State Rep. Dan Moul | Pennsylvania 91st Legislative District
State Rep. Dan Moul | Pennsylvania 91st Legislative District
HARRISBURG – Rep. Dan Moul (R-Adams), Republican chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, along with Reps. John Lawrence (R-Chester) and Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford), commended congressional action to reintroduce whole milk in the nation’s schools.
Moul, Lawrence, and Owlett represent rural, dairy-producing districts and have been advocating for the restoration of whole and reduced-fat milk to school lunch menus in Pennsylvania. Last spring, they held a joint news conference with representatives from Pennsylvania’s dairy industry on this issue. Subsequently, the House passed a package of bills sponsored by Lawrence that included a measure allowing Pennsylvania schools to purchase and serve whole and reduced-fat (2%) Pennsylvania milk to students. The bill received overwhelming approval in the House but did not advance in the Senate.
They released the following statement:
“Whole milk is delicious and nutritious and should be available to our school children. Whole and reduced fat milk was removed from our nation’s school lunch menus during the Obama administration on the premise that it would curb childhood obesity. However, this regulation has been detrimental to Pennsylvania school children and our Commonwealth’s struggling dairy industry.
“Fat-free and skim milk are now the only choices available to children through school lunch programs. This milk lacks the flavor and appeal of whole milk, leading much of it to end up in the trash, depriving children of its health benefits, and turning off many would-be milk drinkers for a lifetime.
“Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry, with dairy being its largest segment. A decline in milk consumption significantly impacts Pennsylvania dairy farmers and more than 52,000 jobs provided by the industry. In fact, Pennsylvania has lost more than 2,100 dairy farms since the federal regulation went into effect.”
Moul, Lawrence, and Owlett are now praising efforts by U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, who represents the 15th Congressional District and chairs the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, for advancing his bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act through committee towards full House consideration.
“We agree with Thompson and the bipartisan group of lawmakers who supported his bill that science does not back up claims that whole milk is unhealthy for school children. We are grateful for his leadership in Congress to restore whole and reduced fat milk to the nation’s school lunch program and bring much-needed relief for our struggling dairy farmers.”
Representative Dan Moul
91st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717-260-6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
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