NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2002
CONTACT:
Simon Chaitowitz, Communications Director
tel: 202-686-2210, ext. 309; simonc@pcrm.org
Nutrition
Experts Tell Top U.S. Official to Wipe Off Milk Mustache
PCRM, CSPI, and Others Call for KeepingCommercial Promotions at Arm's Length
Washington, D.C.—Federal officials should "just say
no" to participating in commercial food promotions, say nutrition experts with the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), Center for Science in the Public
Interest, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Cornell University. The coalition of health
experts is criticizing Duane Alexander, M.D., the director of the National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development, for appearing in the $180-million milk-mustache ad
campaign this past January. In a letter to Dr. Alexander, the nutrition experts today call
for the director and his agency "to keep all commercial interests at arm's
length."
"Dr. Alexander's involvement in the
heavily commercial milk-mustache campaign is completely inappropriate
given his agency is supposed to conduct unbiased studies into childhood
diseases, some of which may be caused by milk consumption,"
says PCRM president Neal Barnard,
M.D.
Milk is the single biggest source of fat in a child's diet, and a mounting body of
evidence shows that dairy product consumption contributes to a wide range of health
problems from Type 1 diabetes, obesity, and prostate cancer to anemia, constipation, and
asthma. Moreover, the vast majority of the world's population is unable to digest milk
lactose and suffers intestinal problems as a result.
In January, PCRM unveiled a new educational campaign (www.StrongBones.org) to dispel dairy industry
myths about how much calcium children need as well as milk's ability to build bones. An ad
featuring a crumbling plaster milk carton with the headline, "Milk. It's not all it's
cracked up to be," debuted in January on USAToday.com and is slated to run
elsewhere later this summer.
PCRM's campaign teaches parents that the real threats to children's bone health are not
too little milk—as the dairy industry claims—but too much salt and animal
protein coupled with a lack of exercise and sunlight.
Journalists: High-resolution copies of PCRM's milk-carton ad
are available, as is broadcast quality B-roll of calcium-rich dairy alternatives.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a
nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, particularly good nutrition, and
conducts clinical research trials. PCRM also promotes higher standards in research.
-30-
Media
Center | Health | Research
| About PCRM | Catalog
| Join Us | Search
| Site Index | Home
The site does
not provide medical or legal advice. This Web site is for information purposes
only.
Full Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
|
