The Dairy Industry stomps its Nazi jackboots and controls we the people

Posted by: kelly | October 7, 2008 03:42 PM

Whatever happened to free speech? Do you only get that now if you have a big lobby group and lots of money???

Posted by: Kelley | October 7, 2008 06:31 PM

This is bad news that the ad was pulled. Still keep up the good work PETA.

Posted by: vegancoin | October 7, 2008 06:45 PM

It was great while it lasted......

Posted by: Antigone1000 | October 7, 2008 07:19 PM

I wonder if milk was a new food product and had to be tested for safety if it could even get FDA approval. I can see all the animals test results showing the health problems associated with milk hindering the legal distribution of this poison.

Posted by: joanna | October 7, 2008 07:33 PM

Well, maybe it was removed because it was false advertising - celiac can be associated with autism, but also is not and perhaps not more than in the general population. Also trying to scare people away from milk by invoking autism as the big scary bogeyman is hardly ethical is it? Couldn't you find some nice normal people to demonise?

Posted by: alyric | October 7, 2008 08:56 PM

BTW,
The GF/CF, the people that don't drink milk, diet subscribers, most of them don't eat soy! Autistic children often have food aversion issues, and don't like veggies. Here is what that crowd thinks of soy.

All of the conditions of autism are features of soy-based toxicity.

These include:

early sexual maturation
behavioral problems
learning difficulties
poor development of the brain
slowness of growth
difficulties with breathing
gastrointestinal issues
violent behavior
spatial and perception difficulties
These conditions are created by an assortment of anti-nutrients contained in this so-called food that:

impair mineral absorption
increase exposure to toxic heavy metals
create imbalances in hormonal release and use
Phytoestrogens are estrogen mimics and compete with natural estrogens to attach to estrogen receptors, blocking intracellular messaging systems which impair brain growth and function.

Toxic estrogen mimics such as dioxin and poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental chemicals that add to the body burden of very dangerous substances.

I now argue for the first time that this food may be a major contributor to autism.

It's all over the net if you look. What do you think these people eat? Next time do your homework!

Posted by: Amber | October 7, 2008 10:10 PM

I have been a vegiterian for half a year and im almost a veagan....i dont drink milk at all i love cows so much they are just the best!donk eat drik or torture cows!!!!

Posted by: Savannah | October 7, 2008 10:39 PM

I wanted to bring a recent attack on people who have decided to become vegetarians because of the damage that meat eating does to the environment by the Yale Sustainable Food Project - they recently published an article by a student called "Why I don't like vegetarians" on their blog

Posted by: Jon | October 7, 2008 10:51 PM

Geez, we should all whine that "we're offended" for being unfairly censored! Worked for your detractors!
But it was a great effort and you've reached people who are open to your message. Go Peta!
I hope you got your money back from the advertising company.

Posted by: lynda downie | October 8, 2008 12:21 AM

While I do not usually agree with you on many topics, I think your milk campaign has a lot going for it.

I was diagnosed with Aspergers (higher functioning autism) two years ago at the age of 50. This was just after my son was diagnosed with the same.

There is a growing theory that says that autism and ADHD are a "hunter syndrome".

This theory says that the spectrum was the human race's way of creating restless, impulsive risk takers.

We needed to create people who were explorers and who could hunt or forage for food, to feed the rest.

But then we became a race of farmers.
Therefore Aspergers and ADHD are not disabilities, per se. They are simply hunters who find it hard to fit in with the regimented structure of the "farmers".

So where is the connection with milk?

Most adult mammals have an intolerance to milk. It is thought that this was an evolutiionary survival development.

In times of famine, the last thing a species needs is for an adults to take milk from mothers to the detriment of the offspring.

Therefore, a gene that caused a milk intolerance would be favoured by evolution as it would give offspring a greater survival chance of survival.

If there is any truth in the hunter theory, this would all make sense. The hunters have possibly retained the more ancient gene for milk intolerance, whereas the farmers, who are able to guarantee a more stable supply of food, and keep livestock, have ditched this gene as it no longer had a purpose.

At the age of eight I spontaneously stopped drinking milk and have never drank it since.

I remember having this sudden, strong mental aversion to it. The smell of it and taste of it made me violently sick.

Knowing what I know now about myself, this would seem to fit in with your research.

I do not think milk causes autism, but I believe that it can make the symptoms worse beyond weaning.

If research was done into post weaning autistic children drinking their mother's milk, I suspect there would be the same aversion.

It is pure commonsense that post-weaned children and adults should not drink milk.

It is a food designed for babies. It is hard to accept that evolution would have allowed a food reserved for babies to be palatable to an adult.

It is also my view that autistic and ADHD "hunters" were primarily meat eaters, and that our brains need certain fats to function at an optimum level.

However, today they do not need to eat meat.

If my theory is right, it would also explain why research shows that essential oils (which can be produced from non-animal sources), produce an improvement.

Certainly, I think the genetic mutation that produces autism and ADHD is an ancient one. It is not a perfect mutation, however, hence the very wide nature of the autistic spectrum.

Aspergers and ADHD are only a disability because the "Farmers" say it is!

Posted by: Peter, London UK | October 8, 2008 05:29 AM

As an autistic person, I find this connection between milk and the condition that affects most of us nothing more than pseudo-science, perpetuated by people who have no understanding of the scientific method whatsoever. If we all believed in that approach, we would still believe in a flat earth and the earth as the center of the universe and other things that were later dis proven by scientists like Copernicus and Newton, some which by the way, may have had the autistic condition, based on observing their behavior from historians.

Posted by: Jonas | October 8, 2008 06:26 AM

This is not about the Dairy industry, this is about the Autism Community not allowing PETA to take advantage of the Autism Community and use autism for PETA's own profit. There are better ways to get PETA's message out and still respect the Autism Community.

Posted by: Emily Sudbrink | October 8, 2008 07:04 AM

Kelley, you asked "what happened to freedom of speech?"
I would guess this has nothing to do with freedom of speech. If PETA owned the billboards, then they could keep them up as long as they wanted.
As it turns out, the billbaords are owned by a private firm and they can pull any advertisments they don't want for any reason.
Also, if we talk about freedom of speech, one must understand that there are consequnces that occompany this freedom. The consequence for this message was a whole lot of offended Americans that either suffer from autism, are the parents of an autistic child or know somebody with autism.
In this case, the masses didn't approve and there is nothing more demorcratic than that.

Posted by: Kurt K | October 8, 2008 09:29 AM

Amber:

It's funny I was just looking at the GF/CF Web site and they talk about how it's important to remove dairy and wheat from their diet. They do say that some people with autism may be allergic to soy, but those who are not should take soy as a substitute to milk:

"Children between the ages of one and ten require 800-1000 mg of calcium a day. If the child drinks three 8-oz glasses of fortified rice, soy or potato milk per day, he would meet that requirement."

"People with autism tend to be highly allergic, and soy is often near the top of the list. However, if your child does not test positive on allergy tests (IgG and IgE), and seems to tolerate soy well when it is removed and re-introduced to the diet, then gf/cf soy products are a high-protein, tasty substitute for dairy products."

They also talk about rice milk and potato milk as a substitute for soy:

"Some people like to use homemade rice or nut milks, or coconut milk. For very allergic kids, there is a pleasant-tasting, low sugar potato-based product called Vance's DariFree."

The point here, Amber, is dairy can cause Autism and should be removed from their diet.

Next time do your homework!

Posted by: Eric | October 8, 2008 09:49 AM

Jonas, if you truly believe in the scientific method, then what do you think of animal testing for medical research? If you believe that such animal testing is beneficial to humans, please go to www.curedisease.com.

Posted by: Michele | October 8, 2008 10:07 AM

Whatever happened to "We the People of the United Stares, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquillity, PROVIDE FOR THE COMMON DEFENCE, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, AND SECURE THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY..."?

We provide these to the exploiters, not to the individual. Sickening what our country has become.

Posted by: katrina | October 8, 2008 10:32 AM

Amber,

The soy you are referring to is genetically modified soy isolate. There are far better forms of soy (organic, fermented) to consume. The site you are quoting from

http://www.autismcounselor.com/soy.html

is also a bit suspect, since they are promoting the beliefs of known soy-detractor Sally Fallon.

Nevertheless, soy is one of the top food allergens (along with dairy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, etc.), and perhaps this has something to do with it.

Is there a link between dairy and autism? In the case of my friends' autistic child there was a definite improvement with the removal of dairy. It doesn't hurt to give it a try if you're the parent of an autistic child.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | October 8, 2008 10:39 AM

Amber,

In regards to your assertion:

"Phytoestrogens are estrogen mimics and compete with natural estrogens to attach to estrogen receptors, blocking intracellular messaging systems which impair brain growth and function."

This is simply not true. If you utilized more than a Google search and actually picked up a legitimate medical journal, you would know there is no valid evidence to support this claim. Perhaps you should be the one doing the homework.

Soy is one of my son's favorite foods, and before he was about 22 months old, he was able to identify paintings (saying the names of the artists without promptin) by Monet, Renoir, Cassat, Morisot, Degas (his favorite), Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Seurat, Matisse, Picasso, Seurat, Rousseau, Pizarro, Boticelli, Vermeer, da Vinci, Herring, Pollock, and Warhol. He also was able to identify the composer in a few songs by Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, and Pachelbel. Add in the alphabet, numbers 0-10, colors, advanced shapes, learning to read, a vocabulary of well over 500 words (I am probably selling him short on that point), 5-6 word sentences...need me to continue?

The Autism Community is notorious for using anecdotal incidents rather than scientfic facts (perhaps there is some common ground with PETA!), so I am merely countering with my own personal experience to illustrate the fact that there are no valid scientific human studies in regards to phytoestrogens and many of the wild (and untrue) claims you listed prior to that statement.

Having gone through 7 years of medical training, a year of research, and a little over a year in private practice, I know slightly more about these issues than the google-trained medical experts. I also have a very good medical journal search to utilize...don't tell anyone I don't know everything.

Posted by: Derek, MD | October 8, 2008 10:42 AM

"...nothing more than pseudo-science, perpetuated by people who have no understanding of the scientific method whatsoever. If we all believed in that approach, we would still believe in a flat earth and the earth as the center of the universe..."

Why then does the autism community collectively support the incorrect belief that vaccines (or soy in Amber's case) cause autism? Now that is true pseudo-science and lack of understanding of the scientific method.

Posted by: Derek, MD | October 8, 2008 11:16 AM

Jon,

"I wanted to bring a recent attack on people who have decided to become vegetarians because of the damage that meat eating does to the environment by the Yale Sustainable Food Project - they recently published an article by a student called "Why I don't like vegetarians" on their blog"

Read the fine print...this is listed as a "RANT" not a published article.

Posted by: Derek, MD | October 8, 2008 11:23 AM

Yeah, saw that one coming...
my cousin actually has autism, and he has never consumed milk, and neither did his mom when she was pregnant with him (lactose-intolerant). Too bad the ad was pulled though.

Posted by: Anna | October 8, 2008 11:49 AM

I support PETA in a lot of their campaigns and the good they do by bringing awareness to the world. However, I was surprised to see this campaign. I wasn't aware of any inhumane ways of cultivating milk. So what CAN Peta members consume then?

Posted by: Imogen Clark | October 8, 2008 12:17 PM

I have worked with autistic children and adults for several years and this condition makes people extra sensitive to many things. Given what we already know about milk, it is factual to say that if Peta is wrong about milk causing autism then they are 100% correct that milk will surely worsen an autistic persons condition by drinking it.

Posted by: Gerry | October 8, 2008 12:47 PM

What does PETA think autism is? Does PETA think that autism can be cured?

My son is autistic and is also extremely intelligent. And no, that does not mean that he is like the Rain Man, the character in the movie that remembers the weather of each day. My son is gifted when it comes to art, math, and science, but still he cannot tie his shoes or make eye contact.

My son's autism is clearly the result of genetics, not drinking milk. Like many autistics, he is proud of his laser-like focus on topics he is interested in and he resents people who think that he needs to be "cured".

As his parent, I have to watch out for well-intentioned, but misinformed "experts" who misinterpret his behavior as being the result of bad parenting or willful misbehavior on his part.

I have spent my life savings and many sleepless nights trying to figure out who or what will help my son reach his potential and if the advice from so-called experts will help or harm him. Some autistics have found that some relief in changing their diet or taking certain medications, but many do not. Autism is extremely complex and in the future will probably be broken out into several medical conditions instead of just this generic term.

Your billboard making the direct connection to autism and milk is painful for me to look at. The billboard contributes to the public's ignorance and fear about autism. Autism is more than an allergic reaction to dairy products and many adults on the spectrum felt it was disrespectful.

Posted by: susan | October 8, 2008 01:15 PM

I am High-Functioning Autistic, aka Asperger's Syndrome. I am also a carnivore. I have not consumed milk in a very long time. However, I would like to point out that it has nothing to do with being allergic to dairy. I also cannot stand the taste of soy. Soy is rather bland. As a person with Asperger's, I require taste to be noticeable. Bland is bad. My point is PETA seems to find it necessary to insult their target demographic with this clearly misinformed billboard. I applaud the billboard owner for taking down this offensive ad.

Posted by: Sasha | October 9, 2008 06:33 AM

It is highly likely the billboard ads were removed because autistic adults ourselves contacted the owners to let them know that there is no scientific evidence linking autism and dairy produce consumption. I have been vegan for years and I am still autistic. PETA did no one any favours with this campaign, except perhaps bringing to the public attention again how unscientific some parents, who somehow cannot love their autistic child as he/she is, are about seeking a "cure" at any cost.

Not long ago the media hype was thimerosal in vaccines, before that it was secretin, children have suffered and even died from chelation due to parents believing heavy metals in the blood casues autism ... what's next?

I believe strongly in animal rights but this kind of campaign only makes animal rights acitivists, and vegans generally,look silly.

Posted by: Arla | October 9, 2008 10:17 AM

The billboard company I work for IN SLC UT, DAC Signs, is also running this ad for PETA. Despite the heat we are keepin the ad up!!! After all there is something called the 1st ammendment that we need to honor!!!!

Posted by: Natalie Terry | October 9, 2008 11:43 AM

I will not agree nor disagree with any statements made here as I have no proper background knowledge concerning this topic, but I would like to point out that PETA is concerned about dairy WORSENING autistic conditions. They do not state that people with autism will be cured if they do not consume dairy products.
With that said - all my respect to PETA for all the hard work they do for those who do not have voices, and all my respect to people who have varying forms of autism.

Posted by: Mandy | October 9, 2008 05:59 PM

Although I am not fond of PETA for using the Autism community for it's benefit, I do think there is some truth in the msg. My son is 3 dx'ed 7 months ago, we have not switched to a GFCF diet but we have cut milk and all dairy out for a month and saw huge changes in behavior. And it is fairly common for children w/ Autism to have sensitivity to milk, lactose acts like a opiate to the brain. I like the hunter theory someone posted, something to think about!

Posted by: nicole phillips | October 9, 2008 07:45 PM

Imogen clark,
You said;
"I support PETA in a lot of their campaigns and the good they do by bringing awareness to the world. However, I was surprised to see this campaign. I wasn't aware of any inhumane ways of cultivating milk. So what CAN Peta members consume then?"
To "cultivate" milk, the cow must be inpregnated, then the baby is born and ripped away from the mother, causing the mother and baby cow to mourn for days or even weeks, constantly mooing and looking for each other, if they arent chained up or in tiny stalls already. The baby cow, if female, will be a dairy cow, while the male baby cows will be sold as veal, kept in a small crate, as you know. Then the mother is constantly inpregananted, about 3 times over 3 years, WAY more then they would naturally breed, and by the time she is "spent," at 3 years old, she is sent to slaughter, and often their bodies are so weak from constant pregnancy and milking they cannot even stand, so are dragged to their deaths. "downer cows," as they are called.
I am not saying this to attack you in any way, quite the opposite, some people just dont know this, and i didnt know it at one time. Some people just think cows naturally produce milk for US, they dont see or think of the process. Also, milk usually has 2% pus in it, yes, pus, and 2% is allowed. This is from the nipples always being pumped for milk, infection happens.
I used to love milk, and i now love soymilk. Chocolate soymilk, they even have soymilk creamer for coffee, and soy ice cream, soy yogurt, soy everything! For people allergic to soy, they have rice milk, nut milk such as almond and cashew milk, and even brown rice milk! It's just getting better and better as more people are choosing compassion by what they eat. Just gibe it a try, it's rea;;y gppd!

Posted by: Raina | October 9, 2008 11:51 PM

my daughter is 29 now. She has chronic fatigue syndrome as well fibromyalgia. I believe that this all came about from vaccines as a child. She first became ill enough to worry when she became ill, lethargic, swollen glands, a funny little sore lymph node under her arm. I was told at the time that she needed to be careful the rest of her life because with the cytomegalo virus, (a slow, stealth virus researchers call it) Many innoculations are grown on the kidney tissues of African Green monkeys. Since then, I have found reports from researchers about the connections between monkey viruses and CFS. And,she was highly allergic to cows milk...some kinds don't do well with strange animal tissues containing viruses. Calf serum and eggs are used, also, with varying degrees of sensitivities. Slow viruses have had the attention of the military for a number of years. Why?

Posted by: Faye Ferrall | October 10, 2008 02:10 AM

This is not a matter of reader sensibility. It is equating the seriousness of autism with the silliness and light heartedness of the got milk commercials.
I'd image to a parent that has struggled with their child's autism for years, especially severe autism for which there is no cure, this is non amusing.
It is another Peta shock commercial done with the knowledge that it will shock and ultimatlely be taken down.
Makes sense. Still in vastly poor taste.

Posted by: Jessica | October 10, 2008 07:02 AM

As a therapist who works specifically with children with autism, I actually do agree that food alergies can cause or intensify symptoms. But as a vegan, I'm not a huge fan of this type of advertising. I think it's more beneficial to focus on the issue itself: factory farming is CRUEL. Nobody can dispute that. This type of advertising just causes people to argue over which scientist is right and loose sight of the real issue: We need to stop supporting animal abuse. period.

Posted by: Lily Alden | October 10, 2008 11:59 AM

A distinction must be made between pasteurized and unpasteurized milk. They are not the same with respect to nutritional and digestive impact upon the body. Raw milk is good. Pasteurized milk is not. (Neither is soy milk.)

Posted by: Don Janes | October 10, 2008 02:31 PM

Milk can make autism and other disabilites like this worse. It cuases interference in the development of the brain during critical development periods of childern. When milk is removed some of the symtoms can also go away in some people. Unfortunately the damage to the brain's structure and function can last long after the child is taken off milk. New science is emerging regarding the 'Changing Brain' to help these childern regain lost brain functions. Unfortunately much of what we have recently learned about brain function and the cuases of autism and alzheimer's was by invasive brain studies of monkeys and other animals. The same scienctists PETA holds up for vivisector of the month are responsible for mapping brain functions and determining how to repair damaged brains in children with autism, adults with alzheimers, and anybody with paraylasis. I doubt PETA will ever support animal testing but it can sometimes result in the elimination of human suffering.

Posted by: joanna | October 10, 2008 04:58 PM

Don,

Once humans are weaned they no longer require any kind of milk, from any species. A lot of the world is, in fact, lactose-intolerant anyway.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | October 10, 2008 06:44 PM

Joanna,

There is currently no cure for AD, so I'm a bit baffled by what you mean when you say the repair of a damaged brain of a person with AD.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | October 10, 2008 07:19 PM

Faye,

Much like Autism, CFS and Fibromyalgia are not caused by vaccines (many MD's are not convinced that CFS and Fibromylagia are even real physical disorders, but rather fall more on the psychosocial end of the spectrum). Also, CMV infections do not last for a person's entire life, unless their life is very short.

Joanna,

In regards to your following statement about milk:

"It cuases interference in the development of the brain during critical development periods of childern."

You are incorrect. I won't even blast you for relying on Google for your information, but if you did, then you would also see that there is no cure for AD. The current treatments are also woefully ineffective except in certain cases for a short period of time. I have a fair number of AD nursing home patients, and their course is a sad, unrelenting decline.

I am a Family Physician who is completely opposed to animal vivisection and testing. Animals are poor models for simulating human disease or response to disease, but represent a public relations tool for the FDA and medical research/pharmaceutical companies. (Anyone remember the scene from Chris Farley's movie "Tommy Boy" where he sells the brake pads that don't have the warranty on the box? The stamp itself is meaningless in most cases.)

Posted by: Derek, MD | October 11, 2008 11:34 AM

My mom tuaght me one thing with her struggle with cancer...there is always hope. Studies addressing this brain wasting disease as well as paralysis and other difficult to treat brain disability are encouraging. I have seen AD first hand and know how bad it is. I am not an ex-spurt on this in any way but find the brain studies and research interesting. Go ahead and dis me for my opinion or my lack of facts, but try searching for 'plastic brain' there are alot of new books etc addressing this and other brain research. The brain can change and based on relatively new information is not what we have been taught to belive. Like SO MANY things in this world we should be skeptical of what is given to us as 'normal'. Just like drinking milk...we cannot believe something just becuase somebody says its good for us. We should also question current thinking on how the brain works and is healed.

Posted by: joanna | October 14, 2008 06:41 PM

Derek MD....Just becuase a person studies medicine and even practices it for a life time does not mean they know everything about health or healing. My experience has been that at least half of the licensed health practicioners I have been treated by knew next to nothing about maintaining health. They just treat symptoms. They can rely too much on drugs and invasive proceedures to cure symtoms and over look obvious causes of disease like poor diet and exsposure to toxics. Someday we will know more about AD , autism , and other difficult or impossible to treat disorders and have remarkable new ways of preventing and treating them. It likly will take very special individuals in the medical research community to find these new ways. People who actively question the status quo and are not content with symptom reduction. Even the best unbiased medical studies are useless unless they are able to provide new insight.

Posted by: joanna | October 16, 2008 02:04 PM