Should we ban chocolate milk from schools?

When I was a kid, I hated milk. It was a mostly irrational hatred, but the white stuff simply had no appeal to me. There were only two ways to convince me to drink milk: soda milk or chocolate milk. Now, facing the obesity epidemic, some are arguing that chocolate milk should be banned from schools. I will admit that cutting sugary drinks (i.e. soda and lemonade) from my diet did make a huge difference in my weight.

While milk has been the keystone of America's school lunches since the federally subsidized program was established in 1946, the role of chocolate (and other flavored) milk has become a focus of late following a 2006 rule that required schools to establish comprehensive "wellness programs." Public school districts in Berkeley, Calif., and Boulder, Colo. — two of America's more progressive towns — have removed the drink from their list of daily offerings, opting for low-fat, organic white milk instead. That's a perfect way to force kids to shun milk completely, says the dairy industry.

My own opinion is that banning chocolate milk is likely to backfire and cause kids to drink soda instead. That's what they really want, after all, thanks to persistent advertising. Thus, the kids are left without the nutritional value of milk entirely. But I am interested to see what Mod-Bloggers think.

The Return of Soda Milk?

When I was growing up, I went through a few phases where I didn't want to drink ANYTHING but soda ("pop" to you midwesterners). My parents were understandably upset about this, since they wanted me drinking healthy juices and milk so that my little body didn't wither away for lack of vitamins and calcium. Rather than set up a direct battle of wills - my family is renowned for our stubbornness - Mom came up with a novel plan of attack. She invented "soda milk", a drink made from lots of milk and just a little bit of cola or root beer. It gave the milk a slightly sweet and fizzy texture, but made sure that most of what I was getting was the healthy stuff. Brilliant!

It now appears that Coca Cola's industrial espionage people have been listening in on my childhood stories, as they have now released Vio, a fizzy milk alternative drink. With no artificial flavors or sweeteners, it might not even be too bad for you. Although, I think I'll stick to the real stuff - juice and milk - now that I am a grown-up.