Healthy Choices for Children

1. Dairy choices for children, Milk Choices for Children, Healthy Choices for ChildrenDairy choices for children, Milk Choices for Children, Healthy Choices for Children

2. National School Lunch Program The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It is meant to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. Currently schools are required to serve cow�s milk in order to take part in the NSLP (all caps) and reimbursement for alternatives to cow�s milk are not provided.

4. Examples of plant-based milks include soymilk, rice milk and almond milk. Soymilk is the most popular in the United States. Like cow�s milk, most commercial soymilks today are fortified with vitamin D and calcium as well as other vitamins and minerals to increase their nutritional value. Added �and calcium�Added �and calcium�

5. Lactose Intolerance Among Minority Students Between 4.8 to 8.5 million school children are lactose intolerant. For these children, dairy products can cause severe gastrointestinal distress and discomfort. Lactose intolerance is especially common among minorities, affecting up to 80% of African Americans, 90 to 100% of Asian Americans, and 45 to 100% of Latinos. In addition to having substantially higher rates of lactose intolerance, African American and Latino students are disproportionately more likely to rely on free lunches provided through the National School Lunch Program. Whether due to lactose intolerance, allergy or other reasons, many children will not drink cow�s milk, even in the absence of alternatives; rather, they will simply miss out on key nutrients that School Nutrition Programs are designed and obligated to provide. What about adding a line or title page about the Need and Demand for Non-Dairy Alternatives? Casey can also provide you with an update on lactose intolerance of Jewish people. What about adding a line or title page about the Need and Demand for Non-Dairy Alternatives? Casey can also provide you with an update on lactose intolerance of Jewish people.

6. Non-dairy Alternatives Provide Students with Key Nutrients Both fortified soymilk and fortified cow�s milk provide equivalent amounts of calcium, as well as vitamins A and D. Unlike cow�s milk however, soymilk is cholesterol free, and contains little or no saturated fat. Fortified soymilks provide at least 276mg of calcium as required by the School Nutrition Program proposed minimum nutrient standard, and most soymilks contain more.

7. Research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association demonstrated that a soymilk alternative to cow�s milk was well accepted by students and the student body�s overall calcium intake increased. Prior to the study, 79% of students chose a calcium rich beverage with lunch. After soymilk was introduced, this figure rose to 83% as some children switched from cow�s milk to soymilk and others who previously drank no milk at all began choosing soymilk. A survey conducted by the School Nutrition Association found that 10% of school districts already have schools offering soymilk as an a la carte item. Unfortunately, that means it is only available to students who can afford to buy it separately.

9. Human Health A growing body of independent peer-reviewed research shows not only that dairy�s health benefits have been overstated but that dairy consumption may significantly increase risk for several major diseases

10. Osteoporosis The Harvard Nurses� Health Study, with over 120,000 subjects, found that consumption of milk does not protect against hip or forearm fractures. In fact, those who drank 3 or more glasses a day actually had a slightly higher rate of fracture than women who drank little or no milk.

11. Heart Disease and Cancer Heart Disease: Many dairy products are high in saturated fat, a known risk factor for America�s leading cause of death: heart disease. Cancer: dairy consumption is known to substantially increase risk for breast, colon and prostate cancer. A 2001 review of available studies by researchers at Harvard University found that dairy intake �is one of the most consistent dietary predictors for prostate cancer in the published literature.�

12. Environmental Impacts of Dairy Globally, dairy farming contributes substantially to the accumulation of greenhouse gases. North American dairy herds annually contribute more than 1.7 million tons of methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO2. Almost 12 million tons of CO2 are produced in the US every year just to manufacture the nitrogen fertilizer used to feed cows. Can you check to make sure that the font is consistent? Can you check to make sure that the font is consistent?

13. Environmental Impacts of Dairy A substantial portion of this nitrogen runs off into lakes and rivers, throwing ecosystems dangerously out of balance. Increasingly industrialized dairy production is wreaking havoc on rural communities as they pollute the air with toxic gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide and contaminate water supplies with nitrates and dangerous bacteria.

14. Impact of Dairy on Cows Subject to repeated cycles of impregnation, birth, and lactation, dairy cows are quickly worn out by the demands of dairy production. While they have the potential to live 15-20 years, most dairy cows are culled�i.e. sent to slaughter�at 5 or 6 years of age. To produce milk, a cow must give birth, and while nature would see her nurse and nurture her calf with that milk, newborn calves are taken from their mothers almost immediately after birth so that the milk can be used for human consumption.

15. Newborn male calves are usually sold to veal farms where their entire four to five month lifespan is often spent tethered in a narrow crate designed to restrict almost all movement before they are slaughtered at 20 weeks old. Female calves are raised to replace milk cows.

16. For every problem� The NSLP �milk mandate� arbitrarily dooms children who cannot or will not drink milk to substandard nutrition. Dairy marketing has misled the public to believe that milk is a �perfect food.� In fact, it may be a risk factor for some serious diseases, including cancer. More and more milk today is coming from factory farms that pollute our environment and contribute to global warming. Cow�s are not milk machines, but that�s how they are treated. The endless cycle of pregnancy, birth and lactation sends these poor creatures to an early slaughter, often suffering from lameness, mastitis and other production diseases.

17. There is a solution! Educate Yourself about alternatives to cow�s milk Build support for these alternatives in your community Contact your PTAs and school boards asking for dairy alternatives Take action nationally - Write to your members of congress and urge them to broaden the NSLP�to include plant-based milks For more information, visit www.farmsanctuary.org to see steps on making changes in your community.

18. References http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2006/NC-EST2006-02.xls http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/135/10/2379 http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/soy_health.html http://www.midwestadvocates.org/archive/mapleleaf/index.html http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/cesspools/cesspools.pdf http://www.pcrm.org/health/info_on_veg_diets/dairy.html