PETA's correspondence with the ASA

On 13 June 2001, the ASA contacted PETA about a complaint . The complaint itself is confidential, but in the ASA cover letter, PETA was informed that the NFU and Dairy Council claim that there is no evidence of a link between dairy product consumption and phlegm and acne and that whole milk (which is 50 per cent fat) is low in fat. Click here to learn more about the Advertising Standards Authority (full code is online).

PETA replied , fully defending the Milk Suckers cards against the complainants and showing conclusively that milk consumption is linked to phlegm, wind, spots and obesity.

Clearly, milk consumption is linked to phlegm , wind , spots and obesity , as well as to heart disease , prostate cancer , breast cancer and many other ailments .

The ASA sent a preview of its draft recommendation, which is confidential but which changed the burden significantly. Whilst the original complaint claimed that there was no link between milk consumption and the illnesses depicted on the cards, the new version required PETA to prove that most children will suffer from all the ailments if they consume any milk at all.

On 3 August 2001, PETA replied , taking issue with the ASA's changing burden of proof and showing that milk consumption is in fact very likely to cause most children severe short-term and long-term problems, as it is linked to all the illnesses shown in the cards, as well as to long-term illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. In its reply, PETA cited world-renowned paediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock, former Johns Hopkins Director of Paediatrics Dr Frank Oski and respected paediatrician Dr Charles Attwood, who stated, 'After seeing two generations of my patients suffer with asthma and other allergic reactions to milk, I've come to the conclusion—which is now shared by many allergists—that six out of 10 children are allergic to milk protein.'

On 28 August 2001, the ASA issued it's finding, which will be posted on its Web site , handing PETA a resounding victory by holding only that the cards were too hyperbolic in their condemnation of milk consumption. Click here for PETA's news release on its victory over the milk pushers.

Click here to view PETA’s new Milk Suckers trading cards, which we will be passing out to children across the UK.