A Dairyland Sentinel perspectives column by Brian Fraley
If you’ve spent any time lately scrolling through X and came across posts from the academic Left or the “everything-is-problematic” wing of any social media platform, you’ve likely seen the latest target of the woke outrage machine.
The new enemy is a cold, creamy glass of whole milk.
I’m not kidding.
According to a recent batch of “experts” and ivory-tower bioethicists like Art Caplan, providing children with whole milk isn’t just about nutrition. They claim it is a “dog whistle” for white supremacy.
You read that right.
These people are the ultimate Grievance Hammers. They’ve spent so much time forging their worldview in the angry fires of identity politics that they no longer see the world as it actually exists. They just see a series of nails waiting to be hit. Today, the nail is a 12-ounce carton of Vitamin D-fortified whole milk.
[Now would be a good time to note that while I am the publisher of Dairyland Sentinel, we honor Wisconsin’s America’s Dairyland nickname, but are not affiliated with the industry, although we will put our love of cheese curds up against anyone.]
For years, the federal government stripped our school cafeterias of whole and 2% milk. Under the guise of public health initiatives, they preferred to have the kids choke down watery, flavorless skim milk or sugar-laden chocolate varieties. The result was obvious. Milk consumption plummeted. Nutrient-dense calories were replaced by processed ick.
The passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is a massive win for common sense. It recognizes what Wisconsin farm families and their working class neighbors in the cities here have known for generations. Whole milk is a nutritional powerhouse. It provides essential fats necessary for brain development. It helps kids feel full longer. I’m not pretending to be a doctor, but even I know that is a hell of a lot better for learning than a mid-morning sugar crash.
The radicals want you to believe this is just another battleground. They want to frame a school lunch tray as a front line. But not everything is a blue fist versus red hat culture war skirmish.
When a farmer in Outagamie County wakes up at 4:00 AM to milk his herd, he isn’t checking a partisan map. When a peer in Chippewa County does the same, she isn’t donning a white robe with a pointy hood. They are producing a base-level commodity that feeds families regardless of their voting record. When a mother in Racine County reaches for a gallon of whole milk at the grocery store, she is looking for bone density and brain fuel for her toddler. She is not making a political statement.
The Grievance Hammers are trying to force a political lens onto a basic biological need. They are exhausting the public by demanding we choose a side in a fight that shouldn’t exist.
We shouldn’t be surprised. This nonsense didn’t start in a vacuum. We can trace this specific strain of stupidity back to 2017. That was when PETA began pushing the narrative that cow’s milk is a “symbol” for white supremacists because of some fringe internet trolls and a selective reading of genetics.
PETA has spent years trying to convince the public that a glass of milk is an act of violence. When the public didn’t buy that, they pivoted to the only thing more desperate. They tried to tie the dairy aisle to the KKK. It is a tired, cynical tactic. They take an obscure 4chan meme from nearly a decade ago and try to wield it as a serious policy argument in 2026. It is intellectual bankruptcy and manipulation.
Beyond the health benefits, this is a vital shot in the arm for the national dairy industry, and by extension national security.
Our dairy farmers have been squeezed for decades by fluctuating prices and burdensome regulations. Most of Wisconsin’s milk is used for cheese making, but by restoring whole milk to the National School Lunch Program, we aren’t just feeding kids. We are supporting the multi-generational farm families here who form the backbone of the American Heartland.
When we support dairy, we support rural economies, local jobs, and a sustainable food supply chain. We shouldn’t rely on lab-grown “nut juices” shipped in from across the globe.
It’s time to stop apologizing for the things that make us strong. That includes milk.
Whole milk is good for our children’s bodies, essential for our farmers’ livelihoods, and a staple of the American table.
It’s not racist. But it is delicious.
To the Grievance Hammers at Bioethics Today and the professional agitators at PETA: Take a deep breath. Put down the mallet. Try a glass of whole milk. It might just help your brain development.
