SCHOOL Milk Week is funded by the milk industry as a marketing ploy to encourage young children to start drinking milk, in the hope of creating a lucrative long-standing milk habit.

Continuing to drink milk - and that of another species - past weaning age is not natural. No wonder it can cause our bodies so many problems. The 'white stuff' is not the nutritious drink the industry would like us to believe. In scientific journals, dairy products have been linked to asthma, eczema and wheezing - especially in children. Many youngsters with irritable bowel syndrome, autism, asthma and allergies improve when they stop drinking cow's milk.

Some 75 per cent of the world's population is lactose intolerant (unable to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk) and one out of every five babies suffers from colic, which paediatricians have associated with cow's milk. There are many non-dairy alternatives available that contain as much, if not more calcium, vitamins and minerals and they don't come with the risks associated with dairy products. As well as the human health dimension, there are powerful animal welfare reasons for shunning milk.

Calves just a few days old are separated from their mothers so that the milk meant for them can be bottled up for human consumption. Cows will bellow for days and have been known to escape and travel miles in search of their young, as I'm sure any mother would.

To find out more and receive a free guide to going dairy free, contact Animal Aid www.animal aid.org.uk or call 01732 364546.

KELLY SLADE,

Campaigns Officer,

Animal Aid.