New York City’s Department of Education is considering instituting a ban on chocolate milk served in the public schools, according to reports.
The goal would be to cut down on some of the sugar in students’ diets.
So only white milk could be offered in the near future.
“The thinking is that these kids are already getting too much sugar, [so] why are they getting it in their milk?’’ a Department of Education source told The New York Post several days ago.
That same source said authorities “are discussing what to do and how to do it.”
Other school districts across the nation — including those in San Francisco, California, and Washington, D.C., already have banned flavored milk, The Post pointed out.
“Concern over dairy has come up before in New York City, where students’ milk options were limited to low-fat and nonfat in 2006. But the city has resisted putting the kibosh on the chocolate variety — at least until now,” The Post article noted.
Some parents outside of the NYC public school system expressed surprise that chocolate milk was even still an option for younger kids in the public school system.
“Most kids are going around with their water bottles these days,” one parent in New York State commented to LifeZette. “I’m surprised the younger children could even still choose chocolate milk as an option.”
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Other parents see no problem at all with a variety of options — stressing that “variety” is the optimal word here.
“What, one serving of chocolate milk is really going to hurt a kid?” said one father in New York. “This is going too far. It’s up to the parents to teach their children what’s smart to consume and what’s not,” he said, adding that he didn’t think it was a terrible thing for schools to continue to offer chocolate milk as an option among other choices for students.
Farmers in upstate New York, meanwhile, heard about the possible ban — and aren’t taking it sitting down.
“A group of dairy farmers enlisted the help of their local Congress members, who fired off a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio last week,” The Post noted.
“Over two-thirds of milk served in school is flavored, which represents an essential way that kids get the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development,’’ the letter said.
See some of the views below — and weigh in with your thoughts.
Enjoying some chocolate milk this morning! We can't let the NYC Nanny State Brigade ban chocolate milk in schools! Make no mistake, misery loves company and once they make life miserable for NYC kids, they'll look to do the same for Upstate kids! pic.twitter.com/OWGDUivJIL
— Senator Jim Tedisco (@JamesTedisco) September 19, 2019
I’m actually from NYC and I did go to public school in NYC. I for one hated the chocolate milk. I’m surprised so many people are so angry. Why? They’ve got other flavors, plus plain whole milk is way better. Most kids in NY got enough sugar, they’ll be better off of chocolate
— Lisa Tao (@LisaTao10) September 18, 2019
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