Brophy 1

Erin Brophy
Dr. Werner
Academic Writing
2 March 2015
Annotated Bibliography
Levenstein, Harvey. Fear of Food: A History of Why We Worry About What We Eat.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Print.
Harvey Levenstein is a food historian and in his book, Fear of Food: A History
of Why We Worry About What We Eat, Levenstein follows the history of food and
why nutritionists have advised the avoidance or consumption of certain foods over
time. There is a chapter in his book where Levenstein specifically talks about milk.
In this chapter, Levenstein presents opinions on milk consumption and how theyve
have changed over time in America specifically. In the 1800s, milk was seen as a
dangerous substance because it was went bad easily if it wasnt kept cool, and
many people blamed milk for the high number of infant deaths at this time. One
doctor in 1889 proposed that these deaths were a result of ingesting millions of
living insects called microorganisms, or bacteria that came from diluting milk with
water that was polluted by drainage from the sick chamber (18). People were
skeptical of milk and when typhoid and tuberculosis becames rampant in the mid
1800s, milk was viewed it as a mysterious white death liquid (calling it the white
plague). Even when pasteurization was introduced it took about 30 years for milk
to earn a good reputation. In the 1920s, milk was highly advertised as the perfect
food by milk producers to increase the sale and consumption of this beverage (21).

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The Dairy Council, the New York State Dairymens League, and the two major milk
producers, Bordens and National Dairy Products, all recommended a dramatic
increase of milk consumption, but the real question is, why? WC: 255
What fascinated me most about the chapter Milk: The Most Valuable and
Dangerous Food was how much of an influence the food industry had on publics
opinion of milk. Levensteins timeline of milk consumption juxtaposed with the
abundance of advertisements for milk shows that publics view of milk is highly
persuaded and regulated by milk producers even when little information backs up
their claims. From 1916 to 1945, just 25 years, the amount of milk consumed by the
American population tripled due to big companies and dairy organizations
promoting the health benefits of milk with the help of nutritionists (22). One
nutritionist, Elmer McCollum, justified the consumption of milk through a
comparison study between Americans and people of Asian descent who he referred
to as Orientals (22). McCollum stated that the milk consuming Western diet of
Americans was more beneficial to ones proper growth and development because
Orientals who stopped drinking milk after weaning were shorter and less
vigorous (22). Just a decade before this, however, consumption of milk had been
decreasing steadily due to implications that it actually carried loads of diseases
causing bacteria. In addition to this, the chief of the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry,
Harvey W. Wiley, told the public that the pasteurization of milk, which had started to
become commonplace, actually depleted milk of its nutritional qualities (19).
However, just 10 years later, companies can say that milk allows us to live to an
extreme and yet healthy old age (22). How can public opinion change so quickly
with such little evidence? Is that what is happening presently with milk
consumption? WC 265

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Teicholz, Nina. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat & Cheese Belong in a Healthy
Diet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. Print.
In this book, Nina Teicholz, provides evidence as to why eating a low fat and
low carb diet really isnt actually as heart healthy as many nutritionists have been
claiming over the years. Teicholz is a journalist that has written for Gourmet
magazine, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. In the Introduction of her
book, Teicholz talks about her personal experience with weight loss and other
factors that have led her to research and write about why saturated fats do not
deserve the negative stigma they carry in modern day America.
Teicholzs recent findings have actually started to suggest that the lack of
saturated fat (present in butter, meat and dairy) is what has been causing problems
and leading to an increase in nutrition-related illnesses such as obesity, heart
disease, and diabetes. Throughout her book, she talks a lot about the importance of
eating a balanced diet that includes animal products containing saturated fat, like
milk. She references studies and pulls quotes from her individual interviews with
nutritionists, researchers, and dieticians. WC: 151
This book is an incredibly helpful resource that offers helpful information on
the topic of diet, because it relates both recent and past studies and controversies
about the ideal diet with modern day views on saturated fat in the diet. Teicholz
notes that many of the regulations put forth by government organizations like the
USDA are based on longitudinal case studies that have been monitoring people over
their lifetimes. She states that these studies are weak and impressionistic and I
agree (3). The fact of the matter is that the main goal is to find a diet that reduced

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heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and many other diet based health issues so when
something looks like a plausible cause for these illnesses, it is readily denoted as
bad for ones health because these diseases are so serious that any helpful bit of
information is jumped on.
Nina Teicholz discusses a specific milk study run by nutritionist Elmer V.
McCollum is one that I think is very important to the argument that milk is in fact
needed to support a healthy body. McCollum fed one group of rats a diet high in
dairy, meat, and milk products and the other he fed fruits and vegetables, oats,
grains, and alfalfa leaves, a diet Teicholz called near-vegetarian (149). In his study,
McCollum found that the rats fed on milk and dairy products (butter), milk and
meat, grew to normal adult size and were able to reproduce and live normally,
whereas the vegetarian group grew weaker and only grew to about 60 percent of
normal rat size (149).
Nina Teicholzs book not only presents relative studies and specific facts, she
also talks about her own personal experience and relationship with saturated fats.
Before moving to her current residence in New York and starting her research for her
book, Teicholz was on a diet that she regulated by the United States Department of
Agricultures recommended daily allowances for fat and carbohydrate intake. These
guidelines advised her, along with millions of Americans, to lower their fat intake as
a way of losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight. However, when Teicholz
moved to New York to write a restaurant review newspaper column, she started to
eat meals given to her by the restaurants. All of these meals consisted heavily of
saturated animal fats in the form of beef, cream, and dairy products, such as milk
and cheese. To her surprise, Teicholz actually started to lose weight on this diet
saying I soon lost the 10 pounds that had dogged me for years, and my doctor told

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me that my cholesterol numbers were fine (2). Her story provides a testimonial
that could be useful in my paper to convince skeptic readers that may doubt
scientific fact and prefer hearing a real-life story on the success of a milk diet. WC
471

Weaver, CV. Dairy nutrition beyond infancy. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology
58.2 (2003): 58-60. Print.
This is a peer reviewed journal article of a study published in the Australian
Journal of Dairy Technology. This study measured the mineral bone density of the
bones in hips and spine and found that consumption of milk increased mineral bone
density and not just in the way you would think. Milk is well-known for its calcium
content, but other nutrients present such as riboflavin, vitamin D, phosphorous,
magnesium, and potassium. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets
guidelines for how much of certain nutrients or foods a person should have in one
day. These guidelines are called the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) and
serve as a tool for the American public to regulate their diet. For example, one liter
of milk meets the RDA 100% for Calcium, 150% for Phosphorous, 68% for Protein,
44% for Potassium, 37% for Magnesium, 32% Riboflavin and in North America, this
meets 100% of the RDA for Vitamin D (58). This article really stresses the benefit of
consuming dairy products to obtain not just calcium, but a plethora of other
necessary nutrients. WC 178
When considering the health benefits of milk, the common image that comes
to most people is one of bone strength due to calcium intake. Though this is true,

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there are a lot more to milk that just Calcium, argues CM Weaver in her journal
article about the importance of milk consumption after weaning. This idea that milk
offers a plethora of nutrients is the most important from this article. Connie Weaver
a professor and the department head of the Department of Nutrition Science at
Purdue University states that most age groups need three to four servings of milk
to meet their calcium requirements (58). Weaver states that supplements do not
provide the same amount of nutrients and the required intake of calcium can only
come from dairy. One reason this is true is because milk is a source of bioavailable
dairy meaning the body can naturally and pretty easily absorb it, as long as the
person is not lactose intolerant (58). There are very few studies done on the effect
of Calcium supplements in the body.