Do not be milked
A U.S. medical association is warning Americans not to drink too much milk
A U.S. doctors' association warns Americans not to drink too much milkBy Thérèse BalduzziFor years, celebrities with a milk mustache have been beaming at readers in U.S. magazines. "Got Milk?" the ad asks, extolling the health benefits of milk consumption. Now a U.S. doctors' association is running up a storm against one of the best-known U.S. campaigns: Drinking milk is unhealthy, it claims.
The Bozell Agency in New York developed the Milk Snout campaign back in 1995 on behalf of the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board (MilkPEP) in Washington. The "Got Milk?" tagline originally came from a TV campaign, first regional, then national, that Goodby, Silverstein & Partners had designed for the California Fluid Milk Processor Board (CFMPB) back in 1993.
It claims that drinking milk is a good prevention against osteoporosis and high blood pressure, and that
increase athletic performance. However, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an association of physicians, nutritionists, and lay people from Washington DC, does not agree with this at all. Founded in 1985, the nonprofit organization is concerned with preventive medicine and better research.
The health benefits claimed in the campaign from calcium-rich foods are allowed by the government only for certain populations, PCRM complains. Scientific evidence that increased calcium consumption benefits African Americans, men or older women is lacking. The PCRM therefore considers a "Got Milk?" advertisement featuring African-American model Tyra Banks, which claims that milk can counteract the occurrence of osteoporosis in men, to be irresponsible.
The limits of permitted health claims would also be overstepped in campaigns featuring African Americans Whoopi Goldberg and Spike Lee, as well as white talk show host Conan O'Brian. They fail to point out that calcium loss can be prevented with regular exercise, low-salt diets, and a reduction in animal-based ice whites. As a result, PCRM has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission demanding that the claims made in the campaign be investigated.
The dairy empire demonizes the PCRM as a heretic
PCRM is spreading her view that milk is unhealthy this summer with a poster campaign she designed herself. "Got Diarrhea?" it reads above a group of African Americans and Latinos with a milk mustache waiting impatiently outside the occupied restroom. In doing so, the ad refers to the fact that a majority of African Americans, Asians and Latinos cannot digest milk in adulthood.
"Don't get milked by the Dairy Industry," on the other hand, is written above a picture of a woman doused in milk, reflecting the PCRM's opinion that it is
the U.S. dairy associations are about money and not public health. The billboard campaign will launch this summer in several major cities.
Although the PCRM's views are widely shared, the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board (MilkPEP) calls the PCRM an extreme fringe group whose goal is to impose the vegetarian lifestyle.
The Bozell Agency in New York developed the Milk Snout campaign back in 1995 on behalf of the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board (MilkPEP) in Washington. The "Got Milk?" tagline originally came from a TV campaign, first regional, then national, that Goodby, Silverstein & Partners had designed for the California Fluid Milk Processor Board (CFMPB) back in 1993.
It claims that drinking milk is a good prevention against osteoporosis and high blood pressure, and that
increase athletic performance. However, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an association of physicians, nutritionists, and lay people from Washington DC, does not agree with this at all. Founded in 1985, the nonprofit organization is concerned with preventive medicine and better research.
The health benefits claimed in the campaign from calcium-rich foods are allowed by the government only for certain populations, PCRM complains. Scientific evidence that increased calcium consumption benefits African Americans, men or older women is lacking. The PCRM therefore considers a "Got Milk?" advertisement featuring African-American model Tyra Banks, which claims that milk can counteract the occurrence of osteoporosis in men, to be irresponsible.
The limits of permitted health claims would also be overstepped in campaigns featuring African Americans Whoopi Goldberg and Spike Lee, as well as white talk show host Conan O'Brian. They fail to point out that calcium loss can be prevented with regular exercise, low-salt diets, and a reduction in animal-based ice whites. As a result, PCRM has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission demanding that the claims made in the campaign be investigated.
The dairy empire demonizes the PCRM as a heretic
PCRM is spreading her view that milk is unhealthy this summer with a poster campaign she designed herself. "Got Diarrhea?" it reads above a group of African Americans and Latinos with a milk mustache waiting impatiently outside the occupied restroom. In doing so, the ad refers to the fact that a majority of African Americans, Asians and Latinos cannot digest milk in adulthood.
"Don't get milked by the Dairy Industry," on the other hand, is written above a picture of a woman doused in milk, reflecting the PCRM's opinion that it is
the U.S. dairy associations are about money and not public health. The billboard campaign will launch this summer in several major cities.
Although the PCRM's views are widely shared, the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board (MilkPEP) calls the PCRM an extreme fringe group whose goal is to impose the vegetarian lifestyle.
