Letter to the Better Business Bureau

August 28, 1998

Better Business Bureau

2100 Forest Ave. Suite 110

San Jose, CA 95128-1422

(408) 278-7400

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Jock Doubleday, and I am president of the newly formed California nonprofit public benefit corporation, Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.

On behalf of the corporation, I would like to lodge a formal complaint against the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board, a subsidiary of the International Dairy Foods Association.

In recent print advertisements, the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board makes false claims about the ability of milk to combat osteoporosis.

In their "Where's Your Mustache?" campaign, at least two magazine print advertisements make false claims:

1. Vanessa Williams sits next to a glass of milk. The copy reads:

"Beauty is not only skin deep. That's why I drink ice cold milk with my meals. It has calcium to help prevent osteoporosis. And when I'm not doing movies, albums or theater, I make time for my biggest fans: X-ray technicians." (Vanity Fair, September 1998)

2. Yasmine Bleeth holds a glass of milk. The copy reads:

"When I'm not giving mouth-to-mouth or consoling a fellow lifeguard with sun-damaged hair, I worry about real-life things like getting osteoporosis when I'm older. You know, men and women are both at risk when they don't get enough calcium. That's why I drink lots of milk now. 1%. And depending on how much I drink, I wait a half hour before saving a life."

There is no non-National Dairy Council-sponsored study that shows that the calcium in cow's milk is assimilable by human bones.

In 1984, the British Medical Journal published a report indicating that calcium intake is completely irrelevant to bone loss (Nilas, L. "Calcium Supplementation and Postmenopausal Bone Loss," British Medical Journal, 289:1103, 1984).

John Robbins writes in Diet For A New America, 1987:

"Remarkably, even those studies funded by the National Dairy Council for the express purpose of showing the benefits of milk for women susceptible to osteoporosis have, in fact, ended up showing something quite different. In one Dairy Council-sponsored study, women who drank an extra three eight-ounce glasses of low fat milk every day for a year showed no significant increase in calcium balance. . . . The additional protein load from the milk tended to wash calcium and other minerals out of the subjects' bodies, and thus throw them into negative calcium balance" (198).

Throughout the world, the incidence of osteoporosis correlates directly with, not calcium intake, but protein intake. In any given population, the greater the intake of protein, the more common and severe the osteoporosis. World health statistics show that osteoporosis is most common in exactly those countries where dairy products are consumed in the largest quantities: the United States, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Nathan Pritikin writes in Vegetarian Times:

"African Bantu women take in only 350 mg. of calcium per day. They bear nine children during their lifetime and breast feed them for two years. They never have calcium deficiency, seldom break a bone, rarely lose a tooth. . . . How do they do that on 350 mg. of calcium a day when the (National Dairy Council) recommendation is 1200 mg.? It's very simple. They're on a low-protein diet that doesn't kick the calcium out of the body . . . In our country, those who can afford it are eating 20% of their total calories in protein, which guarantees negative mineral balance, not only of calcium, but of magnesium, zinc, and iron" (Vegetarian Times, 43:22).

Robbins continues:

"At the other end of the scale from the Bantus are the native Eskimos. If osteoporosis were a calcium deficiency disease it would be unheard of among these people. They have the highest dietary calcium intake of any people in the world--more than 2,000 mg. a day from fish bones. On the other hand, if osteoporosis is caused by excess protein in the diet, they would suffer greatly from the disease, because their diet is also the very highest in the world in protein--250 to 400 grams a day from fish, walrus, and whale. As it happens, unfortunately, the native Eskimo people have one of the very highest rates of osteoporosis in the world" (194). (See Mazess, R., "Bone Mineral Content of North Alaskan Eskimos," Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 27:916, 1974.)

Robbins concludes:

"Studies comparing the bone densities of people with different diet styles show a pattern completely opposed to the dairy industry's declarations. The research invariably reveals greater bone resorption and development of osteoporosis with a greater intake of meat and dairy products, not the other way around" (194).

Robbins sums up:

"In spite of its high calcium content, milk, due to its high protein content, appears actually to contribute to the accelerating development of osteoporosis. The occurrence of this disease in the United States has reached truly epidemic proportions, and the promotion of dairy products as an "answer" to the suffering of millions seems, not only self-serving, but absolutely immoral and downright dishonest" (200).

The following quoted text is a National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board press release from http://www.napsnet.com/food/38662.html.

"Sports Illustrated And Milk Mustache Campaign Search For Top Scholar Athlete

"(NAPSI)-Recognizing the importance of high school academics, athletics and good nutrition, the Milk Mustache campaign (MilkPEP) has created the 1998 Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year Awards, announced in the December 22 issue of Sports Illustrated. Through the end of March, MilkPEP will accept nominations for the top high school student athletes based on their academic achievements, student leadership and sportsmanship on the playing field. Winners will receive a $7,500 scholarship and appear in a special milk mustache ad in Sports Illustrated.

"'We want to recognize the nation's outstanding high school athletes for their prowess on the playing field, excellence in academics and commitment to nutrition as part of their healthy lifestyle,' said Kurt Graetzer, executive director of the National Fluid Milk Processors Education Board. 'And with seven out of 10 teenagers not getting enough calcium in their daily diet, it's important that we educate them on the importance of calcium for strong bones. Through the popularity of the Milk Mustache campaign and Sports Illustrated magazine, we hope to highlight the fact that milk and milk products are the best way for teens to get the calcium they need.'

". . . For more information on the Milk Mustache Scholar Athlete Award or the special offer for free sporting goods, call 1-800-WHY-MILK or visit the Web site at http://www.whymilk.com."

The following quoted text is taken from http://idfa.org/news/releases/pepboard.htm:

"International Dairy Foods Association

"NEWS RELEASE

"For Immediate Release

"Contact: Susan Ruland or Kurt Graetzer 202-737-4332

"National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board Elects New Officers

"(Washington, DC--July 25, 1997) At its recent quarterly meeting, the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board elected a new slate of officers for one-year terms. The board directs the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), an education-based program of advertising and promotion to increase the demand for fluid milk products. The program is best known for its "milk mustache" print ad campaign.

". . . MilkPEP is the acronym for the Milk Processors Education Program, a program developed under the guidance of the 20-member National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board and funded by the nation's fluid milk processors. This multi-faceted education program, also known as 'Milk, Where's Your Mustache?' was initiated to change attitudes and correct misconceptions about milk."

I think the only misconception about pasteurized, homogenized cow's milk is that it is good for human beings.

Please contact me as soon as possible regarding the false advertising claims of the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board.

Thank you for your time.

Yours faithfully,

Jock Doubleday

Director

Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.

http://www.GentleBirth.org/nwnm.org

http://www.SpontaneousCreation.org

director@spontaneouscreation.org