Ginger writes: >The American Dietetic Association has always held the highest >standards >for professional, ethical practice. Ginger, I was trying to be very careful not to insinuate that you were unethical yourself in your practice. You promote the guidelines of your professional organization, and I'm sure you always do your best by your clients. I do think that the ADA is influenced by the money it gets from the Dairy Council, and from the industry organizations that promote beef and pork and eggs, etc. The American Academy of Pediatrics takes millions of dollars from the formula companies. Is that one reason why their pro-breastfeeding statement of 1997 was (1) so late in coming and (2) so conservative? I know one of the formula companies threatened to withdraw funding from the AAP if they allowed me to present my "Tricks of the Trade" presentation at a conference for pediatricians. The AAP told them to take a flying leap, and they withdrew the threat. The relationship between the US government, the dairy farmers of America, the WIC program, the school lunch program, and the ADA are very complex and have convoluted histories. US taxpayers underwrite the dairy industry through price-support programs. The US government buys tons of milk and cheese every year to artificially prop up the dairy industry. There is a huge focus on dairy products in the WIC program because it helps the government keep the dairy farmers happy. The "Got Milk" and "Milk, it does a body good" campaigns were HUGE, and widespread, and expensive -- and they were necessary because otherwise people wouldn't drink as much milk as the dairy industry wants us to. I'm sure I don't know all the intracacies. But I think it is unlikely that one group can take millions of dollars in money from an industry without having its policies and activities influenced, even if they have the best of intentions. For example, the March of Dimes and their relationship to the formula companies. It is very complex, and difficult for individual consumers to know what science is 'clean science' and what recommendations really come from good research versus 'tradition' or 'personal opinion' or 'conventional wisdom.' Thanks for giving us more info about the community you serve. Kathy Dettwyler _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html