• Treatyoself@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Milk should just not be given to children at all in school. I don’t understand why we can’t have kids drink just fucking water. We shouldn’t be encouraging kids to drink sugary anything. Calcium and protein can come from so many other sources. I never understood milk as a lunch drink option as a kid and I don’t understand it now.

    • remotelove
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      1 year ago

      While I support having better access to water for everyone, milk is generally accepted by many kids, even picky ones.

      Additionally, milk does provide an opportunity to provide a minimal amount of additional vitamins for growing kids as well, mainly calcium for accident prone kids. This is likely more important for kids who aren’t getting fed properly at home. Kids need a ton of energy and chemicals to grow properly, no doubt.

      It absolutely is not a superfood. There ain’t nothing magical about it, regardless of how many milk commercials you saw growing up. For adults, there isn’t much of a benefit unless your body actually needs those vitamins.

      Disclaimer: I absolutely detest adults who swear by taking handfuls of vitamins for no reason. Vitamin deficiencies are real and if you have one, you need to be working with a doctor and not with some jackass at a supplement store.

      • TheActualDevil@sffa.community
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        1 year ago

        The main thing people get from milk is, depending on the country, vitamin D, which isn’t naturally occurring there and is best obtained by just getting some sun, and the fat, which most people cut out of it. Milk’s calcium absorption is, at best, around 30% and not a great source of calcium. You get better calcium intake from leafy greens and nuts (~50% absorption). Also, there has not been a definitive link between additional bone density from calcium and brittle bones. Japan and India are still mostly lactose intolerant and have fewer hip fractures than America, which has one of the highest milk intakes in the world. It’s more likely manual labor and sunlight is better for bone health.

        The idea that milk is healthy is part of misunderstandings that have been taken as fact for decades, but it’s not really. It’s not junk food… until you start adding even more sugar to an already surprisingly sugary drink.

        Quickly found source concerning meta analysis and milk’s health benefits

      • clyne@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 year ago

        Milk really doesn’t do much for children, especially the supposed link to “bone health”. If kids are not properly fed at home, the same argument can be made that we should be making sure they at least get actual water to drink at school. Alternatively, there are plant milk options that can actually be healthier or more vitamin-rich than cow’s milk.

        https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/08/christopher-gardner-busts-myths-about-milk.html

        https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/milk/

    • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      What the fuck are you talking about milk is amazing. Look at the macros and you quickly realize it is exactly what kids need. Milk fat protein and sugars all natural.

      It arguably had more protein than almost any other school food.

      You people are fucking nuts.

      • Treatyoself@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Milk is amazingly delicious. It makes a lot of delicious things. It provides a modest amount nutrition.
        Milk can be easily swapped out for more sustainable whole foods. The milk industry is horrendous and we shouldn’t be propping it up by way of our public schools.

        • Obi@sopuli.xyz
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          1 year ago

          Not really, maybe in Asia milk isn’t so popular but it’s a staple for people of all ages in many, many countries, not just the US.

            • Obi@sopuli.xyz
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              1 year ago

              Netherlands, Germany, France, UK, Polynesia are all examples I can personally confirm, I’m sure there’s many more… Dutchies even drink it with lunch.

        • remotelove
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          1 year ago

          That is likely due to available supply and aggressive marketing. While US beef prices are middle of the road compared to the rest of the world, it’s much cheaper when compared to average income and GDP. (I am not an economist by any stretch, but that makes sense to me.)

          If there are two things that we Americans have massive supplies of, it’s cattle and corn. (And guns. You can’t really eat guns though.) From that perspective, it kinda makes sense that we have those as staples in our diets.

          • seitanic@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            Cattle and corn aren’t resources like oil or metal. They have to be produced in order for there to be a surplus. If we have a massive supply of cattle and corn, that’s because somebody grew a massive supply of cattle and corn. Farmers don’t have to grow cattle and corn; they can choose to grow other things.

    • Gabu@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Milk should just not be given to children at all in school

      in most of the world, it isn’t.

    • seitanic@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      The dairy industry has a strong lobby. There’s no reason to drink milk from a cow or any other non-human animal.

      Ask yourself “Am I a baby cow?” If the answer is “No”, then you shouldn’t be drinking cows’ milk.