Milk still playing vital role in staying healthy

Zoe Newton was a healthy looking young woman who appeared on our black and white television screens of the day and on large advertising bill boards encouraging us to drink a pint of milk a day.

The thrust of the milk promotion campaign, run by the Milk Marketing Board, was that milk was good for us. Good for our bones, good for our teeth, and good for a healthy lifestyle.

Students of history and anthropology would point out that two of the key elements that improved our species were the bicycle and milk. The bicycle, because it enabled our forefathers to find partners further afield, thus widening the genetic pool, and milk because it was an available source of protein, calcium and energy. While the claim about the bike may be tricky to support, there can be little doubt about the value of milk.

Over more recent years, milk and its products have had their critics and many myths have surfaced. While some people do have a cow's milk allergy and others suffer lactose intolerance (they are quite different) the myths are not founded on science. On the other hand there is heaps of scientific evidence that milk is good for us throughout all the stages of our lives; because of its vitamins and calcium it is important for pregnant women, and equally important for those among us who can remember Zoe Newton

Milk is naturally a good provider of a whole range of nutrients essential for growth, development and maintenance of our bodies and it contains no artificial preservatives and colourings. Relatively small amounts of milk provide a significant proportion of daily requirements for all age groups. In addition and noteworthy, the science shows that increased milk consumption has been linked to reducing health problems such as osteoporosis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.Today we drink about half of all the milk we produce in the UK, which works out at about one third of a pint per person per day, somewhat less than we did in the days of black and white television. Yet, together with consumption of other dairy products, milk continues to play a vital role in a healthy diet.

Milk is also economically important as far as UK agriculture is concerned. The annual value of milk and dairy products far exceeds that of any other UK agricultural commodity, dairy farming is a big employer of labour compared to other farming sectors, it is a large customer of the agriculture supply industry, and it makes a key contribution to the rural economy.

So, let's hear it for milk!

John Sumner is secretary of Shropshire Chamber of Agriculture