Milk: The Drink of Death [Perspective Paper]

[SilverPhoenyx]

Milk: The Drink of Death
or
One Hundred-two Reasons Why You Shouldn't Drink Milk



"Milk does a body good. Pass it on!"

This has been one of the slogans the National Dairy Council uses to promote its product. But what "good" does it actually do? What are we actually passing on in that glass of milk?


What Milk Is

Milk - A product that is made up of whey and milk solids - contains 31%-49% fat by calories and 60% saturated fat. This is one-third of the day's quota per 8oz. glass. Milk sugars also present in milk include lactose, a disaccharide at levels of 45g per quart, which cannot be absorbed by the intestinal tract of bloodstream without the presence of an enzyme called lactose. The body stops producing lactose in over 70% of the population during the third year of life. Even though a great deal of milk had Vitamin D added, a hormone that, if not properly mixed can be toxic, it is still found to be deficient for human needs in iron, fiber, essential fatty acids, Vitamin B and Vitamin C.*

Milk takes on the taste of the food that the cow eats, creating residue, in over a third of the mik produced, of wild onion, garlic, corn, oats, rye, apple, pumice, turnips, bitter weed and -most importantly - Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) which is injected into the cattle. In fact, milk carries roughly over eighty antibiotics and antigen - antibody complexes. One of these, penicillin, causes hives, rashes, and asthmatic reactions in the 29.8 million that are allergic to it in the United States. Milk further contains frequent contaminants, from pesticides to drugs. One such pesticide, chlorinated hydrocarbon creates residues that accumulate in the body causing problems such as birth defects and cancer. Milk is teeming with rapidly growing bacteria, in excess of 130,000 per ml up to 3 million per ml. Milk stored at temperatures of 40°F - that of a good refrigerator does not retard these numbers. Actually, the numbers of bacteria present double in 35-40 hours. To illustrate the significance of these numbers, 5 ml equals that of a teaspoon, 30 ml equal one ounce of liquid.

Milk is rich with cholesterol (LDL - the bad kind), animal protein (which is incompatible with human needs), fat (which alters the nervous system), progesterone (which causes acne), and sodium (that clocks in at 25-40 mg higher that actually reported by the Department of Agriculture).

If milk's composition is not enough to deter one from consuming it, maybe a brief look at milk products might provide some insight.

[SilverPhoenyx]

Yogurt

The so-called "healthy" dairy product contains lactobacillus - which is touted as the "friendly" bacteria. Yogurt is 49% fat, and still 31% fat in "low fat" versions. Intake of the milk sugar, galactose, which gives yogurt its sweet and tangy taste, triples the risk of ovarian cancer for women who consume it.

Butter

It takes 21 pounds of milk to manufacture 1 pound of butter - a product that is 85% fat. Historically, butter has been used since 2000 B.C.E. ...only then it was used as an illuminating oil.

Ice Cream

Three gallons of milk go into every quart of ice cream - a product that is 49% fat. Fifty million Americans find ice cream hard to digest. Also, ice cream contributes to irritable bowel syndrome and acne. The proteins in ice cream lead to allergies, asthma, and ear infections. No wonder "I scream, you scream, we all scream...".

Cheese

It takes 10 pounds of a cow's lactating secretion to produce 1 pound of cheese. When the secretion begins to coagulate, lactic acid and bacteria are added to sour the mixture. Rennin, which is the gastric juice of the fourth stomach of a slaughtered calf and calcium chloride are added to curdle the product. Next, potassium nitrate is introduced to inhibit contaminating bacteria, along with dyes for color. Then, the product is sprayed with mold-forming spores, washed in alcohol, and left to set for up to 2-3 years until it becomes firm, dry, crusty, and smelly.

Cheese is 70% fat in calories and 80% of its protein in casein. Casein is used as a glue to affix labels to to beer bottles and hold furniture together. This protein is also a foreign substance to the body, creating an antibody-antigen reaction, constant flow of mucus and phlegm, and the clogging of kidneys, spleen, pancreas, tracheal-bronchial tree, lungs, and thymus.

Keep in mind that any calcium present in milk and milk products is offset by the animal proteins present. The protein is acidic and raises the Ph levels of the blood requiring alkaline calcium from bones to neutralize it. This, in effect, washes the calcium, including that already present, from the body and bones, creating a negative calcium balance. Positive sources of calcium can be obtained from plant sources: collard greens, turnips, soybeans, rhubarb, almonds, kidney beans, and broccoli.

* Vitamin D is naturally created by the body - simply by enjoying fifteen minutes of sunshine three times a week.

[SilverPhoenyx]

How Milk is Promoted

Two billion dollars for food advertisements and five billion for pharmaceuticals are spent by the animal industries annually to distort perceptions of nutrition and health. The two primary adversaries involved with this are the National Dairy Council and the United States Department of Agriculture.

The National Dairy Council was founded in 1915. Their charter is "to increase the demand for U.S. produced dairy products" on behalf of America's Dairy Farmers. They have chapters in 128 cities and generate a revenue of $19 billion a year. So far, their methods are working - the average American consumes 586 pounds of dairy a year and one out of every seven dollars spent on food is for milk and milk products. Is this honest promotion or propaganda?

The Dairy Council spends more than $300 million annually at a national level to influence the nutrition industry. In fact, the NDC pays doctors and researchers to advance dairy products. Moreover, public schools are, by law, required to serve milk. This is not surprising considering that over sixty congressional leaders in Washington D.C. receive campaign contributions from the NDC. The NDC is the single largest supplier of educational materials to United States public schools and represent a biased means of promoting their product at a mass level and getting children hooked on dairy products. The NDC pays for studies that promote dairy products, including those from "trusted" sources as the American Dietary Association and the Osteoporosis Foundation. The NDC even succeeded in getting the USDA to raise the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for calcium to 1000 mg daily! (Hilarious since vegans flourish on only 500 mg daily from plant sources.) So are they impartial? According to their own charter, they are not.

[SilverPhoenyx]

What follows is a brief history of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA):

1862 - USDA was created to educate the public on agricultural matters. They also provide for farmers interests by the promotion of reliable and consistent food sources and information.

1916 - USDA publishes first food guidelines.

1943 - Twelve food groups were introduced. Of these twelve, eight were plant based. This was eventually pared down to "The Basic Seven" with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables.

1955 - The entire system is overhauled! Now "Basic Four" food groups, thanks to a study developed by the Harvard University Department of Nutrition and funded by animal agricultural groups, cattlemen, and dairy farmers. Meat and milk now represent two (or half) of these four groups.

1975 - "Basic Four" revised to reflect less cholesterol and fat, more fruits, grains, and vegetables. Instead of consume less meat and dairy, however, the subcommittee report stated to "choose lean meat and non-fat milk".

1992 - Pyramid introduced six groups. However, still recommends four plus servings a day of animal based foods (including dairy).

2000 - Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed lawsuit charging agency's guidelines are unhealthy and catered to the food industry. Six out of eleven members of the council of advisors linked to NDC, NDB (National Dairy Board), American Egg Board, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, American Meat Institute and Dannon Research Institute.

2001 - Ruling found USDA violated federal law by keeping documents secret used in setting federal nutrition policies, and by hiding financial conflicts of interest among members of the diet advisory committee.

This doesn't sound like they have our best interests at heart.

[SilverPhoenyx]

The Ill Effects of Consumption

The numbers speak for themselves. The consumption of milk contributes to the ill health of both children and adults. Observe the ill effects of consumption in U.S. citizens annually:

Hypertension affects 50 million (This is the rough population of Texas, Pennsylvania, new Jersey, Washington, and Michigan combined.)

Osteoporosis - 20 million

Kidney Disease - 20 million

Ulcers - 33 million

Auto Immune Disorders - 50 million

Asthma - 17 million

Appendicitis - 250, 000

Alzheimer's Disease - 4 million

Breast Cancer - 184,000 with 44, 000 deaths

Ovarian Cancer - 23,000 with 13,900 deaths

Colon Cancer - 135,000 with 56,000 deaths

Endometriosis - 12 million

Osteoarthritis - 1 in every 4 people (25%!)

Consuming milk is also one of the leading causes in obesity, types I and II Diabetes, cataract development, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Milk causes chest infections, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin conditions in 73% of the population. The cholesterol in milk leads to gallstones. Cow's milk causes colic, that which affects one in every five babies. Canker sores, prostate cancer, intestinal bleeding... so many reasons not to drink milk. Indeed, dairy consumption is conditioned, reinforced, and culturally associated - with death and disease. Two-thirds of the world do not consume milk, and they are healthier than those who do. In fact, the four countries with the highest consumption of dairy are the United States, Finland, Sweden, and England. Those are also the four countries with the highest osteoporosis rated, morbidity and mortality rates among "genetic" diseases. Isn't it possible considering that heredity is only 5% responsible for degenerative diseases that it's not "family history" but "family eating habits" that are inherited?

[SilverPhoenyx]

In a Word

Leonardo DaVinci, Benjamin Franklin, William Shakespeare, Plato, Socrates, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Albert Schweitzer, and Vincent Van Gogh were all vegan. They lived long, healthy lives and contributed much to society. On the other hand, Adolph Hitler was not.

Think about it. The next time someone says "pass it on" - it would be better just to pass.



Bibliography

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(Due to the nature of the internet, some of the web sites may no longer be accurate.)

[LOL UR FACE]

I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject, but where can somebody find a source of calcium, taking calcium supplements out of the picture.

[SilverPhoenyx]

[Chu]

This was a very interesting piece. I have to admit, I stumbled over the jargon a few times but you presented your topic very well. :]

Haha, I have to admit though, I do love my cheese. But yogurt and such? Eh… not so much. And I’ve never followed the food pyramid – it’s always seemed ridiculous to me.