Dr. Michael Greger’s recent video entitled “Childhood Constipation & Cow’s Milk” did not tell me something I didn’t already know. However, it was nice to see the strong evidence linking cow’s milk/dairy consumption and constipation summarized as only Dr. Greger can do.
When I worked for the WIC Program back in the 1990’s, I saw this a lot. I would tell parents to bring in a prescription from their pediatrician for soymilk. That was the only way I could alter their child’s food package to include soymilk instead of cow’s milk. Why couldn’t I switch it on my own? Well, it’s because the dairy industry does not want it to be too easy for food programs to make the switch.
The dairy industry has had (and still has) a great deal of influence on US food programs which in addition to WIC, includes The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and others. Schools that participate in the NSLP must offer a serving of cow’s milk. Children can refuse it, but it must be offered. Schools will not be reimbursed for a non-dairy alternative unless the parent supplies a medical statement or a written request.
This is still the case even though the Harvard School of Public Health’s “Healthy Eating Plate” refutes the idea that dairy is a necessary part of the human diet. The Canadian Dietary Guidelines of 2019 seems to concur with Harvard’s conclusion.
Why does the dairy industry have so much influence? According to Marion Nestle, the Paullette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, “it’s as simple as “government collusion.” “Dairy farmers are in every state, and every state has two senators.”
The WIC Nutritionist’s Dilemma
After weaning from human milk, humans don’t need any milk whatsoever. Any WIC nutritionist can’t tell parents that. The only substitutions allowed in the WIC food package for cow’s milk is cheese or non-dairy milks. You can’t substitute fruits, veggies, whole grains or beans. So if you take milk and cheese away, parents feel like they are losing out. It’s quite a shame. As far as I know, the consumption of plant-based milks is not linked to the risk reduction of chronic diseases, but there is a tremendous amount of evidence that supports the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans to prevent chronic disease. Until the US Food Programs take a more (w)holistic view of nutrition, such silly substitution rules won’t change.
E Excerpt from Laurie Endicott Thomas’s amazing book Thin Diabetes – Fat Diabetes by clicking here!
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