Next week, Seed the Commons will launch a groundbreaking campaign.

Milk has long been a cornerstone of the American diet, often even being called Nature’s perfect food. In reality, it’s only perfect for calves. For humans, milk consumption increases the risk of certain cancers, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Milk is also the most common allergen in children and lactose intolerance is a dominant trait in most ethnicities.

Despite this, milk has been dumped onto generations of American school children through public school meals. Indeed, every school district participating in the federal school meal program must include milk in every meal in order to receive reimbursement under the program. This disproportionately harms children of color, who have higher rates of lactose intolerance and are more likely to attend public schools, where they are forced to consume a product that they can not digest.

This is a grave problem in San Francisco, where 89% of the public school district is comprised of children of color. Some of these groups also have high rates of obesity, and if we’ve learned anything from the San Francisco soda tax campaigns, it is that liquid calories are particularly conducive to weight gain. SFUSD has rightfully eliminated soda, juice, and energy drinks from schools, and as of this summer, they are phasing out chocolate milk as well. Regular milk remains a glaring omission.

For these reasons and more, we will launch our campaign to #GetMilkOut of San Francisco school meals at our counter-celebration of World School Milk Day, this September 30 in San Francisco. To our knowledge, this event will be the very first that is organized anywhere as a response to World School Milk Day, which was launched in 2000 and is celebrated around the world.

Please join us on September 30 to learn about how school milk supports the dairy industry, how to raise healthy children without dairy, and most importantly – to celebrate the abundance of nutritious plant foods that exist throughout cultures. No single food is necessary for health, and nobody needs to consume something that makes them sick in order to be healthy. If you can’t make it to our celebration, organize one in your own school district! Here are some suggestions.

Spread the word this World School Milk Day by signing onto and sharing our Thunderclap campaign!

Learn more about school milk.