You don’t have to be part of the dairy sector to see how important whole milk is for children, best-selling author Nina Teicholz, Ph.D., said in the latest Dairy Defined Podcast.

That’s because nutrition science makes a compelling case for full-fat milk, underscoring the importance of getting whole milk back in schools, the goal of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, she said.

Children who drink whole milk tend to be healthier, she said. “You need the fat in the milk to digest the vitamins that are in the milk, those are fat soluble vitamins. “I'm not a dairy advocate, but it turns out that the science supports the position of those of people in the industry who would prefer to see whole milk back in schools.”

Teicholz, author of “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet,” also discussed how food policy might be shaken up by Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s. confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary.

NMPF has a call to action supporting the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act for listeners who want to get involved on the advocacy page of our website, nmpf.org/take-action

With a Republican “trifecta” of House, Senate and White House control, 2025 will be an active year in Washington, NMPF Executive Vice President for Government Affairs Paul Bleiberg said in a Dairy Defined Podcast released today.

“Everybody should just buckle up. It's going to be a busy 2025,” said Bleiberg, who leads NMPF’s lobbying efforts.

The trifecta “means a certain ability to move your agenda through unilaterally or without the other party involved,” he said. “It also in broader terms refers to setting the agenda, obviously controlling the different committees and setting topics and moving legislation through broad decisions about governing really do fall to the party that has a trifecta.”

That will have meaningful effects on taxes and other areas of legislation, as well as on regulatory efforts, Bleiberg said. Immigration and trade also promise to be hot topics in the new year, ones with important implications, he said.

After nearly four decades as an economist at NMPF, Dr. Peter Vitaliano is retiring at the end of the year. He predicts a bright future for the industry.

“The U.S. dairy industry produces a huge variety of great products, for which consumption is continuing to grow,” Vitaliano said in a Dairy Defined Podcast. “It has very progressive farms and farmers, and great leadership amongst our organizations, and great organizations. That has been the case when I came, it's the case now, and it's going to be the case for many years in the future.”

Vitaliano, NMPF’s longtime chief economist, reflects on the evolution of policy challenges for the dairy industry in the podcast, explaining how shifts in the industry have created greater unity – and a more effective NMPF.