Dairy Week

[Wanda]

We just received a note in my daughter's schoolbag about 'Dairy Week'.

"From: The Shorewood Nutritional Advisory Committee (SNAC)
Dairy Week

... SNAC will be sponsoring a week of activities -- an essay contest, art projects and games ... promoting the nutritional benefits of dairy products. It is the first of a series of events planned by SNAC ... to find ways to improve the school nutrition environment. The group's goal: to help raise student and parent awareness of, and interest in, healthy eating.

Consider, for example, the need for calcium in our diets. ... The problem can be traced in large part, to the fact that children today drink twice as much soda as milk. ....

...Those on a low fat diet can take comfort in the fact that skim milk contains no fat. Those who are lactose intolerant often find that cream cheese, cottage cheese and ice cream (in that order) can be more easily tolerated than other dairy products."

Did I mention we live in Dairyland Wisconsin?

We are trying to think of things we can do. Any good ideas are welcome!

[kristadb]

When I was in elementary school, I didn't participate in the evolution colouring contest. /shrug

Perhaps your kids can draw pictures of soy milk containers? :D

[FalafelsRule]

Or perhaps they can write an essay on the eons of plant sources which have an abundance of calcium. They of course can also point out all of the numerous negative effects of drinking cow's milk and eating cow's milk products.

[Wanda]

My daughter is only 5. Her class is probably going to stick to the art projects.
But she is insanely smart. Who knows, maybe she could write an essay...

I do want to do something. At least put on an anti-dairy t-shirt myself maybe.
The teacher told my husband (he brought her to school this morning) that she was scared putting the leaflet in my daughter's schoolbag. She knows how we feel!

[Bobsy]

Perhaps, then, a younger version of Falafel's suggestion? She could talk about her love for cows. She drank mommy's milk when she was a baby, but now she's grown up she doesn't need it anymore. Draw the comparison with calves drinking the milk from their mommy. Draw pictures of the calf drinking his mother's milk.

She could do a project about where she gets her calcium from (drawing pictures), and how that gives her strong bones.

I guess this would be fun for your daughter if she is smart and if she enjoys and agrees with her being vegan. Kind of a challenge :) Work with her interests. If she cares about animals - go with that. If she cares about being healthy - run with that!

I'd be interested to hear how you handle this, Wanda :) Good luck!

[Dirty Hippie]

Oh my Goodness...my kids are 2 and 4 and I dread having to deal with this stuff in the future. It's been anough of a problem with my son being in preschool...we are the "wierd" parents...hahaha...I went from the "wierd girl" to the "wierd Mom"....oh well...stick to your guns though, I'd be sending my kids in with all kinds of literature on what dairy does to your insides, from coating your intestines so badly that you can't even absorb calcium, to all the info on ear infections, sinus problems etc.

Funny thing...I spoke to the director of my sons' preschool about this dairy thing...yet, the first week of school he came home and told me he ate goldfish crackers for snack...good thing he doesn't have a lifethreatening allergy! I had to explain to the school that cheese in a cracker still constitutes "dairy" haha.

I guess these are things we'll all have to deal with as vegan parents!

Good luck!

Enjoy the spring sunshine!

Hipps

[tearhsong2]

I remember this a few times when I was in school. They would bring all kinds of dairy foods for us to sample...yogurt, cheese, milk, etc. and we got a huge lecture on how healthy it was for us. I really like Bobsy's and Krista's ideas and FR's would work if they were older.

[punkmommy]

Ugh, this is one of the reasons we're homeschooling our son. There's too much outside influence in public schools :(

[Loki]

But guys, do you not realise: Dairy is the only source of calcium. Eat it or you'll die!!!

Oh, and forget about, brocolli, kale, tahini, sesame seeds, chickpeas, and any of that rubbish. No calcium there! Honest!

[Wanda]

My husband sent the following letter to the person in charge:

'Hello,

As a vegan with a vegan daughter in school, I am offended
by your promotion of dairy week and the alleged benefits of
dairy products. Just like I believe in the separation of church
and state, I would like to think of the school system as a place
where my daughter can be free from the Dairy Lobby's propaganda.
It's one thing to voice your opinion (which I believe is flawed),
but I find it over the top to go so far as to have "an essay contest,
art projects and games" - which could even be construed as a
form of discrimination to those who are lactose intolerant, despite
your passing mention of lactose-reduced dairy foods (which
still contain BGH and possibly salmonella).

If you consider yourself an open-minded person in an open-minded
school system, then I challenge you to give me the forum to present
my alternative point of view (which includes touting the benefits of
calcium-enriched orange juice as well as fortified soy and rice milks,
all free from BGH, lactose and salmonella).

Excuse the acerbic tone of this email. It's 2 a.m. and I'm a bit
tired and irritable. I appreciate your efforts to raise nutritional
awareness, as misguided as I believe that they are."

[kristadb]

Good email. Should have left off that last paragraph, but good all the same.

For the record, I don't see anything wrong with dairy, nutritionally. If there was a choice between the kids drinking milk and drinking Kool Aid, they'd be drinking that milk baby. But, I do believe in supplementing your diet with many different sources of vitamins and minerals. Instead of just dairy, there is a slew of other sources of calicum. I do believe both groups are right - the vegans and the dairy drinkers.

[Dr. Schmeebis]

Good email. Should have left off that last paragraph, but good all the same.

For the record, I don't see anything wrong with dairy, nutritionally. If there was a choice between the kids drinking milk and drinking Kool Aid, they'd be drinking that milk baby. But, I do believe in supplementing your diet with many different sources of vitamins and minerals. Instead of just dairy, there is a slew of other sources of calicum. I do believe both groups are right - the vegans and the dairy drinkers.

That's like saying "if it's between battery acid and steak, of course I would feed kids steak." Contrasting Thing A against Thing B, in which B is obviously worse than A, doesn't mean that A is intrinsically good and/or beneficial.

I would think a nurtionally informed vegan parent would avoid milk AND Kool-Aid. It's a fallacy of logic to assume if someone doesn't drink milk, they drink soda or sugar water instead (and a fallacy perpetuated by the Dairly Lobby).

[kristadb]

I believe that is nutritional value in milk. And I am nutritionally informed.

[Dr. Schmeebis]

I believe that is nutritional value in milk. And I am nutritionally informed.

I believe there is, too. But I believe it's full of hormones meant for baby cows, and not humans. Can you tell me that you would inject your child with minute amounts of bat or iguana hormones, mixed with calcium and protein, just because there is calcium and protein?

If the answer to the above question is "no," can you tell me objectively why nutritional value is a reason to feed people something with strong negatives?

[Wanda]

Good email. Should have left off that last paragraph, but good all the same.
That's what I told him too.
But he is really good at writing letters! I wish I had the same talent.

[Dr. Schmeebis]

I believe that is nutritional value in milk. And I am nutritionally informed.

Also, sorry for the double-post, but you didn't let me know whether you saw the logical fallacy in the statement about cow's milk and Kool Aid. Do you see the inconsistancy there now?

[kristadb]

I was using it as an example. Battery acid isn't a food item. I consider dairy a food item.

[Dr. Schmeebis]

I was using it as an example. Battery acid isn't a food item. I consider dairy a food item.

So, then, you acknowledge that cow's milk is just another option. An absence of cow's milk in the diet does not preclude other healthy drinks in a diet. Sorry, I get a little peeved when people think that the world is made up solely of milk and soda. So, we are on the same page, then?

[kristadb]

Yes.

I used Kool-Aid b/c so many people here go on and on about how milk has no nutritional value, which I do not agree. To them, they would rather a child drink anything other then milk, including the Kool-Aid. However, I wouldn't.

My bf's kids drink dairy AND soy milk.

[Dr. Schmeebis]

Yes.

I used Kool-Aid b/c so many people here go on and on about how milk has no nutritional value, which I do not agree. To them, they would rather a child drink anything other then milk, including the Kool-Aid. However, I wouldn't.

My bf's kids drink dairy AND soy milk.

See, I think this speaks to the logical fallacy again. Have any of these individuals told you they would rather have their kids drink Kool-Aid? Or are you just assuming that if they don't allow their kids to drink milk, they are irresponsible, and would let them drink *anything*?

In my mind, it is a health-conscious and informed parent that doesn't let their kids drink milk. If anything, I would expect them to be even more vigilant about children's health issues, and would only allow their children healthy drinks.

For instance, I grew up in a home that provided cow's milk (2% or whole) and always had pop and Kool-Aid. That doesn't fit your black/white world view of child nutrition, does it? If anything, I would think that someone who is informed enough to know that milk is an unhealthy drink would also be informed enough to only provide the best drink options for their kids.

So, I think we may unfortunately be back at square one. But maybe this post cleared some of my previous points up enough? Let me know..

Schmeebis

[kpickell]

Not getting into the milk/kool aid arguement.... Just stopping by to say that you have a cool husband Wanda. Let us know what you hear back!

[Kiz]

I believe that is nutritional value in milk. And I am nutritionally informed.

Of course there is. For calves. Cow milk is really not suitable for human children, for a huge variety of reasons.

[Kiz]

Oh... and I grew up without cow's milk OR Kool-Aid (or it's Aussie equivalent). I seemed to do OK.

[Dr. Schmeebis]

If we're going to subscribe to the whole "suckle another species, even though we are adults of a different species" thing, we should probably use donkey or pig milk. They are closer in composition to human milk, for all your "OMG I'm not an infant yet I still drink baby food" needs! :D

[Kiz]

I don't think it's so much that milk doesn't have nutritional value as that the cons of drinking cow milk outweigh the pros.