FOOD JUSTICE

Children have little choice when it comes to drinking milk in San Francisco public schools. With 85% of students being children of color and predominantly lactose intolerant, and many belonging to communities overburdened by obesity and diabetes—some of the same diseases linked to dairy consumption—these pro-dairy school meal policies end up disproportionately harming them.

What’s more, 55% of children in San Francisco public schools benefit from free or reduced school meals programs, making it difficult to opt out of milk consumption. Parents can request plant-based alternatives by signing an official form, but it’s a burdensome process that pathologizes and singles out non-white children.

Giving children a calorie-rich drink that many can’t properly digest and that is materially harmful at every meal is culturally obtuse and indicates that these policies are more about building the profits of the milk industry than the health of children.