The Los Angeles Times reported on August 15 that milk is generally considered a healthy food, but Karen Dawn, a special correspondent for the animal protection channel of Blackwell Publishing (the world's fourth-largest publisher), has presented a different argument. After synthesizing numerous studies on milk, Dawn points out that milk is not an ideal health drink because it poses health hazards to humans in at least seven ways. I. Harm to Infant Health
The latest American "Baby Care Guide" states that cows produce milk to nourish calves, not human infants. Dr. Benjamin Spock, the author of the guide and a renowned American pediatrician, points out in the book that milk has an excessively high content of saturated fat. This type of fat, which is not easily absorbed by humans, can easily lead to arterial blockages and blood clots. For young children, the most direct symptoms are damage to the auditory and respiratory systems, and it can also cause infants to suffer from frequent urination and diabetes. Dr. Spock believes that infants should consume breast milk or nutrient-rich foods such as soy milk and rice cereal paste. II. Childhood Obesity
Although dairy companies spend tens of millions of dollars touting the weight-loss benefits of milk and tirelessly推出各种低脂牛奶 (introducing various types of low-fat milk), a June issue of the American "Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine" pointed out that children who drink milk more than three times a day are more prone to obesity, even if they consume low-fat milk. A study of 12,000 children aged 9-12 confirmed this. Therefore, children should drink more water instead of treating milk as a beverage, as some parents imagine. III. Excess Lactose Causes Diarrhea
Milk is rich in lactose; the normal standard for pure fresh milk is 4.2%-5%. However, this lactose cannot be fully absorbed by the human body. According to data from the Harvard School of Public Health, Asians are the biggest victims of excess lactose. 90% of Asians cannot fully digest and absorb the lactose in milk, 70% of Black people, and 15% of Caucasians also have this problem. Excess lactose will lead to problems such as bloating and diarrhea. If you often drink milk and feel uncomfortable in your stomach, it is obvious that you should consider reducing your intake of dairy products. IV. Fractures
Some studies have also questioned the view that milk can supplement calcium and thus prevent fractures and osteoporosis. A 12-year Harvard Nurses' Health Study involving 78,000 women showed that women who drank large amounts of milk had twice the fracture rate of those who drank little or no milk. The main reason is that several proteins in milk cause calcium loss; one-third of the calcium absorbed from milk is excreted in urine, and two-thirds of the calcium absorbed from cheese is lost. This is undoubtedly a wake-up call for businesses that loudly promote "milk for calcium supplementation." V. Inducing Ovarian and Prostate Cancer
A study completed by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that drinking large amounts of milk increases the incidence of ovarian cancer in women. This conclusion was reached by scientists after investigating more than 60,000 women who drank more than two glasses of milk a day. Long-term follow-up studies showed that women who consumed dairy products more than four times a day had twice the incidence of ovarian cancer as those who drank two glasses of milk a day. In addition, through 100 professional reports from 1961 to 1991, researchers found a link between prostate cancer and the consumption of dairy products—men with prostate cancer generally consumed more dairy products than healthy men. VI. Harm of Excess Hormones
Karen Dawn also pointed out that when people drink milk, they may not think about all the pain cows endure to produce milk: artificial insemination once a year, abortions, injections of lactation hormones... all of which are "cruel and inhumane" for the animals. In addition, some dairy farms in California inject cows with so-called "pregnancy-inducing lactation agents," which cause cows to produce large amounts of milk without being pregnant, with yields reaching up to 10 times that of natural milk production. Even without considering the feelings of cows, humans should also pay attention to the harm that the large amount of female hormones in milk can cause to the human body. Specifically, excess hormones can lead to precocious puberty in children, male dysfunction, and female infertility. VII. Air Pollution
California, the largest milk-producing state in the United States, is also the place most severely affected by pollution from cow flatulence. On August 1 of this year, officials in San Joaquin Valley, California, announced that to reduce pollution, the government will enact regulations requiring all cows to "belch and fart hygienically." This is not a new thing; you would not be surprised if you knew that six children there already need to bring ventilators to school. Each cow emits 9 kilograms of exhaust gas per year, and with 2.5 million cows in San Joaquin Valley, the total amount of exhaust gas emitted annually far exceeds the atmospheric pollution from cars, trucks, or pesticides.
Dawn believes that the government should not side with dairy companies for economic interests but must guide the public to correctly understand the hazards of milk and advocate for replacing milk with soy products as a source of protein. Dawn believes that the frequent consumption of tofu by Chinese people is a good choice, or one can eat more protein-rich vegetables—such as kale. Dawn even envisioned a bright future—when people come to Starbucks in the future, they will naturally order a soy milk latte instead of a latte (milk coffee).