The USDA and the dairy industry are promoting cow’s milk in schools, providing a market of over 50 million consumers for the milk industry and training the palates of kids who will be consumers for decades to come. Yet the industry is pushing a product that millions of kids cannot safely and comfortably consume, with lactose intolerance rates of up to 75 percent of African Americans, 60 percent of Latinos, and 90 percent of American Indians and Asian Americans.

We are working with a partner organization to make milk alternatives more readily available to consumers, including school children, and confronting the racism reflected in our current policies. In 2020 the National Dietary Guidelines recognized soy milk as a nutritional equivalent to dairy cow milk. But nutritional equivalency and cafeteria availability are not the same thing. We want plant-based milks to be available to schools and kids at competitive prices.