Got Too Much Milk?

Marielle Williamson was fed up with dairy milk. For the Los Angeles teen, it wasn’t simply an issue with the taste—it was also the inhumane treatment of dairy cows, the impact of dairy farming on the environment, and the inability of many people to digest milk.

Last fall, Marielle, then 17, handed out oat milk samples to fellow students at Eagle Rock High School and talked about the benefits of plant-based milk. Then she planned something even bigger for the spring: a day of action criticizing dairy milk and promoting plant-based milk to students.

But her principal, she says, told her she couldn’t hold the event unless she also discussed the benefits of dairy milk, a requirement that “defeated the entire purpose of the campaign,” Marielle says.

Marielle Williamson was fed up with dairy milk. For the Los Angeles teen, it wasn’t simply an issue with the taste. She was also concerned about the inhumane treatment of dairy cows, the impact of dairy farming on the environment, and the inability of many people to digest milk.

Last fall, Marielle, then 17, handed out oat milk samples to fellow students at Eagle Rock High School. She talked about the benefits of plant-based milk. Then she planned something even bigger for the spring. She planned a day of action criticizing dairy milk and promoting plant-based milk to students.

But her principal, she says, told her she couldn’t hold the event unless she also discussed the benefits of dairy milk. This requirement “defeated the entire purpose of the campaign,” Marielle says.

So instead of holding the day of action, Marielle sued the Los Angeles Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.), which oversees the national school lunch program. Joining with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine as a co-plaintiff, Marielle claims that her school’s mandate that she promote dairy milk infringes on the First Amendment.

“By compelling Marielle to simultaneously distribute the dairy misinformation that she seeks to refute, District Defendants have violated Marielle’s free speech rights,” says the lawsuit, filed on May 2 in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. “More than that, [the defendants] have laid bare the extent to which [the U.S.D.A.] treats dairy as sacrosanct, both as a matter of law and policy.”

The dairy industry has long advocated for dairy milk in schools, maintaining that young people need milk for healthy development. At Eagle Rock and many schools across the nation, the pro-dairy messaging is hard to miss. Students lining up in the cafeteria often grab bright cartons of dairy milk when other choices are limited, especially in the younger grades. The dairy industry’s “Got Milk?” posters adorn school walls, and morning announcements advertise dairy milk.

So instead of holding the day of action, Marielle sued the Los Angeles Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.), which oversees the national school lunch program. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine joined as a co-plaintiff. Marielle claims that her school’s mandate that she promote dairy milk infringes on the First Amendment.

“By compelling Marielle to simultaneously distribute the dairy misinformation that she seeks to refute, District Defendants have violated Marielle’s free speech rights,” says the lawsuit, filed on May 2 in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. “More than that, [the defendants] have laid bare the extent to which [the U.S.D.A.] treats dairy as sacrosanct, both as a matter of law and policy.”

The dairy industry has long advocated for dairy milk in schools. They maintain that young people need milk for healthy development. At Eagle Rock and many schools across the nation, the pro-dairy messaging is hard to miss. Students lining up in the cafeteria often grab bright cartons of dairy milk when other choices are limited, especially in the younger grades. The dairy industry’s “Got Milk?” posters adorn school walls. Morning announcements advertise dairy milk.

Many schools are simply following U.S.D.A. guidelines. According to federal law, schools must offer cow’s milk at every breakfast and lunch. Any school that participates in the national school lunch program—which provides low-cost and free lunches to young people in schools—“must not directly or indirectly restrict the sale or marketing of fluid milk at any time or in any place on school premises.”

Schools participating in the program also can’t promote or offer water in any manner that “interferes with or appears to substitute for” cow’s milk, according to the U.S.D.A.’s school nutrition manuals.

“School meal programs are hugely important for kids, and milk has been an essential part of the school meals program for decades,” says Matt Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association, a group that advocates on behalf of America’s dairy industry.

Many schools are simply following U.S.D.A. guidelines. According to federal law, schools must offer cow’s milk at every breakfast and lunch. Any school that participates in the national school lunch program—which provides low-cost and free lunches to young people in schools—“must not directly or indirectly restrict the sale or marketing of fluid milk at any time or in any place on school premises.”

Schools participating in the program also can’t promote or offer water in any manner that “interferes with or appears to substitute for” cow’s milk, according to the U.S.D.A.’s school nutrition manuals.

“School meal programs are hugely important for kids, and milk has been an essential part of the school meals program for decades,” says Matt Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association, a group that advocates on behalf of America’s dairy industry.

Yet about 68 percent of the global population has trouble digesting dairy milk after infancy, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This includes the majority of African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. To some critics, ignoring those statistics in school lunch programs is unfair.

“There would be reprisals if the United States were to put a product on the tray of White kids that caused potentially widespread adverse reactions,” wrote 31 members of Congress in a 2022 letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack asking that the U.S.D.A. allow schools to offer soy milk with meals.

Yet about 68 percent of the global population has trouble digesting dairy milk after infancy. This is according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This includes the majority of African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. To some critics, ignoring those statistics in school lunch programs is unfair.

“There would be reprisals if the United States were to put a product on the tray of White kids that caused potentially widespread adverse reactions,” wrote 31 members of Congress in a 2022 letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack. In the letter they asked that the U.S.D.A. allow schools to offer soy milk with meals.

Marielle’s lawsuit reflects a broader trend among consumers—especially young ones—favoring nondairy alternatives. Teens and young adults in Generation Z grew up ordering milk alternatives at coffee shops and toting water bottles everywhere. Turned off by the no-fat and low-fat milks served at school, worried about the climate, and steeped in the criticism of the dairy industry they see on social media, many young people never embraced milk, even though their parents may have.

Last year, Generation Z (born from 1997 to 2012) bought 20 percent less milk than the national average, according to the consumer research company Circana.

“[Dairy] milk on its own is something that most of my peers don’t drink,” Marielle says. She’s surveyed hundreds of students at her school on their milk preferences, “and every single one of them wanted to have plant-based milk in our schools.”

Both the U.S.D.A. and the Los Angeles Unified School District declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“When it comes to statutes regarding fluid milk substitutes, the U.S.D.A. is limited by law, and any statutory changes would require legislative action by Congress,” a U.S.D.A. spokesperson said.

Already the lawsuit has gained national attention. Marielle hopes it will shed light on the benefits of plant-based milk. But she also hopes the lawsuit will bring young people more freedom to fight for the issues that matter most to them.

“In order to be able to change the world, we need to be able to have important and even controversial conversations without this sort of silencing or canceling,” Marielle says. “People need to be able to express themselves, and without that. . . we’re not going to advance as a society.”

Marielle’s lawsuit reflects a broader trend among consumers—especially young ones—favoring nondairy alternatives. Teens and young adults in Generation Z grew up ordering milk alternatives at coffee shops. They also carry water bottles everywhere. Unlike their parents, many young people never embraced milk. They were turned off by the no-fat and low-fat milks served at school. They also worried about the climate and are critical of the dairy industry because of social media.

Last year, Generation Z (born from 1997 to 2012) bought 20 percent less milk than the national average, according to the consumer research company Circana.

“[Dairy] milk on its own is something that most of my peers don’t drink,” Marielle says. She’s surveyed hundreds of students at her school on their milk preferences, “and every single one of them wanted to have plant-based milk in our schools.”

Both the U.S.D.A. and the Los Angeles Unified School District declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“When it comes to statutes regarding fluid milk substitutes, the U.S.D.A. is limited by law, and any statutory changes would require legislative action by Congress,” a U.S.D.A. spokesperson said.

Already the lawsuit has gained national attention. Marielle hopes it will shed light on the benefits of plant-based milk. But she also hopes the lawsuit will bring young people more freedom to fight for the issues that matter most to them.

“In order to be able to change the world, we need to be able to have important and even controversial conversations without this sort of silencing or canceling,” Marielle says. “People need to be able to express themselves, and without that. . . we’re not going to advance as a society.”

With reporting from Kim Severson of The New York Times.

With reporting from Kim Severson of The New York Times.