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News & ArtsMonday, July 23, 2012
Chow The Importance of Social Engineering
Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 8:00 AM
On July 19, the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), filed a petition asking the USDA to remove milk as a required food from the national school lunch program. The PCRM petition argues that milk should not be included as part of a healthy school lunch for the following reasons...Why is milk not all that?
Also, there are other foods that are better for the bones than milk. When it comes to the American diet, it often seems we are stuck in the 1950s, a period plagued by bad social engineering.There’s limited proof that milk improves bone health or reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Dairy foods may create other health risks. Milk does not prevent bone fractures and injury in children and adults. Cows milk is the number one source of saturated fat in children’s diets.
2
I think this story is a pretty good argument against social engineering by centralized government bureaucracies. If, for the last 60 years the USDA has been mandating that school children be served something that isn't good for them, why should we trust these bozos to tell us what to do?
3
Funny how social engineering always looks like a huge mistake a few decades down the road.
But I am sure what we are doing now will still be well and good in fifty years, right?
But I am sure what we are doing now will still be well and good in fifty years, right?
4
The US govt pays billions in subsidies to big agriculture to overproduce, and schools are just a dumping ground for the surplus. Most countries limit the supply of licenses to support milk prices, but the US does the opposite. Appreciate the post Charles.
5
Good Morning Charles,
Interesting. When I resided and worked in Africa 20+ years ago, I noticed by & large that I couldn't obtain milk in liquid form (I could get powdered) unless I travelled to a larger city with a super market. I lived in an area that indeed, did raise cattle for beef and butter (I recall children churning it at the market) but not milk. They didn't have pastuerization/dairy facilities.
Upon subsequent research I discovered that we, humans/mammals don't need milk after infancy. And that in America, milk was being pushed at public & private primary schools courtesy of the American Dairy Association lobby ("milk is good for the bones"). I recall a "milkman" delivering fresh, chilled, bottled milk at my school every day. He was my uncle.
It is right to question whether this practice was necessary or even unhealthy. To be sure, diet is a hotly debated topic (the four food groups have been a most combustible subject in America for decades). But, I would hardly call it "bad social engineering". For a prime example of bad social engineering try this one on for size:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/world/…
The ADA is a relatively benign lobby. We were/are at least fed/nourished in America. Like a lot of humans, I don't take food for granted. Alas, alot of Americans do. Even milk.
Interesting. When I resided and worked in Africa 20+ years ago, I noticed by & large that I couldn't obtain milk in liquid form (I could get powdered) unless I travelled to a larger city with a super market. I lived in an area that indeed, did raise cattle for beef and butter (I recall children churning it at the market) but not milk. They didn't have pastuerization/dairy facilities.
Upon subsequent research I discovered that we, humans/mammals don't need milk after infancy. And that in America, milk was being pushed at public & private primary schools courtesy of the American Dairy Association lobby ("milk is good for the bones"). I recall a "milkman" delivering fresh, chilled, bottled milk at my school every day. He was my uncle.
It is right to question whether this practice was necessary or even unhealthy. To be sure, diet is a hotly debated topic (the four food groups have been a most combustible subject in America for decades). But, I would hardly call it "bad social engineering". For a prime example of bad social engineering try this one on for size:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/world/…
The ADA is a relatively benign lobby. We were/are at least fed/nourished in America. Like a lot of humans, I don't take food for granted. Alas, alot of Americans do. Even milk.
6
To me there's milk, the standard kind you buy in the supermarket, and organic milk.
I just bought my first quart of Smith Brother's yesterday and it's fantastic.
They home deliver (!) just like the milkmen of yore AND they are local in Kent.
http://www.smithbrothersfarms.com/
7
I went a couple of rounds with the “nutritionist” in my kid’s district last year. One issue was milk.
Nearly all of the kids are over six years old and do not need 8 oz of milk with food (that often contained cheese). I asked about foods they could provide that contained calcium. She said that kids won’t eat them, so they provide milk to be sure they get that calcium.
I pointed out to deaf ears that if kids are drinking 8 oz of milk at lunch, they’re less likely to eat the food provided.
The only thing that changed with the school lunch was that my daughter started planning and packing her own lunches.
Nearly all of the kids are over six years old and do not need 8 oz of milk with food (that often contained cheese). I asked about foods they could provide that contained calcium. She said that kids won’t eat them, so they provide milk to be sure they get that calcium.
I pointed out to deaf ears that if kids are drinking 8 oz of milk at lunch, they’re less likely to eat the food provided.
The only thing that changed with the school lunch was that my daughter started planning and packing her own lunches.
8
@ Allyn: Congrats on the healthy choice - with your daughter planning and packing her own lunch :)
10
(organic) milk is great, and i couldn't care less about the calcium/nutrient debate.
i see 8g of protein per cup, and for a lacto/ovo vegetarian, it's a great drink that helps build/repair muscle after exercise.
i see 8g of protein per cup, and for a lacto/ovo vegetarian, it's a great drink that helps build/repair muscle after exercise.
12
@1 Skim milk is water and sugar, stripped of any possible benefits (eg animal fat) of whole milk. Skim milk contains as much sugar as an equivalent volume of Coca Cola.
The problem is that the ADA slogan is wrong, as Charles point out: Milk does NO (adult) body any good. Asking "Got Milk?" is like asking "Got poison?"
(Above comments do not apply to cheese.)
The problem is that the ADA slogan is wrong, as Charles point out: Milk does NO (adult) body any good. Asking "Got Milk?" is like asking "Got poison?"
(Above comments do not apply to cheese.)
13
There's milk, and then there's milk. Organic is not necessarily all that. What counts is that the milk comes from pastured cows (i.e., they eat grass, not grain — some organic milk is almost exclusively from grain-fed animals). Children need saturated fat in their diets, but fat that is high in omega 3's, which whole milk from pastured cows is. The predilection to drink only skim milk and eat low-fat foods is arguably one of the prime instigators of our obesity crisis.
14
@12,
From looking at a few dairy and FDA sites, it looks like 8 oz. of skim milk contain 11 grams of sugar. From Coca-Cola's website, 8 oz. of Coca-Cola contain 27 grams of sugar. Not really equivalent.
Besides, I think the sugar in skim milk is naturally occuring from the cow, not added in afterwards like in soda. So you might as well say that eating fruit is like eating poison too, since it also contains sugar.
Asking "Got Milk?" is like asking "Got poison?"Um, milk is not the same thing as cyanide. Your statement is rather hyperbolic.
From looking at a few dairy and FDA sites, it looks like 8 oz. of skim milk contain 11 grams of sugar. From Coca-Cola's website, 8 oz. of Coca-Cola contain 27 grams of sugar. Not really equivalent.
Besides, I think the sugar in skim milk is naturally occuring from the cow, not added in afterwards like in soda. So you might as well say that eating fruit is like eating poison too, since it also contains sugar.
15
I love it. This article complains about milk being served to children as social engineering and then, in the same breath, cites saturated fat as being bad for you, a social engineering lie promoted by the likes of Con Agra.
17
Don't forget the shocking ecological consequences of the oceans of cow shit and piss that our subsidized dairy industry is dumping into our waterways and groundwater.
Dairy cows also require a culling process that might shock your eight-year-old: almost all male calves, and "spent" milkers over a certain age, have to be killed. They're different breeds than meat cattle, so very little of it is used for that.
BTW, organic milk is probably worse for you than regular milk. It's almost always processed with UHT (ultra high temperatures), which has been linked to damaged whey proteins and hormones that have been linked to Parkinson's and cancer. Organic cows, contrary to popular belief, are not pastured and are raised in the same industrial barn pens as regular dairy cows.
Dairy cows also require a culling process that might shock your eight-year-old: almost all male calves, and "spent" milkers over a certain age, have to be killed. They're different breeds than meat cattle, so very little of it is used for that.
BTW, organic milk is probably worse for you than regular milk. It's almost always processed with UHT (ultra high temperatures), which has been linked to damaged whey proteins and hormones that have been linked to Parkinson's and cancer. Organic cows, contrary to popular belief, are not pastured and are raised in the same industrial barn pens as regular dairy cows.
18
@16,
Saturated fats good for you?
That's a pretty bold statement. I can't find any credible evidence to back that claim up. At best, all I can find are some studies suggesting it's not bad for you... but that's not the same as being good, and even those studies seem iffy too. Do you have any links to research?
Saturated fats good for you?
That's a pretty bold statement. I can't find any credible evidence to back that claim up. At best, all I can find are some studies suggesting it's not bad for you... but that's not the same as being good, and even those studies seem iffy too. Do you have any links to research?
19
The doctors at PCRM also happen to promote veganism. Talk about social engineering. And speaking of social engineering,sewage treatment is social engineering. Vaccination is social engineering.So are hospitals and health insurance and public transit. What about Socialism? . Social engineering. Or any other 'ism" for that matter?
20
Milk is not an important food. If consumed, it should be pastured and whole. It is then calorie dense, but not super nutrient dense, meaning that it isn't really the best food for kids.
Kids should learn to drink water when they are thirsty. They will not die of dehydration in the presence of clean water. Nobody will.
Kids should learn to drink water when they are thirsty. They will not die of dehydration in the presence of clean water. Nobody will.
21
@18
It's about ratios. Pastured animals have a reasonable ratio of omega-3 vs other fats in their tissues and fluids. Grain-fed animals don't, and shouldn't be eaten. Saturated fat is not a health food, based on current research (which the paleo crowd likes to ignore), but when balanced with the omega-3s, a sane quantity seems to be fine.
It's about ratios. Pastured animals have a reasonable ratio of omega-3 vs other fats in their tissues and fluids. Grain-fed animals don't, and shouldn't be eaten. Saturated fat is not a health food, based on current research (which the paleo crowd likes to ignore), but when balanced with the omega-3s, a sane quantity seems to be fine.
22
PCRM kinda looks like a front organization for PETA. Not the most trustworthy source of nutritional information. Also, the idea that milk is to blame for the rise in childhood obesity is laughable.
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