Six states and the District of Columbia last week sued the Department of Agriculture, saying it weakened nutritional standards in school breakfasts and lunches when the agency relaxed the requirements affecting salt and refined grains last year.
The federal lawsuit asks a judge to overturn the changes made by the Trump administration, charging that they were carried out in an arbitrary and capricious manner, without giving the public a chance to comment on them and in opposition to nutritional requirements set by Congress.
The states—California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont—and D.C. contend that the standards should be based on recommendations of the U.S. government’s “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” the National Academy of Sciences, and scientific research regarding children’s nutrition.
