World Vegan Day

Vegans dispute pro-dairy findings

The findings of a recent study on dairy products and weight loss from the Curtin University of Technology have been disputed by the organising committee for World Vegan Day Melbourne.

According to the group's Event Co-Ordinator, Mark Doneddu, the significance of the research has been blown out of proportion. "This study only included 40 subjects, and yet it made headlines in several major newspapers in Australia." he said. "We never hear anything about much more significant studies with the opposite conclusion - take the China Study, which covered 2400 Chinese counties and 880 million people and found that the healthiest diet for weight-loss is a wholefood, plant-based diet."

Mr Doneddu also said that weight loss on high-protein diets is temporary and poses major health risks. "The weight lost is not fat but water, flushing out the toxins from the food - which leads to the dangerous condition of ketosis." he said. "If this study had lasted a year or two instead of 12 weeks, the subjects eating the most dairy would probably end up heavier than when they began, with health complications like osteoporosis."

Indeed, the China Study, widely cited as the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, found that the single biggest predictor for the growth of virtually all Western degenerative diseases was the amount of animal protein consumed. These results have been supported by statements from the British Medical Association, the World Health Organisation and the American Dietetic Association, whose report on vegetarians began with the words: Studies indicate that vegetarians often have lower morbidity and mortality rates from several chronic diseases than do non-vegetarians. And the research continues to pour in: one new study, due to be published in the American Journal of Epidemiology next week, implicates red and processed meat in prostate cancer development.

"The livestock industry has convinced us that animal protein is good for you, meat is the healthiest source of iron and dairy builds strong bones - but most of the scientific evidence points the other way," said Mr Doneddu. "Whichever way you look at it - whether it's health, the environment or animal cruelty - veganism is the way to go. Replacing livestock with crops would free up nearly half the continent for reforestation, water catchments and solar and wind energy, which would solve all our environmental problems too."

World Vegan Day volunteer Meghan Street says that going vegan is much easier than it first seems. "There is such a huge variety of plant-based food and recipes out there," she said. "I eat a lot more fresh fruit and vegetables than I used to. Meat and dairy have an overpowering and dulling effect on your tastebuds, and when you're not eating them any more you can really appreciate the more natural, wholesome flavours in plant-based foods. It feels like second nature now: I have so much more energy and I hardly ever get sick. I think everyone should attend World Vegan Day so they can see for themselves how easy and pleasurable it is."

World Vegan Day will be held at the Abbotsford Convent from 10am to 5pm, on Sunday November 1st.

Contacts:

Mark Doneddu (Event Co-ordinator) 0448 712 063

Meghan Street (volunteer) 0419 353 954

Details

Event: World Vegan Day 2009 - Melbourne
Date: November 1st, 2009.
Time: 10am-5pm.
Address: Abbotsford Convent, 1 St. Heliers Street, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067.