Professors milk claims queried

A PROMINENT Wairarapa dairy farmer said yesterday it was no secret an over-indulgence in dairy products could endanger health but at the same time questioned the motives behind sensational claims made public over milk safety this week.
Pirinoa farmer John Coveney, who is chairman of the Wairarapa Federated Farmers Dairy Section, said there had always been a degree of negativity towards dairy products but "you have to wonder" what was behind the latest claims made by Lincoln University professor Keith Woodford.
Professor Woodford claims to have amassed a wealth of scientific evidence linking milk to heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autism, schizophrenia and other illnesses.
He has gone further to claim the dairy industry and the Food Safety Authority have both been remiss in acknowledging the threats to health and making them public.
His comments have coincided with the planned release of a book in which the professor argues against science on which the dairy industry relies and includes a claim the accidental contamination of a Dairy Research Institute trial of rat's diets in 2002 was not made public.
The basis of Professor Woodford's argument is that the rogue health element is a tiny protein found in what is known as A1 milk but not in A2 milk.
Around half of New Zealand's national dairy herd is A2 cows and the professor is calling for the elimination of A1 cows a process that could take 10 years to completely clear out the health problems.
Mr Coveney said Professor Woodford has often been critical of the dairying industry and how it is structured.
"But it's a democratic society and we get certain twists on things."
He said there has always been a danger from eating too many dairy products, particularly with obesity.
"Likewise there is a danger to life from smoking, drinking or gambling."
The other side of the coin was that there was a benefit from dairy product consumption.
"They can be a very valuable part of the diet especially when it comes to women and calcium."
Mr Coveney said it was possible to breed out the problems identified by the professor and said he would be interested to know if Fonterra supported doing this.
By using genetics the national herd could become completely A2, he said.
"But as a dairy farmer don't plan to lose any sleep over it," he said.
Attempts to confirm whether Fonterra would support a switch to an A2 national herd went unanswered as the company's official response on Professor Woodford's claims was to refer all inquiries to the Food Safety Authority.
A spokesman for Fonterra said it was " more appropriate" as the authority was an independent body divorced from the dairy industry.