Petition Targets Flavored Milk in Malibu Schools

In a purported effort to improve the nutrition of children in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Distric, a group of parents has decided to petition the Board of Education to remove flavored milk from the schools. The group will present the petition to the board next month

Parents and students addressed the board about a flavored milk ban on Thursday. Board member Ralph Mechur said he supported the concept. Board President José Escarce, who has a medical degree, said all artificially flavored drinks should be included in the conversation.

Flavored milk, which is offered at some of the schools twice a day, has 28 grams of sugar. Twelve grams are natural sugars from lactose, but that means there are 16 added grams. 

The American Heart Association recommends that children ages 4 to 8 should consume no more than 12 grams of sugar per day. So, that single 8-ounce carton would surpass a child's daily sugar intake for the entire day.

The parents want other high-sugar items eventually removed from the schools as well. 

Go here to read the petition.

What are your thoughts on the flavored-milk petition? Will you sign? Have you signed? What foods and/or drinks would you like to see removed from our schools? Let us know in the comments box below.