Two years ago, PETA got a rise out of everyone from dairy farmers to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) with its tongue-in-cheek advisory to college kids that, ounce for ounce, beer packs more nutrition than milk.
Now, a new Harvard study has topped off the debate with damning words about dairy products and a raised-glass salute to beer. The debate is about to spill over onto school campuses once again.
When PETA pulled its “Got Beer?” campaign because of public outcry, the uproar from college students was deafening. Most felt that PETA was caving in to members of the older generation who doubted the students’ ability to understand the message behind the stunt.
There is much scientific evidence mounting that beer has health benefits previously unrecognized and dairy foods are being implicated in illnesses ranging from diabetes to cancer. PETA will revive the campaign with an advertisement in campus papers, as well as with “Got Beer?” bottle openers and beer cozies, which it will distribute through its College Action Campaign.
Unlike beer drinking, dairy consumption also hurts animals. Dairy cows are artificially impregnated — not a comfortable experience — and have their calves torn from them within days of birth, causing acute distress for both mother and calf, so that the milk they need can be sold in the supermarket. Many male calves are crammed into tiny veal crates, a type of confinement so cruel that it has been banned in the United Kingdom.
“Beer in moderation is good for you, while even one glass of milk supports animal abuse and harms your health,” PETA vegan outreach director Bruce Friedrich said. “The fact is that you can drink beer responsibly. The same can’t be said of milk.”
Curtis Taylor is a sophomore attending high school in Eugene.