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When Did Milk Become Bad for You?
http://townhall.com/columnists/asheschow/2012/08/13/when_did_milk_become_bad_for_you ^ | August 13, 2012 | Ashe Schow

Posted on 08/13/2012 9:59:26 AM PDT by Kaslin

Last week, as I entered Union Station Metro station in Washington, I saw ads for what appeared to be First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. It was a series of three ads, the first said: “Let’s move hot dogs out of school lunch.” Okay, fine, because, let’s face it, while hot dogs may be scrumptious and all-beef, they look like small batons of questionable meat.

The second ad said: “Let’s move cheese out of school lunch.” I mean, I guess. Cheese, while a good source of calcium (and delicious), is not necessarily the healthiest thing in the world. I don’t think it should be removed from children’s lunches, but I just chalked it up to liberal nanny-state policies.

It was the third ad that really got my goat. Hidden in the corner, the least noticeable sign read: “Let’s move milk out of school lunch.” Really? Milk? Arguably one of the best sources of calcium, which, as I’ve been told since I was old enough to remember, makes bones strong?

When did milk become unhealthy? Rather, when did milk become so bad for you that it should be banned from school lunches and put on the same level as the hot dog?

Curious about the reasoning behind the sudden “war on milk,” I visited the website mentioned on the ad. To my surprise, it was not, in fact, Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” website, but was a separate organization called “Let’s Really Move!” – an apparent response to the failure of the First Lady’s core initiative:

“The stalled ‘Let’s Move’ campaign needs to get back in gear. The ‘Let’s Move’ campaign has abandoned any major effort to improve the nation’s nutrition, focusing instead on noncontroversial recommendations about exercise. That strategy will not combat skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol.”

As for the organization’s crusade against milk (even skim milk), they claim it does not actually promote bone health or protect against osteoporosis and is high in fat, cholesterol and sugar. Instead of milk, they suggest beans, broccoli, kale, tofu and whole grains. Mmmm! That’s sure to get the kids excited about healthy eating!

Conversely, Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” suggests fat-free milk is okay.

Perhaps you’ve noticed, as I have, that it’s nearly impossible these days to keep track of what foods are good for you and which ones aren’t. I grew up thinking milk was great, now it’s apparently as bad for you as what’s sold at sporting events.

Advocacy groups and nanny-state politicians have for decades tried to control us through our diets. But they don’t just try to control us by telling us what we should or should not eat, they also control the very supply of food.

For milk, the government subsidizes the dairy industry and sets production limits, which means taxpayers and consumers are paying more for a gallon of milk than they should be.

And the current version of the farm bill will make such market distortions even worse. The new Dairy Management Supply Program will set milk prices and effectively tax dairy farmers if prices fall below those price controls. The government will then use that tax money to purchase products, controlling the supply.

Dairy farmers are not happy about this, and are meeting with members of Congress this month in order to discuss their issues with the farm bill. Wonderful. We know what that will mean: dairy farmers will receive special consideration and carve-outs within the farm bill, further muddling the bill and promoting corporate welfare.

With this kind of control over something so basic to our diets, it’s no wonder the farm bill has stalled in Congress. Now, lawmakers need to work to remove these kinds of market-distorting special handouts, not just because they promote cronyism, but because, seriously, “milk does a body good.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: farmbill; letsmove; michelleobama; nannystate
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1 posted on 08/13/2012 9:59:39 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Let’s Move these clowns out of our nations capital.


2 posted on 08/13/2012 10:08:10 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: Kaslin

Incredible that this very much overweight woman would boldly tell us that we have to change our diets to lose weight. Aren’t there any mirrors in the White House? Or are they all in Obambi’s room in front of his prayer rug.

I find it exceedingly amazing that she can’t see how fat she is, but she CAN see how fat she thinks we are. Just amazing.


3 posted on 08/13/2012 10:09:29 AM PDT by laweeks
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To: Kaslin

Milk became bad for you the day Moochelle discovered it was white.


4 posted on 08/13/2012 10:11:46 AM PDT by Steamburg (The contents of your wallet is the only language Politicians understand.)
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To: Kaslin

...”small batons of questionable meat.”</i>

Isn’t that one of Barry’s faves?


5 posted on 08/13/2012 10:12:17 AM PDT by Noumenon (Obama 2012: Zimbabwe without the airfare)
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To: Kaslin

Banning milk is a liberal thing. I don’t personally believe its ban served anything more than a socialist agenda.
With the left’s push to rid us of fats they forget that fats are needed to keep healthy. Even cholesterol is necessary. Cholesterol is needed to build cell walls. Every hormone in your body started as cholesterol. Expose cholesterol to UV from the sub and it becomes vitamin D. Add phosphorus and calcium to vitamin D and you make steroids to lubricate your joints, reduce swelling and relieve pain.


6 posted on 08/13/2012 10:13:52 AM PDT by BuffaloJack (Repeal Obamacare, the CITIZENSHIP TAX)
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To: Kaslin

Its good for you on a case by case basis... if ones ancestors weren’t dairy consumers from wayyyy back, chances are the person is lactose intolerant or sensitive to it.


7 posted on 08/13/2012 10:14:49 AM PDT by WildHighlander57 ((WildHighlander57 returning after lurking since 2000))
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To: Kaslin
What does our DNA say about the desirability of drinking milk?

In both Northern European populations and in African populations with herd animals - the mutation for continued production of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar lactose) after weening has arises independently and has achieved high penetrance in both groups.

Obviously in these populations that was a favorable mutation.

8 posted on 08/13/2012 10:19:03 AM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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To: Kaslin

Interesting how if one follows Moochelle’s gubmint approved diet based on the food pyramid, one will barely lose any weight. If one does the opposite and eats a diet high in fat and protein one will not only experience rapid weight loss but also gain healthy cholesterol levels, lose fat around the liver, and gain pain relief from arthritis and joint pain. Huh. It’s almost like the gubmint is setting us up for failure!


9 posted on 08/13/2012 10:21:11 AM PDT by goodwithagun (My gun has killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car.)
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To: Kaslin

It oozes out of cow glands.

Milk and honey = cow secretions and bee vomit.


10 posted on 08/13/2012 10:21:36 AM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Kaslin

as usual, it starts with the government brain washing our kids. Milk bad today = eventual death of the US dairy industry. REASONS; dairies are not enviro friendly and the dems view them as inhumane to cows. The meat / poultry industry are next. suggestion; check out UN agenda 21, it is at the heart of government food production control in order to sustain / improve the global environment


11 posted on 08/13/2012 10:23:29 AM PDT by drypowder
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To: Kaslin

It is my understanding that back in the day, before cows were loaded up with steroids and female hormones, a good dairy cow produced about five pounds of milk daily. Now a good cow will produce up to over fifty pounds daily. I don’t know what this means regarding the nutritional value of milk, but I gave it up as a precaution, and I don’t miss it.


12 posted on 08/13/2012 10:27:37 AM PDT by layman (Card Carrying Infidel)
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To: BuffaloJack
Banning milk is a liberal thing. I don’t personally believe its ban served anything more than a socialist agenda. With the left’s push to rid us of fats they forget that fats are needed to keep healthy. Even cholesterol is necessary.

You're right. Leftists, at least the old ones who were hippies in the '60s and '70s, have a thing about milk.

Back then there was some bizarro food-fetishist ideology that preached that milk made you "mucus-y." When I asked these fetishists what muscus-y meant, they would give me a blank stare.

The cholesterol ideology OTOH did not come from hippie-food-faddists, but from the medical/pharmaceutical establishment. We know today that a lot of conventional wisdom about cholesterol ("good," "bad," etc') is simply wrong. But too much has been invested in cholesterol-lowering drugs, low-cholesterol food manufacture, etc, for the MSM to be honest about it.

It is really a crime to feed children low-fat milk. As you say, fats are necessary for brain development.

We also need fat in our diets to be able to absorb calcium. If you drink no-fat milk, the calcium in the milk is going down the drain, so to speak ... and not to your bones.

13 posted on 08/13/2012 10:28:37 AM PDT by shhrubbery! (NIH!)
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To: Kaslin
When Did Milk Become Bad for You?

When they named it Harvey.

14 posted on 08/13/2012 10:29:16 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Kaslin

"Eat the hot dog. Leave the bun."

15 posted on 08/13/2012 10:30:32 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Whatever a homosexual union might be or represent, it is not physically marital. - F.Cardinal George)
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To: Kaslin

“it’s nearly impossible these days to keep track of what foods are good for you and which ones aren’t. I grew up thinking milk was great, now it’s apparently as bad for you as what’s sold at sporting events.”

Wasn’t there a study released recently that showed that milk was not a good source of calcium? Pretty sure I read about it here on FR, but I can’t find it in a search. Of course I am very inept at using this search function!


16 posted on 08/13/2012 10:30:41 AM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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To: laweeks

MichelleFatAss.

17 posted on 08/13/2012 10:33:49 AM PDT by Foolsgold (L I B Lacking in Brains)
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To: drypowder
it starts with the government brain washing our kids.

Don't forget that want to put filters on the cows to stop gorebull warming!!!
18 posted on 08/13/2012 10:37:00 AM PDT by Foolsgold (L I B Lacking in Brains)
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To: Kaslin

Fat free milk.... bleh... might as well give the kids Kale..

KIDS NEED FAT! They need things we adults should not eat because they are growing.

The childhood obesity epidemic is not because of Milk, or Cheese, or even beef franks!

It’s soda, processed crap, and most importantly inactivity!


19 posted on 08/13/2012 10:40:59 AM PDT by N3WBI3 (Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari)
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To: Foolsgold

Perhaps your photo was a bit photo-shopped . . . but even by half, she’s still looks like the south end of a north bound ox.


20 posted on 08/13/2012 10:41:41 AM PDT by laweeks
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