaring their support for chocolate milk in school. (Please visit http://www.foodincmovie.com/ and sign the petition to support healthy food choices in our schools.)
But some educators and obesity experts say kids get enough calcium — essential for bone growth — and will drink white milk if it's the only milk offered. They say kids get too much sugar, which is heightening America's obesity problem, and schools shouldn't serve chocolate milk at all. (Why isn't water a beverage choice?)
The idea behind the campaign is to draw a distinction between chocolate milk and the soda and candy that have come under attack in schools, said Vivien Godfrey, CEO of the Milk Processor Education Program, the industry marketing group that developed the campaign with the National Dairy Council. Godfrey said the effort will cost between $500,000 and $1 million. (Is chocolate cow's milk a candy beverage? "They" already control the beverage choices set by the U.S.D.A. Four types of cow's milk and juice. No water or soy milk are offered on the menus. If "they" are truly concerned about the nutritional needs of our youth, why don't they take the $1,000,000 and donate it to schools that would benefit from a garden?)
She said most kids choose chocolate milk, but without it they drink juice, soda or water, which don't have the same nutrients. (Since when do I need a science degree to know that the "nutrients" in chocolate milk are the same as a candy bar? Last time I checked when our children run off the football field or basketball court they don't reach for a milk bottle. The facts — that chocolate milk does have nutrients — are getting lost in the debate over school lunches, she said. (What "nutrients" does chocolate milk have?)
"If there's even a chance chocolate milk might get taken out of schools, that really can do more harm than good," she said. (She must really, really believe what she's saying. What harm would come besides the sale of chocolate milk would decline?)It's not clear how many schools have chocolate milk or are pulling it. But parents and school districts are becoming increasingly concerned and asking for more information, said Margie Saidel, a vice president with Chartwells School Dining Services, which manages food programs in 600 districts and supports chocolate milk. (Thank goodness our 10 year old informed me this morning that after December chocolate milk will be coming off our local school lunch menu. The horrors! What's next? Offering our children real apples, pears and oranges. Or cow's milk without added growth hormones?)
But experts like Marlene Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, want chocolate milk tossed. She said kids have too much sugar already and chocolate milk has no place in schools. (Thank goodness a voice of reason and from a nice ivy league school to boot.)
Dairy products are a common source of added sugar in children's diets, so that's why parents and educators consider removing them, she said. But the research does not point to any calcium shortages when chocolate milk is removed in schools. (Calcium shortages? Isn't calcium added to cow's milk any way. Doesn't orange juice have calcium added. Whew...I've been really worried about calcium shortages.)

"I don't believe children are going to go on a thirst strike and refuse to drink anything," she said.
Kids happily drink white milk — now the only offering at the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colo., said Ann Cooper, the school's director of nutrition services, who calls herself the "renegade lunch lady" for her efforts to promote more nutrition in school lunches. (Why doesn't the lunch menu offer water or even soy milk?)*
She estimates that the extra calories from chocolate milk — as much as 40 or 60 calories on top of a typical 110 calorie 8-ounce serving of white milk — could add up to 5 pounds of weight gain over the 180-day school year. That's why the district no longer offers chocolate milk.

Chocolate milk does have its defenders, even among nutritionists.
"It's better to get the milk in with a little bit of sugary flavoring than have them pick almost any alternative," said Connie Weaver, head of the department of Food and Nutrition at Purdue University and a spokeswoman for the American Society for Nutrition. She has received research funding over the years from the dairy industry, but not on chocolate milk, she said. (No comment necessary.)A student petition got a Barrington, Ill., district to compromise on its chocolate milk ban. A soon-to-be fifth-grader, 10-year-old Haley Morris drafted her own petition in support of flavored milk and got about 70 signatures. (Ummmm...who is in charge here? They are children and of course they would vote for more candy beverages more often.)
Superintendent Tom Leonard decided on a compromise: "Flavored milk Fridays" where the district offers chocolate or strawberry milk one day a week. The district is testing the program through January to see if kids drink more milk the days flavors are offered. (I'm no scientist but this study is flawed. Of course they'll eat more candy when it's offered.)
"All of my friends and I, we just wanted chocolate milk back to drink because we like chocolate milk better than white," Morris said. (Please note that the federal government sees no nutritional value in water and will not reimburse a school lunch program if it is offered as a menu choice.)
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. (Can I get in big trouble for doing this?)

*This is in response to your recent e-mail concerning the milk requirement in the school lunch program. The National School Lunch Act requires that all lunches offered under the National School Lunch Program include fluid milk. Milk plays an important role in the school lunch menu because it is the primary food source for children for important vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. Schools may offer milk in a variety of fat content and flavors, and may also offer lactose-free milk. However, schools may not offer milk as one of a series of beverage choices. Water may be offered in addition to milk. (Water can not be offered as a menu choice. Please also note that the cow's milk is not artificial growth hormone free.)

Schools have discretion to offer soy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to milk to children who have special dietary needs which preclude the consumption of fluid milk. A written request from the parent is required. (The Asian population is not aware of this. Most Asians do not drink cow's milk EVER!)
Your inquiry regarding the school lunch program is beyond the scope of this USDA office.
The MyPyramid and Dietary Guidelines recommendations for dairy can be found on the Inside the Pyramid pages on the http://www.mypyramid.gov/ website.
However, for specific information regarding the school lunch program I suggest USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
Here is the link to their website http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Care/
p.s. found three typos in the AP article. Left one in there just for fun...