“Time to Come Clean About the Pus in Milk”, says Heather Mills McCartney
The shocking revelation from a new scientific report on dairy products is that, by law, every litre of milk can contain up to 400 million pus cells. Modern intensive dairy farming ensures that at any given time, 30 per cent of all British dairy cows have mastitis – a painful infection of the udders which issues copious amounts of pus. Some of it is legally allowed into the milk and dairy products that people consume. The 76-page report, White Lies, published by the health charity the Viva Health today is authored by Dr Justine Butler and reviews over 200 scientific references. It also reveals that every sip of the white stuff contains a cocktail of 11 different growth factors and 35 different hormones.
Hormones
Why so many? Because two-thirds of all milk comes from pregnant animals and the remainder from those who have recently given birth – times when oestrogen and other hormone levels are sky high. The report presents a scathing assessment of dairy as a “healthy’ food and accuses it of playing a part in many of the killer diseases which are now at epidemic proportions in the UK. Included in the list are heart disease, strokes, diabetes, some cancers and even osteoporosis. It also points to dairy as being implicated in several childhood conditions such as allergies, anaemia and the exploding problem of childhood obesity. “We have the extraordinary situation where up to 400 million pus cells are allowed in every litre of milk. That’s two million pus cells in every teaspoonful. Drink a pinta pus a day would not have had the same ring to it! The government should ensure that milk cartons are labelled with the pus content, but if you don’t want to drink pus, you can buy or make soya, almond, rice, oat or any nut milk you like without any pus in it,” says Heather Mills McCartney, patron of the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation. “Expensive promotion and blanket advertising all perpetuate the myth that milk is pure and natural – it is neither. No one could drink pus and call it pure and no other mammal drinks milk after weaning – and certainly not the milk of another species. Would you drink the milk of a cat, dog or elephant? “An avalanche of science shows beyond doubt that saturated animal fat, cholesterol and animal protein are at the heart of the health crisis enveloping the nation – and dairy contains all three. Its mix of growth factors and hormones are also linked to killer diseases but the industry’s use of selective science draws a veil over it. The public is being deceived and the government is complicit in this, continuing to provide generous subsidies for a food which is killing us”.
For further information contact: Juliet Gellatley, director VVF, on 0117 970 5190; . juliet@viva.org.uk Dr Justine Butler, health campaigner, VVF, on 0117 970 5190. justine@vegetarian.org.uk
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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