Define "Ethical"
And to wrap up my morning of spamming, I really do get serious.
This billboard appeared recently in Newark, NJ. In New Jersey, the current autism rate is an astounding 1 in 94 children. In Newark, it is more concentrated. There are a million possible reasons for that, and if I start down that road now, I won't finish typing until Sunday. But here is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), doing a public service by informing parents in a hard-hit urban community about the link between autism and milk. Extending themselves for the well-being of others while also serving their own cause.
Not.
This billboard is highly sensational, deliberately misinforming and irresponsible vehicle meant to scare parents of autistic children, and even more so, parents of children without autism, with the implicit message that drinking milk will give your child autism.
For shame.
Newark is a community where autism, as noted, is prevalent. Kids on all levels of the autism spectrum attend public schools; public health screenings emphasize autism; pre-school and elementary school staffs keep an eye out for symptoms. So there's maybe a little anxiety, a little fear about how come there are so many autistic kids, and how do you keep your kids from becoming a statistic? It's not at the level of an AIDS panic, but if everyone starts talking about milk causing autism, are you going to think about taking milk out of your child's diet, so they don't "catch" autism? You might. I know people who have.
But in Newark, 83% of school children receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch at school. For many of these children, cow's milk is a nutritional staple of their diet. I'm not saying cow's milk is a natural thing for humans to drink. I'm not saying there isn't a link between the casein in cow's milk and autism, because I believe in many cases there is. And I'm certainly not saying I'm in favor of factory farming. But for PETA to place a huge billboard in Newark effectively saying "drinking milk will give your child autism", when so many children there rely on free milk to meet their nutritional needs, is irresponsible.
How about PETA drops the scare tactics and writes instead to the school board, citing the studies and anecdotes about the link and suggesting the schools offer soy milk or rice milk for those who want it? Even helping to find funding? That would be much more effective if PETA's true interest, as they plead on their blog, was reducing autism rates in Newark. Because we know they aren't mercenary enough to place a shocking billboard like that solely to garner media coverage and debate.
As for parents of children with autism, PETA leaves a link on the billboard to find more info. But not all of these parents have the time or the means for research. Many rely on the statistics and services state or local government and school system can provide for them. And government is not presently suggesting, nor funding, a dairy-free diet. What many parents of autistic children are well-schooled in is despair, frustration, and desperation. They can be willing to try anything to help their children... if they can afford it. A bigger problem if you are living on reduced income in a city such as Newark, where 25% of families live below the poverty line. And I'll tell you from experience, a dairy-free diet costs big bucks. When I meet new parents of autistic children, one of the first questions to come up is "have you tried the diet?" meaning a wheat-free/casein-free diet. The second is "it's so expensive!" (The third comment, at least 70% of the time in my own experience, is "we didn't see any change." Because casein is not the cause of autistic symptoms in every child with autism.) However, if PETA wants to help families with autistic children try to go milk-free, they should offer assistance rather than inflammatory rhetoric..
But let's face it, no matter what PETA claims, this isn't a campaign about helping families avoid autism by alerting them to the dangers of milk. It's a campaign to get headlines for PETA, by exploiting a crisis among an already-struggling population. How about the ethical treatment of humans, PETA?
This billboard appeared recently in Newark, NJ. In New Jersey, the current autism rate is an astounding 1 in 94 children. In Newark, it is more concentrated. There are a million possible reasons for that, and if I start down that road now, I won't finish typing until Sunday. But here is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), doing a public service by informing parents in a hard-hit urban community about the link between autism and milk. Extending themselves for the well-being of others while also serving their own cause.
Not.
This billboard is highly sensational, deliberately misinforming and irresponsible vehicle meant to scare parents of autistic children, and even more so, parents of children without autism, with the implicit message that drinking milk will give your child autism.
For shame.
Newark is a community where autism, as noted, is prevalent. Kids on all levels of the autism spectrum attend public schools; public health screenings emphasize autism; pre-school and elementary school staffs keep an eye out for symptoms. So there's maybe a little anxiety, a little fear about how come there are so many autistic kids, and how do you keep your kids from becoming a statistic? It's not at the level of an AIDS panic, but if everyone starts talking about milk causing autism, are you going to think about taking milk out of your child's diet, so they don't "catch" autism? You might. I know people who have.
But in Newark, 83% of school children receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch at school. For many of these children, cow's milk is a nutritional staple of their diet. I'm not saying cow's milk is a natural thing for humans to drink. I'm not saying there isn't a link between the casein in cow's milk and autism, because I believe in many cases there is. And I'm certainly not saying I'm in favor of factory farming. But for PETA to place a huge billboard in Newark effectively saying "drinking milk will give your child autism", when so many children there rely on free milk to meet their nutritional needs, is irresponsible.
How about PETA drops the scare tactics and writes instead to the school board, citing the studies and anecdotes about the link and suggesting the schools offer soy milk or rice milk for those who want it? Even helping to find funding? That would be much more effective if PETA's true interest, as they plead on their blog, was reducing autism rates in Newark. Because we know they aren't mercenary enough to place a shocking billboard like that solely to garner media coverage and debate.
As for parents of children with autism, PETA leaves a link on the billboard to find more info. But not all of these parents have the time or the means for research. Many rely on the statistics and services state or local government and school system can provide for them. And government is not presently suggesting, nor funding, a dairy-free diet. What many parents of autistic children are well-schooled in is despair, frustration, and desperation. They can be willing to try anything to help their children... if they can afford it. A bigger problem if you are living on reduced income in a city such as Newark, where 25% of families live below the poverty line. And I'll tell you from experience, a dairy-free diet costs big bucks. When I meet new parents of autistic children, one of the first questions to come up is "have you tried the diet?" meaning a wheat-free/casein-free diet. The second is "it's so expensive!" (The third comment, at least 70% of the time in my own experience, is "we didn't see any change." Because casein is not the cause of autistic symptoms in every child with autism.) However, if PETA wants to help families with autistic children try to go milk-free, they should offer assistance rather than inflammatory rhetoric..
But let's face it, no matter what PETA claims, this isn't a campaign about helping families avoid autism by alerting them to the dangers of milk. It's a campaign to get headlines for PETA, by exploiting a crisis among an already-struggling population. How about the ethical treatment of humans, PETA?