-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org] On Behalf Of kelley at pulpculture.org Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 5:40 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org; lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: RE: [lbo-talk] L'Oreal China's sales reached US$180m in last year
>Not a vegan, LOVE dairy products (Kefir! YUMMY!), but here
<http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm> Disclaimer: Don't get your
manties in a wad. Dietary/nutrition information is always tentative.
** I totally agree. So does the definition of “Food” in Larousse Gastronomique, which hails itself as the world’s greatest culinary encyclopaedia. The definition reads: "A substance eaten to sustain life; as part of a well-balanced diet, it promotes growth and maintains health. No one food is nutritionally perfect as it does not supply all the nutrients in the right proportions to support health. So, to satisfy nutritional needs and individual tastes, we need to eat, in moderation, a variety of different foods. There are many combinations of foods that supply the right balance of nutrients and energy. A good diet in Mexico, for example, is based on very different foods from an equally nutritious diet in France, Japan or Italy, since the daily diet of a country still reflects its social, religious and family traditions, as well as its agricultural practices. The diet will vary according to the habits and way of life of the individual." In other words: nutrition is defined in accord with cultural norms. What I found intriguing was that the researchers hired to do the research blatantly distort the reports on calcium deficiency to support their aims of selling their products. For the most part, the Chinese population, despite the widespread aversion to milk and milk products, is not at all calcium deficient, and the folks at the FAO trade and commodities division are mistaken when saying otherwise.
ken