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Opponents say that children can get the same nutrients from lower-fat milk. The USDA鈥檚 school meals program has banned whole and 2% milk since 2012 when new national dietary guidelines took effect recommending children over age 2 drink nonfat or 1% milk to help limit their saturated fat intake.

Schools participating in the Agriculture Department鈥檚 school meals program haven鈥檛 been permitted to serve either whole milk鈥攚hich has 3.25% milk fat鈥攐r 2% milk, since 2012, when new rules went into effect intended to align school offerings with the country鈥檚 dietary guidelines. Those recommendations advise that children over the age of two should consume either nonfat or 1% milk as part of an effort to limit how much saturated fat they consume.聽

For the dairy industry, the push to offer whole milk in schools is part of an effort to ensure that students grow into milk-drinking adults. Whole and 2% milk are the most commonly sold varieties, according to the USDA.

鈥淜ids in school are where the milk drinkers and consumers of tomorrow are formed,鈥� said Peter Vitaliano, chief economist at the National Milk Producers Federation.  

Sales of drinking milk are declining as fewer people eat cereal at home in the morning, while sales of other dairy products such as cheese and powdered milk and whey have increased, he said. 

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鈥淟ike farmers producing any commodity, they鈥檙e very interested in maintaining and growing sales for their products,鈥� he said. 

But Meghan Maroney, who leads federal child-nutrition programs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and health watchdog group, said most children already consume too much saturated fat, which would be exacerbated with the addition of higher-fat milk.

鈥淐ongress should not be reversing this hard-fought win by making school meals less healthy by allowing whole milk,鈥� she said.  

Much of the debate around whole milk centers on the question of whether fat from dairy products is different from saturated fat coming from other foods.  

Some researchers have conducted studies showing that full-fat dairy products haven鈥檛 led to a higher risk of weight gain in children and may help them feel full more quickly. 

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