American Dairy Coalition expresses concern over dietary guidelines school milk ‘ban’
The Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA), which is updated every five years, sets nutrition policies and directly influences school and hospital nutrition programs across the US.
The ADC said that the DGA continue to set caps on saturated fats, effectively banning whole milk from daycares and school nutrition programs.
ADC's letter encourages Secretary Azar and Secretary Perdue to intervene and delay the publication of the DGA so it can be updated to include the most recent scientific evidence on the health benefits of saturated fats.
The dairy group also asked the USDA and HHS to review and address the process by which dietary guidelines are written. In 2015, Congress commissioned the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct a third party review of the DGA process, and the ADC said it wants to understand why nearly all of the recommendations offered in the NASEM report were ignored.
“In the 40 years since the implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for America Program, childhood obesity and diabetes diagnoses have tripled; adult obesity rates have doubled, and 25 million adult Americans have diabetes. The current guidelines are not working. Americans deserve sound science and we cannot wait another five years to get it right,” the ADC said.
