RFK, Jr. says "depriving" children of whole milk is "child abuse"

At the beginning of this week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. kicked off Wisconsin's "June Dairy Month" by taking a tour of the Gilbertson family dairy farm in Elk Mound, Wisconsin. During his tour, he touted the "Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act," which Trump signed earlier this year, ending limits on full-fat dairy products in federally funded school meal programs. As Derek Beres explains, in 2011, the USDA required schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to serve fat-free or 1% milk, in an effort by public health officials to lower saturated fat intake and address childhood obesity rates.

RFK, Jr. stated that, as a result of that 2011 decision, "We've deprived two generations of whole milk," which he likened to child abuse. Specifically, he stated:

"It really was almost a form of child abuse to do that . . . And we're breaking that — President Trump, because of his leadership, is bringing whole milk back to America's schools, but also just good food and real food. Food that comes from farms, not from chemical plants."

RFK, Jr. also claimed that whole milk "has all the micronutrients that [children] need for brain growth, for physical development, and for bone development."

Unsurprisingly, actual doctors find both RFK Jr.'s framing of this issue and his health claims about milk highly problematic. For instance, Doctor Zachary Rubin, a pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist, countered his claims, calling them "inflammatory rage bait":

Most pediatric groups support children from the ages of 12 months to 24-months-old to have whole milk and then transitioning to low fat milk. And the major difference between the two is the amount of calories and fat content. But the micronutrients are essentially the same — in fact, they might be slightly higher for low fat milk. Whole fat milk is not poison, and low fat milk isn't some form of child abuse. Children need adequate amounts of protein, calories, vitamin D, calcium, and other micronutrients, but you don't necessarily have to have that from whole fat milk alone. But what RFK, Jr. is doing is taking a nuanced nutrition discussion and turning it into inflammatory rage bait, which is not helpful.

Researchers who study conspirituality and wellness grifters also came out strongly against RFK, Jr.'s statements. Derek Beres of the Conspirituality Podcast joked that the HHS secretary's brainworm still seems to be in control before outlining the actual harm that's being inflicted on America's schoolchildren — and it isn't the lack of whole milk in schools.

Beres calls RFK, Jr.'s attempt to label efforts to reduce childhood obesity as child abuse "next-level," especially given all of HHS's efforts to slash funds for various children's programs in the last year. For instance, under RFK, Jr., HHS has terminated seven grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which have negatively impacted programs whose purposes are to help lower rates of sudden unexpected infant death, bolster pediatric healthcare in rural communities, and support substance abuse and mental healthcare and counseling for teens and young adults.

Beres provides a quick overview of more of these harmful cuts, stating that in the last year, HHS has:

frozen child care and family assistance funds in 5 states; terminated $2B in children's mental health grants; and proposed eliminating Head Start, lead poisoning in schools, and oral health programs for children.

Beres then details these and other cuts, and ends his post with his signature insightful analysis, stating that:

"Once again, every accusation is a confession. Whether or not banning whole milk in schools made a dent in childhood obesity is debatable (with modest declines noted in low-income areas). What's not debatable is the decimation of services listed above that RFK, Jr. is directly or indirectly responsible for — all cuts far worthier of being called 'abusive.'"

Read Beres' more detailed discussion of how HHS — and not the lack of whole milk — is hurting children here.