School Nutrition Measure Is Dropped From Farm Bill

Legislation on snacks had backing of many advocates, companies.

Nearly 30 years ago, the last time the Department of Agriculture addressed standards for snacks sold in schools alongside the federally subsidized breakfast and lunch programs, childhood obesity was a far less recognized issue than it is today.

The same is true for serving sizes, calories, fat, sugar, and sodium. The department’s regulations are silent on all those issues.

A proposed amendment to a major farm bill in Congress, backed both by health-advocacy groups and food-and beverage-industry giants, would have updated the nutrition standards for snacks to meet today’s concerns. But the amendment was dropped last month in last-minute wrangling over...