Food Police: Milk is Unhealthy for Kids

Townhall.com ^ | 04/21/04 | Mike Burita

[TXBubba]

Food Police: Milk Is Unhealthy for Kids

Soon-to-be-Released Vending-Machine Report Is Latest Baseless Assault Against Soft Drinks

Washington, DC – Attention parents and teachers! The food police have added whole and two-percent milk to the list of "poor nutritional quality" beverages in their crosshairs, recommending that they be removed from American's schools. This and other ridiculous assertions are contained in a report being circulated by the self-described "food police" at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The draft report, rumored to be released this month, bears the name of CSPI's activist coalition, the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA). NANA is part of an anti-soda crusade which advocates taxing sodas and restricting their availability in order to eliminate fizzy drinks from the diets of both children and adults.

"Anyone who would suggest that milk is unhealthy for kids is out to lunch," said Richard Berman, executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom. "CSPI once boasted that it was ‘proud about finding something wrong with practically everything.' Now it's proven it."

The report concludes that school districts and local, state and federal governments should banish beverages and snacks that CSPI claims are contributing to the nation's obesity. But evidence linking childhood obesity to sodas and snacks is utterly lacking.

Suggesting a causal link between soda consumption and childhood obesity, the CSPI/NANA report relies solely on a flawed study by Harvard University researcher and "fat tax" advocate David Ludwig. Ludwig admitted in his own conclusion that, "there is no clear evidence that consumption of sugar per se ... causes obesity." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention echoed Ludwig's conclusion: "There are no data from the Harvard study that allow us to make an estimate of what proportion of obesity might be accounted for by changes in soft drink consumption."

This is not the first time the anti-soda movement has relied on faulty science to make their case. In 1998 CSPI issued a report titled "Liquid Candy," which claimed that some teenagers get up to 25 percent of their calories from soda. Just one week later, following massive media attention, CSPI admitted that it had overstated this figure by a whopping 100 percent. In fact, American boys drink less than half the amount of soft drinks initially claimed by CSPI. While CSPI quietly made a correction (after the media fracas died down), it still heavily promotes its "Liquid Candy" report.

"NANA should rename itself NANNY," added Mr. Berman. "Nagging Americans with a finger-wagging ‘no no' won't shrink anyone's waistline. This is just another attempt by CSPI's Puritans to restrict foods they don't like. And as usual, there's no science in the public interest to back them up."

The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

CSPI is a vegan front. I seriously doubt that they'd ever find milk to be benign.

[af_vet_rr]

I can see soft drinks - if you look at their contents and how much people drink, it's pretty easy to see that it is not the healthiest of beverages (especially if your feeding it to kids who aren't getting much exercise). Milk though? Give me a break.

[JoeGar]

... Center for Science in the Public Interest ...

Anytime you see the words, "Center for Science in the Public Interest", stop reading. This is the bunch of wackos who are trying to get everyone to stop eating Mexican food, theater popcorn, etc. They put out hokey press releases knowing that the mainstream press will run with them.

[aimhigh]

I had to be taken off of it as an infant as well.

Dittos. Once I talked my teenage daughter out of drinking milk, her acne disappeared.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

http://www.notmilk.com

Who would've thought that cow's milk was the root of all that is evil in this world? That certainly seems to be what this website is suggesting.

[TXBubba]

Actually, I've never been a big milk drinker myself. My kids have no problem with it so I do give it to them to drink. Water is actually the best thing for acne. Since I didn't drink milk as a teenager and still had acne it obviously wasn't the cause of the zits for me. But drinking a lot of water does clear up acne. Wish I had known that as a teen.

[gcruse]

It's a good thing I saw your tagline. I was going to recommend boxer shorts.

[SF Republican]

Did you know that heroin junkies, mass murderers and most general n'er do wells drank milk when they were children! It is about time someone did something about this.

[radiohead]

Personally, I'm kind of an anti-milk (especially an anti-Milk Board) person. I don't believe giving cows' milk to children is the best thing for them.

In addition, many people of color, as adults, lose the enzyme to process milk and are lactose intolerant. Somehow people all over Africa and Asia are able to live quite nicely, and get their calcium, w/o milk.

However, I hate these damn holier-than-thou nutrition people. I used to be on a diabetes message board where every other message was some diatriabe against parents who gave their kids milk, thereby inducing Type 1 diabetes. This is one of those nutrition myths that just won't go away, but trust these people to induce guilt in parents w/a diabetic child.

I don't trust a word that comes out of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. They'd have us eating melba toast and drinking water for each meal if they had their way. I'm not sure if it has been proven that they are a front for PETA, but if they aren't, they're pretty close. From the reports they put out, I'd say their 'science' is completely biased in favor of PETA-like thinking.

Soy milk and rice milk are petty good, actually. Soy egg nog is especially tasty.

[HungarianGypsy]

Just what exactly do these freaks want us to drink?
All the "enlightened" vegans I know often say soy milk. That stuff's not even naturally milk. Yuck!

[TXBubba]

LOL! Took me a second but I got it!

[DaGman]

"there is no clear evidence that consumption of sugar per se ... causes obesity."

This is probably one of the most ignorant statements I have ever seen in print.

[radiohead]

Anytime you see the words, "Center for Science in the Public Interest", stop reading.

Yep. Just yep.

[tomball]

Let's see: Milk is bad, but schools full of vending machines filled with carbonated water filled with sugars, frutose, sucrose, artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, corn syrups, aspartame, caffiene, etc. is not the problem. All in the name of that great big dollar, the public schools took away the real school cafeteria cooks who made real food, and then hired MacDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and/or other food service conglomerates to handle the school lunch crowd with easier to prepare processed foods. Based on the school system, over the past fifteen years, required school Phys Ed classes went from 3 days a week down to one day per week. And the pros wonder why the kids are getting obese, and intend to blame it on the milk. Go figure.

Yep. I think my head's going to explode, too.

[Palmetto]

I don't see how anyone can drink the stuff.

Then what in the name of all that is good do you drink with hot cookies fresh out the oven?

Somehow a Dasani just ain't gonna do it for me...

[TXBubba]

My dentist is very anti-milk. He recommends broccoli and other calcium rich vegies. Great for my son who loves vegies but what about my daughter who won't eat them? And she is the one who really has to worry about her bones in the future.

[HungarianGypsy]

Where do you get organic milk from? Because of the germ factor raw milk is not supposed to consumed by people, but I remember a family who would order raw milk for their church. To get around it everything was labelled "For Pet Use Only". These labels weren't just on milk, but also the sour cream, cottage cheese, butter milk, butter, etc. I hate whole milk, because I think it tastes like glue, but the raw whole milk was some of the best stuff I ever had.

[doug9732]

"Anytime you see the words, "Center for Science in the Public Interest", stop reading."

I agree that CSPI is a rotten organization.
They are criticizing milk for having too much saturated fat.
Actually that's the only thing in milk that's pretty harmless! It's the extra growth hormones, the poorly digestible lactose sugar, and the highly allergenic proteins that cause the most health problems. CSPI are truly a bunch of morons.

[Guillermo]

I can drink a few sips of it with that.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

I don't trust a word that comes out of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. They'd have us eating melba toast and drinking water for each meal if they had their way. I'm not sure if it has been proven that they are a front for PETA, but if they aren't, they're pretty close. From the reports they put out, I'd say their 'science' is completely biased in favor of PETA-like thinking.

You can get the lowdown on CSPI by clicking here. It doesn't appear that there are any overt connections to PETA, but they certainly are fellow travelers. Interesting side note: One of CSPI's prominent contributors in 2000-2001 was TaRAYza Heinz Kerry's Tides Foundation.