Green Colleges & Flavored Milk Wars

Green Colleges & Flavored Milk Wars. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Flavored milks have been banned in several large school districts across the U.S.  The justification used by school officials is that they need to reduce the calories, including those from sugar, consumed through school lunches. But the dairy industry is not giving up without a fight.  Many milk companies across the U.S. are reformulating flavored milk to reduce the calories and sugar content.  And Midwest Dairy Association spokesman Kent Lehs says the industry continues to stress the nutritional value of flavored low-fat or skim milk.

LEHS: When you compare it to some of the sports drinks and some of the other options, the sodas and things that are out there, we really have an excellent nutrition package and so we really think that that’s an important thing for those kids.

A recent study commissioned by the Milk Processor Education Program documented that, when flavored milks were removed from school lunch rooms, overall milk consumption declined at least 35%.

Two Washington universities are on Sierra Magazine's list of the 10 colleges that do the most to help solve climate issues and operate sustainably. The University of Washington is at the very top of the list; at No. 9 is The Evergreen State College in Olympia. The magazine notes that UW gets 90 percent of its energy from hydropower, and has several education programs that focus on environmental responsibility.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange report.

(Grange)

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.