The Department of Agriculture Considers Eliminating Flavored Milk Options from School Lunches

Public schools in Indiana and across the country could soon be banning the delicious chocolate milk that we all loved growing up in school.

You remember lunch at school, right? Most of us had the option of water, white milk, or chocolate milk. Where I went to school, the majority of people typically chose chocolate milk because, let's be honest, it tasted way better than regular milk. Chocolate milk, you could say, has become synonymous with school lunches for generations. Now, it could be a thing of the past.

The Department of Agriculture is thinking of removing chocolate milk from public school cafeterias, along with all other flavored kinds of milk. This comes from a CBS News report from the Wall Street Journal. After all these years of kids drinking chocolate milk at lunch, it's now facing the possibility of it not being an option. According to CBS News, the department says that chocolate milk can contain as much added sugar as soda.

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There are two arguments at play here. People in favor of a ban say it could keep kids healthy, and lower rates of childhood diabetes. People against it say chocolate milk is still a net benefit because of all the calcium, potassium, and vitamin D.  They say that if their only option is regular milk, kids might not drink it at all, according to the New York Post.

Now, to play devil's advocate, you remember sitting in some of those classes in school. It took everything you had to stay awake. That sugar in chocolate milk might have been the reason why you avoided demerits for falling asleep in class.

As of now, the Department of Agriculture is considering two options. The first option would be where elementary schools and middle schools would not have the option of chocolate milk, but high schools will. The other option would allow chocolate milk to remain in all public schools but with a new limit on added sugars.

For now, chocolate milk will remain in all public schools in Indiana and across the country. However, a decision on flavored milk from the USDA is expected early next year and would take effect for the 2025-26 school year.

(H/T: CBS News / NY Post)