Sir; We sympathise with Stephanie Spiers of Milk For Schools (Letters, May 11) in wanting the DfES "to intervene to protect children from extremist materials produced by well funded activists". In the current propaganda war on milk and meat it is difficult for adults, let alone children, to discern where the truth lies. The Vegan Society has issued an open invitation to the Dairy Council to respond to our Dairy Challenge (www.vegansociety.com). The Dairy Council and other well funded activists assure us and our children that dairy products are not a hazard to heart health, yet dairy products continue to provide half the recommended maximum intake of saturated fat for the UK population. Despite the best efforts of health professionals to educate and inform the public of the risks, the saturated fat contributed to the UK diet by milk, cheese and cream has remained unchanged for over 40 years: as fast as consumers choose low fat milks, the dairy industry finds other outlets to pump the unwanted fat back into the population, including children. According to top epidemiologists replacing this dairy fat by unsaturated plant oils would reduce heart disease by about 40%. Tony Weston Head of Media/PR Vegan Society {{LETTERS }}

Topics