One of the first questions concerned family and friends ask when they learn you have become vegan and now avoid all animal products, including dairy products is, Where do you get your calcium? Begin your dialog with them by assuming that the questioners have sincere interests in expanding their knowledge about good nutritionrather than just them trying to prove your diet is deficient, and to justify their daily eating of Ben and Jerrys Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream and French brie ripened to perfection with a bottle of deliciously dry white wine.
Misinformation Is Promoted for Profits
We have all grown up educated about proper nutrition by the food industries, and the leader in diet schooling is the dairy industry. You might remember, at the center of these instructional campaigns has been a teaching cow: In my youth, living in the Mid-west, I learned about the importance of milk for building strong bones from Elsie, the cow. Lani Moo took over my eduction on never out growing my need for milk when I moved to Hawaii as a young doctor in the early 70s. In the mid 80s we settled in Northern California where Clo, the cow, provided dairy-friendly advice from billboards lining Highway 101. These cows are innocent participants in the enormous marketing efforts to sell products to correct a non-existent problem: dietary calcium deficiency. Continue reading >>
