Whole milk makes a comeback in new MAHA children’s health strategy

The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission indicated that, after more than a decade of restrictions on whole milk in schools, the federal government is planning to drop them. 

The decision to drop the restrictions on whole milk sales in schools was announced as part of the MAHA commission’s Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a sweeping plan with over 120 initiatives released Tuesday. The initiatives cover a wide range of topics, from toxic food dyes, to nutrient requirements, to misleading health advertisements. Updated recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS chemicals in water and a new definition for “ultra-processed food” were among the planned initiatives as well.

“The Trump administration is mobilizing every part of government to confront the childhood chronic disease epidemic,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday. “This strategy represents the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history — realigning our food and health systems, driving education, and unleashing science to protect America’s children and families. We are ending the corporate capture of public health, restoring transparency, and putting gold-standard science — not special interests — at the center of every decision.”

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The move to bring back whole milk to schools is something Kennedy has been considering since day one, according to Nina Teicholz, a nutrition expert who was privy to discussions among Kennedy’s staff before he was confirmed by the Senate to lead the nation’s public health response. While removing the restrictions is a significant move, there are still additional steps that will need to be taken before whole milk becomes widely accepted again, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

One of those additional steps is rewriting the national dietary guidelines, which directly influence school meal nutrition standards. The new MAHA children’s health strategy indicates that the Trump administration will update the 2025–2030 guidelines, while also reforming the manner in which future dietary guidelines can be updated. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would also initiate changes to school nutrition standards through its rulemaking process to permit whole milk in schools. 

Meanwhile, legislation is another avenue that could be used to streamline the process for bringing back whole milk in schools, the CRS notes, which would then compel the USDA to revise its regulations governing the National School Lunch Program. In the current Congress, a bill to bring back both whole milk and 2% milk has been approved in the House and is awaiting full approval in the Senate before it can be sent to the president’s desk.

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Another notable part of the new MAHA children’s health strategy entails an initiative to ramp up enforcement of prescription drug advertising laws. The strategy said this includes the dissemination of “risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms.” The report notes that the new enforcement will target direct-to-consumer telehealth companies and social media influencers, among others.

In April, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply. The MAHA strategy indicated this effort will remain ongoing as the FDA continues to pass policies that will either limit, or altogether prohibit, the use of petroleum-based food dyes in all food products approved in the United States.

Other initiatives include providing a government-wide definition for “ultra-processed foods” to support future policy activity, efforts to require better transparency in food labeling, new recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS chemicals in water, updates to the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) standards, changes to nutrition requirements for infant formula, and efforts to increase breastfeeding rates to ensure a safe supply of donor milk.

“For too long, health care has used a reactive approach to chronic diseases,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said. “I am pleased to support the findings of the MAHA commission and to promote a more proactive approach, tackling root causes undermining the health and happiness of American children.”

Tuesday’s children’s health strategy from the MAHA Commission follows an earlier assessment on children’s health released in May. After that report was released, farmers expressed concern over what the reforms could mean for their livelihoods. However, following Tuesday’s latest strategy report, at least one of those groups is applauding the Trump administration for taking steps to protect farmers. 

“It’s clear that farmers’ voices were finally heard, but our work to defend their access to safe and proven crop protection tools is far from over,” said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance. “The Commission avoided some of the most damaging potential outcomes for American agriculture, but it still advanced some misconceptions about these essential farming inputs and the gold-standard science and regulatory processes that stand behind them.”