Wars It's not easy being white - and edible.
First white rice and white flour. Then white sugar.
Now milk.
They're gunning for it with their big, rude, black spraypaint cans. And it's not just brazen "milk sucks" lait-disturbers like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) or dissident vegan doctors like the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Mainstream medical scientists with no trace of a "vegan agenda" are humbling the sacred cow too.
On multiple medical fronts, evidence is mounting that milk may indeed suck at least as much as it does a body good. But the evidence is frought with uncertainties. If milk were a lady she could sue for slander.
It's not just about health.
The excremental environmental impact of over one million dairy cows in Canada alone and the haunting issue of animal suffering have elevated the squabble about dairy from mere food fight to impassioned moral struggle.
And as in war, the first casualty is truth. Advocacy propaganda masquerading as public health information has created parallel universes of irreconcilable "facts" about milk.
As a vegan ethically committed both to animal welfare and honest journalism, I set out to separate the curds of confoundment from the sweet whey of truth. Not an easy job. The evidence is vast and often very complex. Despite my best intentions, I'm sure to have stumbled here or there, hopefully only in minor matters. I welcome corrections and comments from readers.
I've benefitted from the generous input of a number of experts, particularly Stephen Walsh, Ph.D., Vice Chair of the Vegan Society in the U.K. and a scholar whose respect for truth has often led him to defend milk against unfounded accusations. In that spirit, I hope this evolving online report will serve as a trustworthy guide to the medical, environmental, and ethical issues that inform our decision whether or not to drink milk.
Finally, a disclaimer: Much of the content of this report is controversial. I've already been threatened by one would-be litigator. (Don't worry. He threatens everybody. I'm in good company.) I therefore want to make it clear that I bear sole responsibility for the contents of this report and am speaking on my behalf only, not for The Aquarian Online, plant-based, the Winnipeg Vegetarian Association, or anyone associated with them. The buck starts and stops here.
Continue with MILK: What is the Deal?
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