In March of 2004, America's House of Representatives passed
the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act (HR 3873)
which allows schoolchildren (written parental permission
required) to drink soy milk as an alternative to cow's milk.

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM.org)
called that decision "good news for American schoolchildren"
but criticized USDA's decision to continue to reimbuse
schools for cow's milk while neglecting to do the same
for soymilk.

PCRM has missed the mark on this one. Schools should not be
reimbursed for soy or cow's milk. Schools should be serving
nature's perfect drink to kids, water. PCRM should encourage
a "Drink Water, Not Milk" program. By insisting on commercially
prepared soymilk as an alternative to cow's milk, PCRM is
dispensing poor medical advice.

Commercially prepared soymilk could be almost as dangerous
to consumers as cow's milk. Why? The presense of artificial
emulsifiers in leading soymilk brands compromises a child's
health. In seeking to produce a smooth and creamy product,
soymilk manufacturers add carrageenan to their beverage.

Carrageenan is a commonly used food additive that is
extracted from red seaweed by using powerful alkali
solvents. These solvents would remove the tissues
and skin from your hands as readily as would any acid.
Carrageenan is the same substance used to de-ice airplane
wings as they sit on tarmacs during winter snowstorms.

Make your own soymilk and add vaseline petroleum jelly
and blend well, and you reproduce the emulsifying effects of
commercially prepared soy beverages. Many people experience
indigestion after ingesting soymilk and incorrectly blame
their negative reactions on soy. It's the carrageenan. In
the case of schoolchildren, such discomfort can reduce
their ability to learn. This is the last thing that
minority children living in heavily subsidized, impoverished
neighborhoods need. Carrageenan does not do their bodies
any good.

Should kids drink cow's milk in school?

Frank Oski, MD, Chief of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins
Medical School wrote:

"At least 50% of all children in the United States are
allergic to milk, many undiagnosed. Dairy products are the
leading cause of food allergy, often revealed by constipation,
diarrhea, and fatigue. Many cases of asthma and sinus infections
are reported to be relieved and even eliminated by cutting out
dairy."

In May of 1998, the European Journal of Medical Pharmacology
reported:

"Allergic asthma and rhinitis, atopic dermatitis (AD) urticaria
and gastrointestinal allergy, are common diseases of infants and
children. Cow's milk appears to be the most common offending food
both in gastrointestinal and in cutaneous manifestations of atopic
disease. It was recently estimated that 14% of children suffer from
AD and about 25% from adverse reactions to cow's milk."

Carrageenan is a thickening agent. It's the vegetarian
equivalent of casein, the same protein that is isolated
from milk and used to thicken foods. Casein is also
used to produce paints and is the glue used to hold
a label to a bottle of beer. In reality, carrageenan is
worse than casein. The molecular structure of carrageenan
is galactose, a milk sugar. Lactose is comnprised of two
sugars, glucose and galactose. Dr. David Gordon considers
galactose to be a key factor in the development of
America's number one killer, heart disease. For more on
the negatives of consuming galactose, see:

http://notmilk.com/deb/090599.html

After reading the above link, I am certain that you
will carefully read labels, and forever eliminate
galactose and carrageenan from your diet. Please urge
PCRM to begin a "Drink Water, Not Milk" school campaign.

Contact: Howard White
hwhite@...
202-686-2210, ext. 339

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com