Gigha dairy fails to overturn school milk ban

A dairy owner has accused ministers of ignoring scientific evidence over its ban on schoolchildren drinking whole milk. By: Marc Horne
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The Wee Isle Dairy, based on Gigha, had wanted to supply the island’s school with milk. However, it was prevented from doing so by a Scottish government guideline which rules that only skimmed and semi-skimmed milk can be served in schools.
Don Dennis wrote to John Swinney, the education secretary, urging him to rethink the policy, claiming it was based on outdated nutritional advice. He has expressed his frustration after his appeal was rebuffed.
Mr Swinney wrote to the business owner suggesting he apply for grants to buy equipment that would help him produce semi-skimmed milk. He added that the decision to outlaw full-fat milk had been an important step in trying to reduce the “high proportion of children at risk of becoming overweight or obese”.
Mr Dennis, whose firm only produces whole milk and ice cream, said: “If the evidence is to be believed then some skimmed milk actually fosters childhood obesity. They are not permitted to have whole milk at school and that is absurd, ridiculous and bad for their health.
“It then ends up with this situation where we have to import to our island semi-skimmed milk that comes from cows in Stirlingshire, that sits in a shed for ten or 12 hours then comes over and is fed to our children on the island when there is perfectly good whole milk available here.” Mr Dennis cited research published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found children who drank whole milk had fewer weight issues than whose who drank skimmed. It also found that children who drank whole milk had higher levels of vitamin D.
Mr Dennis accused Mr Swinney of missing the point, adding: “The bizarre thing is that by having this policy to help protect against the development of childhood obesity, it is actually, according to evidence, fostering childhood obesity.”
Mr Swinney’s stance was supported by Carrie Ruxton, a dietician: “Choosing lower fat milk might seem insignificant but it’s a step towards a reduced saturated fat diet and encourages taste preferences for lower-fat foods.”
 
Source: The Times
Link: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gigha-dairy-fails-to-overturn-school-milk-ban-w9pj55tzb

Mirá También

Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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