WHO’s child-nutrition proposal troubles Valley dairy groups

A high-level battle has been joined over whether babies and toddlers should enjoy cow’s milk, yogurt and other dairy products.

The World Health Organization downplays such foods in a document to be discussed in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month. The proposal troubles the U.S. dairy industry, a major presence in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

The WHO says children should be breast-fed exclusively for their first six months, then continue nursing through at least their second year while also getting “nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.”

The document unfairly suggests that dairy is not among these foods, three industry leaders wrote in a letter this week to President Barack Obama.

“Discouraging parents from providing their young children with milk, one of the most nutritious foods in the human diet, flies in the face of common sense,” the letter says. It was signed by the presidents of the National Milk Producers Federation, the International Dairy Foods Association and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

The issue is one of many to be discussed at the 69th annual session of the World Health Assembly, set for May 23-28. It is the governing body for the WHO, which works in about 150 countries on nutrition, disease prevention and other efforts.

The document urges “a diet based on a wide variety of foods, including minimally processed fruits, vegetables and animal-source foods.”

It warns against advertising that might persuade mothers to end breast-feeding too soon.

The industry letter says cow’s milk is fine at 1 year old, according to U.S. dietary guidelines, and other dairy foods can soon follow.

“As currently worded, the proposal suggests that common images such as a toddler enjoying strawberry yogurt, a 1-year-old eating cubes of cheese or a 2-year-old drinking a glass of milk are somehow inappropriate and should be prohibited,” the letter says.

Dairy is among the top-grossing products in the Valley, although farmers are mired in yet another slump in milk prices. They tend to perk up when exports grow, especially products in easy-to-ship powdered forms.

Hilmar Cheese Co. opened a milk powder plant in Turlock this year, a sign of faith in the long-term outlook for the market. Another company, Valley Milk, expects to complete a similar plant there by the end of 2017.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 3:55 PM with the headline "WHO’s child-nutrition proposal troubles Valley dairy groups."