A prominent bioethics professor is drawing backlash after suggesting President Donald Trump’s bipartisan push to restore whole milk in school lunches carries echoes of fascist, Nazi, and white nationalist ideology.
The accusation has provoked a widespread backlash, illustrating the growing politicization of everyday public policy.
The controversy follows Trump’s signing of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025.
The legislation reinstates whole milk in federal school lunch programs after its removal during the Obama administration’s 2010 nutrition overhaul.
The bill passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.
It cleared the House by voice vote and won unanimous approval in the Senate.
Despite that consensus, New York University (NYU) bioethics Professor Arthur Caplan publicly questioned the cultural meaning of the policy.
Writing in The American Journal of Bioethics, Caplan claims:
“As a student of and written on the history of science and public health under fascist regimes, I am suspicious.
“Milk drinking is political.
“Drinking whole white milk has played a big role in racist and far-right thinking.”
Caplan connected whole milk consumption to historical authoritarian movements.
“Fascists have used the beverage as a rallying cry for white supremacy since the days of Il Duce’s (Benito Mussolini’s) public health campaigns in Italy,” he wrote.
“The Nazis were enamored of whole milk as well,” he continued.
“In America, drinking whole milk has for years been a part of alt-right, white nationalist messaging in tweets, memes, and videos.”
Caplan concluded with a broader warning:
“Racism and eugenics, sadly, may be playing a role in the sudden drive to fetishize drinking whole milk.
“Drinking whole milk is a dog whistle to far-right, white nationalists.
“The campaign to promote whole milk may have many factors behind it, but at a time when eugenics, racism, and white nationalism fuel too much of our political rhetoric, the whole milk campaign must be swallowed with care.”
Critics Say Claims Politicize Children’s Nutrition
Bioethicist Wesley Smith rejected the argument, pointing to the bipartisan coalition behind the law.
In an article for National Review, Smith wrote sarcastically:
“One of the honored guests at the Oval Office signing ceremony of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act — mentioned in passing by Caplan, which put whole milk back on school menus — was that notorious white supremacist Dr. Ben Carson.
“One of the early sponsors was Senator John Fetterman, a famous KKK sympathizer.”
Supporters of the legislation argue the policy centers on nutrition and parental choice, restoring access to full-fat dairy that provides calories and essential fats for growing children, while reversing federal restrictions rooted in earlier anti-obesity initiatives.
The Obama-era limits removed whole milk from most school cafeterias in favor of reduced-fat options.
Critics have long warned that the move prioritized federal dietary theory over local decision-making and student health outcomes.
Broader Cultural Divide Emerges
The clash reflects a widening cultural and political divide in which routine health or education policies increasingly become flashpoints for ideological conflict.
Trump’s law is a straightforward nutrition reform backed by bipartisan lawmakers.
Yet, it has instead triggered accusations linking dietary policy to extremism.
The wild claims from Caplan underscore how even school lunch programs now sit at the center of America’s broader political battle.
As debates over public health, education, and federal authority intensify, the dispute over whole milk illustrates a deeper reality: in today’s political climate, virtually no policy, no matter how ordinary, remains insulated from ideological confrontation.
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