Need help finding rebuttal info for pro-dairy article

[qfmother]

Hello - I realize this forum is not a place to debate the consumption of animal products, and I hope not to offend anyone by posting this question. If anyone knows of a good forum that would help me with this issue and others like this, I would love it if you would point me in that direction. But this is the only forum I know about and there are so many helpful people here, so I just had to ask.

My mother-in-law sent me this article: http://dailyhealthtips.vitacost.com/dm?id=09C0F9AC437537FA5AD34B2A54B69005

It seems fishy to me, especially with my recently reading "The China Study" which is extremely compelling and has made me re-evaluate everything I've believed for my entire life about diet. But I'm just not sure how to break down the "facts" and opinions in this article to be able to give a good answer.

Again, I'm sorry for posting this here, and if anyone could help me find some really good sites/forums to learn about these issues, I would be most grateful.

[klomasius]

Hi qfmother,

the veg society I do volunteer work for has some good free info sheets you can read and print out from here.

Milk, why it's not good for us or the cows:

http://www.vnv.org.au/site/files/infosheets/8whymilknotgoodforusorcows.pdf

Calcium in plant based diets:

http://www.vnv.org.au/site/files/infosheets/7calciuminplantbaseddiets.pdf

and a Veggo and Vegan FAQ sheet that also has some answers to common milk questions:

http://www.vnv.org.au/site/files/infosheets/2veggoveganfaqs.pdf

hope this helps!

[Veganelle]

This is a rather low-tech website, but it has a lot of articles and information:

http://www.notmilk.com/

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

You will always be able to find research that supports either side, and there will always be reasonable arguments for both. Simply because it's not all black and white.
If you present all the good things about dairy and ignore the bad stuff it will come out as a superfood, if you do the opposite you will never want to put it in your mouth again.
I always try to question what I read, even when it supports my beliefs. Because frankly, a lot of the information is biased and some is even flat out wrong. And if I use questionable arguments in a discussion I will have a hard time explaining myself and I'll probably end up looking like a fool sooner or later.
That's why I don't recommend movies like "Eating", because even though they might scare people off meat and dairy, it didn't didn't convince me enough.
But as for my own lifestyle, I tend to go with what my instinct tell me. That's why I don't use dairy. It has very little to do with scientific research.

I do however believe that a small amount of raw milk in the diet can benefit to health. But commercial dairy products will certainly have the opposite effect, there's simply no question about it.

[Seedy]

Here are two articles from the vegsource website:
Big White Lies:
http://www.vegsource.com/articles/kradjian_milk.htm
Ten Reasons to Not Drink Milk:
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/goldhammer_milk.htm
Seedy

[Revvell]

http://NotMilk.com

[Aleesha Sattva]

I'm glad you are taking the time to educate yourself and this is certainly the place to ask. So many people here have already taken the time and can assist you with this. As I see... many already have.

I focus more on "how does my body feel" - after consuming dairy my nose fills with mucus... the top of my mouth feels slimy... --- and when it comes out the other end... I find lots of mucus in my urine and around my feces... this alone tells me it's a NO food for my body.

[Ilse W.]

People who think milk is healthy should be drinking human breast milk, not the milk from a non-human animal. I can't find anybody rushing out to find a source for mother's milk, though :p

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'll have some available early next year LOL - but i don't think i'll be sharing it with any of you *giggles and runs from the room*

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

People who think milk is healthy should be drinking human breast milk, not the milk from a non-human animal.

I do understand your reasoning. But what says that something intended for one purpose can't be used for other things?
I mean, nuts are healthy for us, yet their purpose is not to be human food, it's the trees offspring set out to grow into new trees. In that sense, nut eaters are nothing but baby killers. :eek:

Like I said, I don't use dairy myself because it doesn't resonate with me. But I fail to see why it can't be healthy just because it's not intended for us in the first place.

[Aleesha Sattva]

that isn't WHY it's unhealthy...

but it does make a lot of sense... cow's milk is designed to grow calfs into cows - not human babies into adults.

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

but it does make a lot of sense... cow's milk is designed to grow calfs into cows - not human babies into adults.

Yes, and the nutrients in a seed are provided to feed the new plant, not to feed a human. We are much further from a plant than we are from a cow. That argument just doesn't make sense.

[qfmother]

Thank you so much for all of the great links! I will definitely be checking them out in the near future. I am still learning so much about this issue and I can't say I'm totally convinced one way or the other. But it's really hard when my family members who are huge meat eaters and milk drinkers send me stuff like this, simply because I've expressed my own doubts about it and wondered whether the raw goat's milk we drink is really good for us and worth all of our trouble to obtain it every day.

Thanks again!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Yes, and the nutrients in a seed are provided to feed the new plant, not to feed a human. We are much further from a plant than we are from a cow. That argument just doesn't make sense.

then ignore it.

simple really.

you find YOUR truth and i'll live mine. ;)

qf, i suggest you do the same. your family can't find it for you... you have to. (((hugs)))

[Factoid]

http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/campaigns/whitelies/wlreport01.shtml

- The White Lies Report has been accepted by mainstream authorities as presenting good treatment of dairy. Report written by biochemist Dr Justine Butler

[Aleesha Sattva]

good point factoid. (from your link)... a sunflower seed won't cause all the dis-eases that milk causes