By Peggy Armstrong, Director of Communications

Competition between milk and empty-calorie beverages has moved beyond the aisle of grocery stores. Last month this competition played out at U.S. House hearings on the school lunch program, in government-sponsored studies on marketing to children and at regional listening sessions on child nutrition.

Milk has long played an important role in providing healthy meals under the government's school lunch and breakfast programs; however, research indicates that only half of school age kids drink milk in schools. Milk is losing ground to competitive beverages.

In written testimony last week, the International Dairy Foods Association told the House Budget Committee that funding for the government's child nutrition programs has not kept pace with rising milk and food costs. IDFA urged committee members to consider increasing allocations for subsidized nutrition programs, which serves more than 30 million students every day.

Now is the time to fight for milk and other nutrient-dense dairy foods at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's regional listening sessions in preparation for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act next year. This act governs most of the federal nutrition programs operated by USDA, so it's critical for the dairy industry to speak with one strong voice on behalf of nutrition standards that keep junk beverages and empty-calorie foods out of schools.

And finally, according to a recent study by the Federal Trade Commission, the soft drink industry is outspending milk in advertising aimed at children and adolescents. Milk accounted for less than four percent of the approximately $1.6 billion spent on food marketing targeted to children and adolescents in 2006. According to the Washington Post, carbonated beverages had the highest expenditures – $492 million – while the Milk Processor Education Program spent about $67 million on its advertising in 2006.

To effectively respond to today's changing marketplace, to compete with other beverages, and to strengthen our industry, the dairy industry must work together to keep healthy milk and dairy products in schools, and kick the junk beverages out.

DairyLine is heard on more than 90 radio stations, and IDFA provides listeners with a processor perspective on industry issues during broadcasts once a month.

Broadcast August 6, 2008