Sun Sentinel

Letter was hard to swallow

Bill Croushore

6:47 PM EST, February 6, 2012


I should apologize in advance for the tone of this article. I should, but I won't. I would just ask that you don't mistake my passion for petty anger.

Last week I came across a skillfully worded editorial in this paper ("Lunch Guidelines," Jan. 28) from a lobbying group in Washington, D.C., called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The author, Ms. Susan Levin, attempted to make the claim that the new federal school lunch guidelines are flawed because a vegan diet (a diet free of all meat and dairy) was not recommended.

Ms. Levin claims that "meat, milk and cheese are packed with calories and saturated fat, and they play a huge role in the obesity epidemic." 

They play a huge role in the obesity epidemic? How does she expect us to take anything she says seriously after that statement? I'm sorry, but the last hundred or so times I saw an obese child eating or drinking something, it wasn't meat or milk. It was junk food and soda pop.

Of course, as a non-vegetarian veterinarian who makes a living working with food animals, I readily admit that I have a dog in this hunt. That dog, however, doesn't change the fact that dairy foods and meat as part of a balanced diet are essential sources of protein, vitamins and minerals.

But if you don't believe me, maybe you would believe the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Milk, cheese and yogurt are naturally nutrient-rich foods providing a significant amount of dietary requirements for calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, vitamins A, B and D as well as protein which are essential for growth and development" (AAP News, June 2007).

Nutritionists are even taking a fresh look at red meat, albeit lean red meat, as part of a heart healthy diet. No, that wasn't a typo — I used "red meat" and "heart healthy" in the same sentence. In a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers concluded, "The results of the BOLD study provide convincing evidence that lean beef can be included in a heart healthy diet that meets current dietary recommendations and reduces cardiovascular disease risk" (Roussell, et al).

You would think that Ms. Levin, being a registered dietitian, would be aware of this.

For the life of me, I can't find anything on the committee's website that rails against the evils of soda pop, fried potato chips or candy. Surely they aren't under the illusion that these foods aren't contributors to obesity? I guess they're acceptable since, technically, they can be eaten by a vegan.

The purveyors of junk science such as PCRM and other animal rights organizations have a long history of ignoring evidence while pushing their agenda. I guess we should expect nothing different. In a recent blog post, PCRM's president, Dr. Neal Barnard, equates their anti-dairy campaign to the use of shocking images of tobacco-damaged lungs by cancer organizations. That's nice. I get the impression that he equates dairy farmers to tobacco company executives.

Ms. Levin, this paper you sent your letter to is in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. We work hard, we play hard and we enjoy our meat and dairy products.  If God didn't want us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?   

(References: Roussell, M.A., et al. Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet study: effects on lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2012, pp. 9-16.)