The Law of Unintended Consequences

Any time a policy, especially a government policy, is considered, it is important to consider the second and third level consequences of the proposal. Often, a policy generates some unexpected and unintended negative consequences. Here’s a simple example of school systems banning chocolate milk in their cafeterias. People assume that if chocolate milk is banned the students automatically will consume something healthier. But it turns out that’s not necessarily so.

For many children eating school lunch, chocolate milk is a favorite choice. What would happen if chocolate milk were banned from school cafeterias? “Students take 10% less milk, waste 29% more and may even stop eating school meals,” says Andrew Hanks, PhD.

In a recent article published in PLOS ONE, researchers for the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (B.E.N. Center), reported results from data collected at 11 Oregon elementary schools where chocolate milk had been banned from the cafeterias and replaced with skim milk. While this policy eliminated the added sugar in chocolate milk, there were unexpected nutritional and economic backlashes.