Beginning July 1, students in the Los Angeles Unified School District won't be able to buy chocolate- or strawberry-flavored milk. The AP reports the district becomes the largest in the nation to ban flavored milk in an effort stem childhood obesity. The AP reports:
LAUSD joins a growing number of school districts nationwide, including District of Columbia, Boulder Valley, Colo., and Berkeley, Calif., that serve only plain milk because of the added sugar contained in flavored versions.
The proposal by Superintendent John Deasy came after popular British TV chef Jamie Oliver criticized the district in recent months for serving flavored milks, saying they contain the sugar equivalent of a candy bar.
In one TV stunt, he filled a school bus with sand to represent the amount of added sugar LAUSD students consume in a year through flavored milk.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the milk issue has overshadowed a broader overhaul of the menu in their cafeterias. The paper reports that foods that resemble fast food — corn dogs, chicken nuggets and other breaded items — are on their way out in favor of vegetarian meals like "Spinach tortellini in butternut squash sauce and California sushi rolls, along with many ethnic foods."
The students, we guess, won't be happy about the milk. 60 percent of the milk taken by students was flavored.
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