The level of conflict of interest in American Dietetics is off the charts and, as you say, no one seems to bat an eyelid. It's so deeply unethical and yet totally accepted. The milk thing has always seemed totally wild to me too, for all the reasons you give. I've also read that white dietitians played a really enormous role in terms of performing 'experiments' on indigenous children in residential schools to prove that those kiddos 'needed' milk. It's all so vile. Side note: I always thought lactose intolerance in BIPOC folks was due to downregulation? Assuming they were able to digest lactose in breast milk and then lose the ability because they have no dietary exposure. I may be wrong though, and either way your point still stands!
Yessss, I was thinking about this exact same issue in relation to WIC. The monthly allowance for a household of 3 (which can also be 2 + unborn child) is 4.75 gallons -- yes, gallons! -- of milk, with no option for a non-dairy alternative. Initially I only considered my own Ashkenazi gut, and then was like, wait a second -- how many/what proportion of people on WIC can't digest dairy? This makes no sense to anyone except the dairy industry, and is at least a micro-aggression if not full-on racism.
The level of conflict of interest in American Dietetics is off the charts and, as you say, no one seems to bat an eyelid. It's so deeply unethical and yet totally accepted. The milk thing has always seemed totally wild to me too, for all the reasons you give. I've also read that white dietitians played a really enormous role in terms of performing 'experiments' on indigenous children in residential schools to prove that those kiddos 'needed' milk. It's all so vile. Side note: I always thought lactose intolerance in BIPOC folks was due to downregulation? Assuming they were able to digest lactose in breast milk and then lose the ability because they have no dietary exposure. I may be wrong though, and either way your point still stands!
Yessss, I was thinking about this exact same issue in relation to WIC. The monthly allowance for a household of 3 (which can also be 2 + unborn child) is 4.75 gallons -- yes, gallons! -- of milk, with no option for a non-dairy alternative. Initially I only considered my own Ashkenazi gut, and then was like, wait a second -- how many/what proportion of people on WIC can't digest dairy? This makes no sense to anyone except the dairy industry, and is at least a micro-aggression if not full-on racism.