A Mashup of Whole Milk, Science, and Dietary Guidelines

Get ready. A few months have passed since the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Committee became final. But honestly, it seems like another lifetime when that was published. That was before the installation of the MAHA regime at HHS that is de-emphasizing vaccines, firing scientists, and promoting cod liver oil and “healthy” fries. Add to that renewed congressional interest in promoting whole milk and you can be sure that a mashup between actual nutrition science and the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans will soon be taking center stage.

A Comeback for Whole Milk?

If you want a sign that the policymakers are ready to skip right past that scientific report from the guidelines committee, whole milk is a good place to start. Bipartisan legislation is already floating through Congress to put whole milk back into schools. Democrat John Fetterman is co-sponsoring it, saying:

“Kids need wholesome, nourishing food to grow strong and stay healthy, and whole milk is packed with the nutrients they need.”

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is totally on board with this idea, too. He says the guidance to favor low-fat milk – which the guidelines committee retained – is “antiquated.”

Even some nutrition scientists are on board with this idea. Dariush Mozaffarian notes that the committee held onto the guidance for low-fat milk even though they found no evidence that whole fat dairy is problematic:

“Saturated fat in dairy has not been linked to any adverse health outcomes.”

For some time, it’s been plain to us that hanging onto low-fat dairy guidance is a mistake. In the current environment, we fully expect the new dietary guidelines will discard it – and we say good riddance.

Don’t Bet on a Pass for Ultra-Processed Foods

Another dimension of the guidance that will likely diverge from the guideline committee’s report is ultra-processed foods. Plenty of nutrition scientists disagree with  taking a pass on stronger warnings to avoid them. The MAHA crowd is certainly critical. It will be a shock if bolder warnings against them are not a big part of the final guidelines.

Healthy Fries, Seed Oil Fears, and Red Meat

Already, RFK Jr. is busy promoting fries made with beef tallow and fears about seed oils. So it’s no surprise that he seems ready to toss the emphasis from the committee on cutting red meat in favor of plant-based proteins. We expect a big divergence from the scientific committee on this in the final guidelines.

Sound Science or Political Science?

Keeping your sense of humor about all of this is a good idea. Speaking for the MAHA crowd, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says:

“We will make certain the 2025-2030 Guidelines are based on sound science, not political science. Gone are the days where leftist ideologies guide public policy.”

Kennedy has made it plain that he will discard the scientific report of the guidelines committee. “It’s completely useless,” he told The Blaze, explaining that’s because it came from Biden administration.

So the new definition of sound nutrition science is science that one’s own politicians endorse.

Click here for more about movement to embrace whole milk, here for more on MAHA targeting ultra-processed foods, and here for more on the politics of red meat. For more about the impending collision between MAHA and dietary guidelines, click here.

No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk, painting by Frank Paton / WikiArt

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April 6, 2025