Some here on P/CP have made and continue to make the argument that we need government to ensure safe and healthy food, safe markets, protect us from big corporations, etc. Consider dairy subsidies and Federal school milk programs: We found that consuming 35 grams of dairy protein each day, the equivalent of one cup of low-fat mozzarella, increases the risk of prostate cancer by 32 percent. Drinking just two glasses of milk each day increases the risk by 60 percent. The dairy-cancer connection isn’t new. Harvard researchers found that men who drink two or more glasses of milk daily are almost twice as likely to develop advanced or spreading prostate cancer as those who don’t drink milk. Another study published earlier this year found that diets high in meat and dairy products were linked to a fourfold increase in risk of death from cancer — which means eating a lot of animal-based foods can be just as dangerous as smoking. A study of more than 90,000 women found that those whose diets were high in animal fat had a 40 to 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared with women who ate the least animal fat. Despite the more-than-likely risk, the U.S. Department of Agriculture openly admits that “the Federal Government encourages dairy consumption.” Since the mid-1990s, the dairy industry has received more than billion in federal subsidies and has earned billions more through the National School Lunch Program. The USDA also manages a dairy “checkoff” program to promote everything from McDonald’s burgers to Domino’s pizza. The program helped McDonald’s sell 6 million extra pounds of cheese in 2009 alone and brought Domino’s pizza to more than 2,000 schools in 2011. It continues to market other unhealthful dairy products, including sweetened milk and yogurt, to children through school breakfast and lunch. Not only are they quite obviously corporate welfare schemes, these programs are in direct conflict with the USDA’s own Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Meant to help Americans “maintain a healthy weight, promote health, and prevent disease,” the guidelines urge consumers to limit their intake of saturated fat, sodium and sugar. thehill/opinion/op-ed/210445-got-milk-why
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 18:29:17 +0000
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