Tag: Dairy

Perdue’s chocolate milk salute to the dairy lobby was just one example of how the Trump administration has worked closely with the dairy industry, at a time when the president’s trade war has hurt farmers. The Dairy Farmers of America spent $924,000, including on school milk, according to CRP. Then, in December, the new school milk rules were finalized. They saw milk sales were declining, they continued to decline in schools,” said Frye. Getting low-fat flavored milk back in schools, she said, was one of the “top five” issues for milk processors. The federal rulemaking process requires agencies to seek public comment on new policies. “If we want healthy, informed future citizens in this country let’s start by giving them quality meals in school so they can concentrate and absorb information.” Nevertheless, in its final decision the agency wrote: “After careful consideration of all stakeholders’ comments, USDA believes that school nutrition operators have made the case that this final rule’s targeted regulatory flexibility is practical and necessary for efficient Program operation.” In defense of the new rules, Perdue tweeted: “Nutritious school meals don’t do anyone any good if kids just throw them into the trash.” The USDA was “empowering local schools” to serve “healthy AND appetizing food” – an argument often made by the dairy industry. Kids drank 288 million fewer half pints between 2012 and 2015, lobbyists said. The milk standards are part of the federal government’s subsidized meal program, which feeds more than 31 million kids each day, many of whom get meals free or at reduced prices because their families are low-income. Don't bank on it Read more A nutritionist for the University of California called the idea that chocolate milk could help athletes “preposterous”.

It involved people buying cases of cheese in the United States, driving them back across the border into Canada without declaring the goods, and selling the ill-gotten product to local pizzerias. The reason this was so lucrative was Canada’s agricultural policy known as “supply management,” which results in milk and cheese prices that are as much as three times higher in Canada than in the United States. If this rings a bell, it might be because President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Canada during NAFTA talks over the past year for being “unfair” to American dairy farmers. Supply management is at the center of the biggest political shake-up in Canada in more than a decade, which could lead to the formation of a new breakaway political party that fractures the opposition Conservatives and all but guarantees Justin Trudeau another term as prime minister in next year’s elections. It just so happens that the dairy industry is also centralized in those provinces, making politicians loath to challenge the system. While Bernier stayed quiet for a while, he soon became a thorn in the side of the new leader by continuing to voice his opposition to supply management, accusing dairy farmers of having infiltrated the Conservative Party to elect his rival. What all this means for Canadian politics is still unclear, but early polling suggests a new party led by Bernier could draw enough support to act as a spoiler for the Conservatives in next year’s federal election. Surprisingly, the issue of the dairy lobby’s power could end up being resolved by Donald Trump. Canada’s dairy tariffs have been a key sticking point in ongoing talks between Canada and the U.S. over the renegotiation of NAFTA, and Trump has been attacking Canada’s protectionist policies since late last year, specifically singling out the dairy industry. It’s the perfect talking point for the president, who has upended numerous international relationships based on his belief that the United States is being taken for a ride.

He has criticized Canada’s trade polices as “unfair” and dismissed its dairy policy as “a disgrace”. The White House was burned by British troops in 1814 as part of a failed invasion of the mid-Atlantic, more than 50 years before the signing of Canada’s confederation paved the way for the founding of modern-day Canada. Canada was a major battleground during the conflict – known as the war of 1812 – which played a significant part in the creation of the Canadian national identity. The conflict was provoked by a decade of British provocations against the US, including impressing American sailors, imposing restrictions on American trade and providing support for Native American attacks on frontier settlements. Trump’s comments come at a time of increased tensions between the US and Canada, shortly before the US president unilaterally announced increased tariffs without congressional approval, citing national security needs. The border between the US and Canada has been demilitarized for two centuries. Trump’s justification for the new duties has provoked outrage from Canadians. Trudeau calls Trump's tariffs 'insulting' to longstanding US-Canada alliance Read more Trudeau said in an interview with NBC on Sunday: “One of the things that I have to admit I’m having a lot of trouble getting around is the idea that this entire thing is coming about because the president and the administration have decided that Canada and Canadian steel and aluminum is a national security threat to the United States.” Trudeau also noted the long history of military and diplomatic partnership between the countries. “Our soldiers had fought and died together on the beaches of world war two and the mountains of Afghanistan and have stood shoulder to shoulder in some of the most difficult places in the world, that are always there for each other, somehow – this is insulting to that,” said Trudeau. “The idea that the Canadian steel that’s in military vehicles in the United States, the Canadian aluminum that makes your fighter jets is somehow now a threat.” Trump travels to Canada on Friday for the G7 summit in Quebec.