NEWS: USDA sued for too much dairy in diet guidelines

[Guest guest]

December 16,

Web posted at: 11:32 AM EST (1632 GMT

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Got too much milk? A health activist group thinks the

government is too eager to endorse dairy products for balanced diets even though

many minority Americans are unable to digest them.

 

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sued the U.S. Agriculture

Department Wednesday, claiming that special health needs of minority Americans

are being ignored as federal dietary guidelines are revised for the school lunch

and food stamp programs.

 

An advisory panel appointed by the USDA and the Health and Human Services

Department is updating the guidelines, which are expected to be issued by

mid-2000.

 

Current diet and health recommendations adopted in 1980 have been widely used by

doctors, nutritionists, and food makers. The guidelines are the basis of the

well-known USDA food pyramid used to teach children healthy eating habits.

 

The revised guidelines are expected to once again endorse milk and dairy

products as a key source of calcium, instead of giving equal weight to leafy

green vegetables, beans and calcium-fortified fruit juice, the activist group

said.

 

Advisory panel has ties to food industry

 

Mindy Kursban, attorney for the physicians' group, said the resistance to change

is not surprising given the ties of the food industry to some advisory panel

members.

 

" At least six of these committee members have had or currently have significant

ties to the meat, dairy or egg industries, " Kursban said, based on government

documents obtained by the group.

 

For example, Cutberto Garza, chair of the guidelines panel, also has served as a

scientific advisor to the Dannon Research Institute that is funded by the yogurt

maker, Kursban said.

 

Members of the advisory committee were chosen in a fair and open way, a USDA

spokeswoman said. " The advisory committee appointments are solicited through a

Federal Register notice and are made to reflect a balance of technical expertise

in medicine, nutrition and epidemiology, " she said.

 

The lawsuit seeks to force the USDA and HHS to appoint a new advisory panel, or

to add members who will speak for the health interests of minority Americans,

she said.

 

Some 70 percent of African-Americans are lactose intolerant and suffer cramps,

diarrhea and gas from eating dairy foods. The number of Asian-Americans who are

lactose intolerant is even higher, at about 95 percent, the physicians group

said.

 

" People are trying to do what their government tells them to do, and it's making

them sick, " said Dr. Milton Mills, an associate director of the group.

 

The USDA spokeswoman said the dietary guidelines " reflect an emerging consensus

of scientific research. "

 

The federally-subsidized school lunch program requires lactose-free milk be

available for kids who need it, she said.

 

The dairy industry said Americans should try to eat as many sources of calcium

as possible, but milk is probably the easiest way for most people to build it

into their diets.

 

" We have a calcium crisis in this country where nine out of every 10 women fail

to meet the recommended daily minimum intake of calcium, " said Natalie Webb, a

dietitian and consultant to the National Dairy Council. " That puts them at risk

of developing osteoporosis. "

 

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Get the real scoop here:

http://www.pcrm.org/news/lawsuit.html

 

 

Oh, and about dairy...

 

Calcium: White Gold - by David Siegel

http://www.dsiegel.com/wiwd/diet/calcium.html

 

http://www.factoryfarming.com/dairy.htm

 

The Controversy on Dairy Products - articles selected by American Fitness

Professionals and Associates

http://www.afpafitness.com/DairyProducts.htm

 

What About Dairy? - Looking Behind the Mustache

http://www.earthsave.org/news/whatdary.htm

 

http://www.strongbones.org/

 

16 Reasons Why People Avoid Dairy Products

http://www.veggiepower.ca/16reason.htm

 

Meat & Dairy / Eggs: The False Dichotomy

http://www.veganoutreach.org/false.html

 

http://www.notmilk.com/

 

http://www.veganoutreach.org/images/CowWithMastitis-L-R.gif

 

http://www3.sympatico.ca/anji/udder.html

 

 

And of course my quote:

" Milk was destined to feed the animals' offspring and not that man should take

it with force for himself. The kid has the right to enjoy its mother's milk and

its mother's love, but hard-hearted man, influenced by his materialistic and

shallow outlook changes and perverts these true functions. "

Rabbi Abraham Kook (1865-1935, First Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel)