Chocolate Milk Could Soon Be Banned In Louisiana Schools

For decades, children have chugged chocolate milk every day at school. Sometimes, multiple times a day. Schools who offer breakfast to students...chocolate milk...lunchtime, chocolate milk (maybe even two)...after school programs with snacks made available, chocolate milk.

But after decades of pumping chocolate milk into kids, the USDA is starting to question whether or not the high fructose corn syrup laced dairy drink is contributing to America's obesity epidemic. That's because chocolate milk carries as much sugar as most soft drinks, which probably shocks some. The milk lobby has done an incredible job positioning chocolate milk as a "healthy alternative" to Mt. Dew and Coke, but in reality, they're the same.

So this is why officials are considering a change to cafeteria policies in schools. Some major cities have already moved away from chocolate milk, but it would be highly unlikely that Louisiana would do it on its own. But if the federal government makes the change, it will trickle down to local schools in Shreveport and Bossier City.

These plans would impact elementary and middle schools, but would apparently allow high schools to keep chocolate milk on the menu.

The milk lobby has come out hard against this proposal, of course. But supporters of the bill point out that obesity has skyrocketed among kids in America. In the most recent data, it shows over 20% of kids in the US are clinically obese.

Some of the opponents also say that it should be the "parent's responsibility" to monitor their kids' sugar intake. But when it comes to the food their offered in school, a parent isn't going to be there to make a decision. Have you ever left an elementary school aged kid to make a decision about food on their own?

Regulators haven't made any final decisions. They're even considering a plan that would allow chocolate milk to remain, as long as the sugar content was under a regulated level.