New IDFA x Morning Consult research shows Americans support the goals of healthier food policy—and want affordability, nutrition and access to guide how those goals are achieved.
The national conversation around food and health is changing rapidly. Questions about ingredients, processing, chronic disease and the role of food in Americans’ health are now at the center of policymaking in Washington.
That is a positive development. Americans clearly want a food system that supports better health.
But as policymakers translate the goals of the Make America Healthy Again movement into policy, new research suggests Americans also want them to keep several practical considerations front and center: Is nutritious food affordable? Is it accessible? And are we considering what a food actually contributes nutritionally—not simply how it is made?
New Morning Consult polling commissioned by the International Dairy Foods Association offers important insight into those questions and suggests that Americans increasingly see dairy as part of the solution: a source of affordable, nutrient-dense nutrition that aligns with many of the goals driving today’s health conversations.
Affordability is Health Policy
The clearest finding is that Americans do not see health and affordability as separate issues.
When asked what lawmakers should prioritize to improve Americans’ health, making nutritious foods more affordable ranked first, including among Democrats, Republicans and independents. Seventy-eight percent of adults also say affordability should be a priority when lawmakers develop food and nutrition policies, while 74% agree America’s food system should prioritize making food more affordable over restricting what people can purchase or eat.
This matters. Improving Americans’ diets cannot simply be about telling people what to eat. Nutritious choices also need to be attainable.
Dairy is well positioned to help meet that challenge. Milk, cheese and yogurt deliver high-quality protein and essential nutrients at an affordable cost. As IDFA has previously highlighted, dairy offers consumers some of the best nutritional “bang for your buck” in the grocery store.
If the goal is to help Americans consume more nutrient-dense foods without making healthy eating less affordable, dairy is part of the solution.
Look at Nutrition, Not Just Processing
The debate over ultra-processed foods demonstrates why nutritional value also needs to remain part of policymaking.
When given a choice, 48% of adults said government should consider both processing and nutritional value so nutrient-dense foods are not automatically grouped alongside soft drinks, candy and packaged snack foods. Just 18% favored a single processing-based approach even if it placed those foods in the same category.
And when respondents learned that a processing-only approach could classify foods high in protein, calcium, vitamins and other nutrients as ultra-processed, support for that approach declined.
The research clearly shows that Americans care about how a food is made, but also about what that food delivers nutritionally.
Dairy illustrates why. Yogurt, cheese and flavored milk may undergo processing while still providing high-quality protein, calcium and other essential nutrients. Policy frameworks that fail to recognize those nutritional contributions could undermine the health outcomes they are intended to advance.
Dairy’s Healthy Halo Continues to Grow
Consumers already recognize dairy’s nutritional value. Fifty-four percent of adults identify milk and dairy among the foods they consider healthy and nutritious for their families, up from 50% when IDFA first asked the question in February 2025.
Milk and yogurt also scored among the strongest dairy products on attributes including healthy and nutritious, reinforcing dairy’s longstanding position as a trusted source of essential nutrients. And, dairy and animal protein are the only food categories viewed more positively today than in that initial survey.
If you zoom out, the findings point toward a very practical path forward.
- Americans want greater access to nutritious food. Dairy delivers essential nutrients.
- Americans want healthy choices to remain affordable. Dairy delivers substantial nutrition for the dollar.
- Americans want policymakers to consider nutrient density as well as processing. Dairy demonstrates why that distinction matters.
This is the third national survey IDFA has conducted with Morning Consult examining the Make America Healthy Again movement, food and nutrition policy, and dairy. Across that research, a consistent message is emerging: Americans support the goal of building a healthier food system, but they expect policymakers to consider affordability, access and nutritional value in how we get there.
Those principles are not competing goals. Affordability, access and nutrition are all critical to building a healthier America. This research shows that consumers don’t just understand this but that they also increasingly consider dairy as part of the way forward.
Explore the full IDFA x Morning Consult research and key findings here.
