Like me, I’m sure you are wondering how an entire food group can serve such racial injustice. The food pyramid they taught you in school was not meant to be for your health, but much like everything else in this modern world, it was made for capitalism.
Dietary racism is the real-life manifestation of the phrase ‘you are what you eat’.
It’s the culture of nutritional determinism that suggests certain foods are “bad” while other types are “better”; even though they behave in very similar ways.
The food pyramid is supposed to guide our eating habits. It shows us how much we should eat certain foods and encourages us to eat “whole” foods. However, in the hierarchy of food groups, you notice that there are no foods specific to Black people or other non-Caucasian populations.
Over 65% of the population worldwide is lactose intolerant, but there is a difference between races. People of European decent don’t have as much trouble digesting dairy products.
Asian, First Nations, Blacks, Hispanic, Native American and Ashkenazi Jews have a 70–95 percent rate of lactose intolerance.
90% Asian
79% First Nations (American, Canadian Indians)
51% Hispanic
75% African American
21% Caucasian
So, why does the (DGA) recommend that children and adults consume a 3 cup-equivalent of dairy products daily?
I’m sure you have seen advertisements promoting milk or dairy products for “strong bones”, but these commercials use suggestive language and leave you to make the inference, vs stating “dairy promotes strong bones”.
Why? Because there are no studies backing this up. It is a way of convincing the consumer that they need this product through marketing, capitalistic profiting and “scare tactics”.
Humans are the only mammals that consume dairy after infancy, as well as the consumption of milk or lactose bi products from other animals or species.
How will you get your calcium or other micronutrients if you do not consume dairy? The answer is simple. The same way the cow gets its calcium, from plants. In most countires, cows have come directly from colonisation.
Other cultures, cuisines and people of colour traditionally consume more plant based whole food diets with minimal dairy.
Studies show BIPOC stop producing the enzyme “lactase” (which is what breaks down dairy products) after infancy. The 21% of the population who can effectivly digest dairy products are the result of an adpated gene mutation.
It is a deliberate effort from the government to encourage foods they know will make you sick and promote chronic disease.
By putting minority groups and communities in a position of food insecurity they make them dependent on the government for food subsidies. This is a form of institutional racism.
The government is very assured that these minority communities of colour do not have the same access to primary health care. Forcing groups of people to be dependent is a way for the government and dairy industry to capitalise on minority communities and make thema dummping ground for commodity foods like dairy.
The USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services were sued by Physicians Committees Responsible for Medicine (PCRM) in December because several committee members have or have had financial ties to the dairy, meat, and egg industries and could be persuaded to keep these food products within the legal limits.
“I believe they’re using the race card in a very irresponsible way to suggest dairy products aren’t suitable,” says Susan Ruland, a spokeswoman for the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board.
Examples of dietary racism:
Alternative milk: Coffee shops like Starbucks and others charge more for non-dairy milk, forcing BIPOC and lactose-intolerant customers to either pay the surcharge or choose a beverage that will make them unwell.
Unfair government mandates: Despite the reality that dairy products can sicken millions of people, the 2020–2025 US Dietary Guidelines propose three servings for all Americans. This follows suit with other countries, like New Zealand, who also reccommend three servings a day.
Discrimination in school lunches: Students participating in the National School Lunch programme are required to present a doctor’s note in order to abstain from consuming a carton of milk while waiting for their food. This federal law promotes pupils to consume a product because it disregards the diversity of the youngsters participating in this programme and the reality that millions suffer from lactose intolerance.
Questionable Industry Research: In an attempt to support its claim that chocolate milk is an optimal post-workout recovery beverage, the dairy industry heavily relies on a self-funded study that only included seven white male participants. The results from these seven white men are intended to represent the entire population.
“Dietary racism clearly parallels environmental racism, and often creates financial barriers that exclude people from making healthier food choices.”
— Dr. Milton Mills, M.D., Internal Medicine physician and expert in food justice
The nation’s primary racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, according to communities of colour, are left out of the suggestions and the current rules, which are also mostly unreachable.
This is unquestionably a matter of racial equity, and it’s something we really need to address.
The reason nutritional advice isn’t working for us isn’t because we don’t have a strict procedure for creating it. The reason for this is that the federal government invests virtually nothing on necessary nutrition research and even less on actually putting its own recommendations into practice.
What are your thoughts on dietary racisim?
Do you agree that the food pyrimid needs to be re evaluated?
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash
I think the article is a crock of horse manure myself. I just researched about Africans drinking milk on a search engine just to see what came up, and it says Africans drink milk in Africa and it has been a part of African cultures for thousands of years. Records show Jews in Biblical times also drank it. And I’m sure there are other nonWhites who drink it too as part of their own cultures. If someone is lactose-intolerant, or even if they don’t like the taste of it, they shouldn’t have to drink it, pure and simple. But nearly… Read more »