Milk is essential to the healthy diet of children, packing in 13 essential nutrients that children need for growth, development, healthy immune function, and overall wellness. So why are some politicians looking to remove milk options from school meals?

On the latest episode of The Dairy Download, we dive into the war on school milk being waged in New York City and its implications for school milk across the country.  First up is Dr. Keith Ayoob, a pediatric nutritionist, registered dietitian, and clinical practitioner who served as director of the nutrition clinic at the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx for over 30 years. Dr. Ayoob recently published an op-ed in the New York Daily News pushing back against New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed ban on flavored milk in New York City Public Schools. What are the implications of such an action on child health and nutrition? Dr. Ayoob gives us his insight. 

Next is Rick Naczi, CEO at American Dairy Association North East (ADANE). Rick lays out the importance of school meals for milk consumption and outlines Mayor Adams’ actions to remove flavored milk for NYC school meals and his subsequent backing off from those actions in recent months. How does this effort compare to previous efforts to remove milk from school menus in NYC? And what are the implications for school districts across the country? 

Find out on the latest episode of The Dairy Download. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.


Today's episode of The Dairy Download is brought to you by the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Ready to expand your dairy processing into the premier dairy frontier?
There is room to grow in Kansas, the center of it all, contact dairyinkansas.com.


If your company is interested in sponsoring a block of episodes of The Dairy Download, contact IDFA’s Melissa Lembke at mlembke@idfa.org.

Questions or comments about the show? We want to hear from you. Send a note to dairydownload@idfa.org and your feedback could be included on a future episode.


 Questions or comments about the show? We want to hear from you. Send a note to dairydownload@idfa.org and your feedback could be included on a future episode.

The Dairy Download is available anywhere you listen to podcasts. Subscribe for free on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora or in your favorite podcast app to automatically receive each new episode, which will publish every other week on Thursday morning.

Witty, fast-moving and stacked with dynamic guests, The Dairy Download offers sharp insights in a neat, 25-minute package. Blimling’s Phil Plourd and Kathleen Wolfley host each episode, leading listeners through a rundown of action in the CME markets and things to watch, while going in depth with guests on consumer, market and policy trends shaping dairy.

Wonks, nerds, data hounds and tech evangelists are welcome. Listeners get the perspectives of various industry experts who can unpack challenging issues in fun and interesting ways.

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