Udder nonsense: Woke NYC professor makes claim that whole milk is racist
A bioethics professor has criticized recent federal legislation restoring whole milk to U.S. school menus, arguing that milk consumption has been used in some extremist messaging — a claim that has drawn sharp pushback from critics.
Arthur Caplan, who teaches at New York University, wrote in a blog post for Bioethics Today that whole milk has taken on political symbolism in certain far-right online spaces. He cited examples of memes and posts in which milk drinking is portrayed as a marker of genetic strength and used to exclude people with lactose intolerance, a condition more common among some non-European populations.
Caplan’s comments followed passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which President Donald Trump signed on Jan. 14. The law allows schools participating in federal nutrition programs to offer whole and reduced-fat milk options again.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Agriculture said the policy change is intended to broaden healthy beverage choices for students and rejected suggestions of ideological messaging. “Our government is taking steps to strengthen school nutrition,” the agency said. “To suggest otherwise is completely false.”
Caplan acknowledged that milk itself is not inherently political but argued that imagery around milk consumption has been adopted by some extremist groups online. He wrote that slogans such as “If you can’t drink milk, you have to go back” have appeared on racist websites and forums.
Other commentators dismissed the argument as overreach. Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith, writing in National Review, said the association of whole milk with extremism was unfounded and criticized Caplan’s interpretation of the law’s supporters. Smith noted that attendees at the White House signing ceremony included figures across the political spectrum, such as neurosurgeon and former cabinet secretary Ben Carson, and that early Senate support came from lawmakers including John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
“Sometimes whole milk is just whole milk,” Smith wrote.
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