Cow’s milk is the number one source of allergies in children , and research links consumption of dairy products, including cow’s milk, to colic (stomach cramps), chronic ear infections , insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 1 or "juvenile-onset" diabetes), acne , obesity , flatulence , constipation , mucus , and a variety of other ailments.

In his world-famous book Baby and Child Care , Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote, "I no longer recommend dairy products. … The essential fats that are needed for brain development are found in vegetable oils. Milk is very low in these essential fats and high in the saturated fats that encourage artery blockage and weight problems as children grow."

According to Michael Klaper, M.D., nutritional expert and author of Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet : "Humans are the only creatures that drink milk from the mother of another species. It’s as unnatural for a child to drink the milk of a cow as it is for a dog to nurse from a giraffe! Human children have no nutritional requirements for cow’s milk and grow up healthy and strong without it. Cow’s milk and the products made from it are laced with foreign, frequently allergy-inciting bovine protein and often contain hydrocarbon pesticides and other chemical contaminants, as well as health-endangering saturated fat. Clinical experience suggests that cow’s milk is linked to numerous common health problems (runny noses, allergies, ear infections, recurrent bronchitis, asthma, etc.) that often keep people returning to their doctors’ offices instead of to their jobs or classrooms. Parents should feel good about giving their children the many nutritious, tasty alternatives to dairy products instead."

"Cow's milk is poison for kids! My children love healthy, vitamin-fortified soy milk—and they NEVER have ear infections or any of the other health conditions associated with cow's milk."

• PETA, Vegan Diets for Pregnancy and Children

• Ask questions of experts, share stories, and find out all about raising your child without meat and dairy products on VegSource's Vegetarian Parenting Web site .

• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Vegetarian Diets: Advantages for Children

• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Vegetarian Diets for Pregnancy

• Alternatives to Cow’s Milk

• Click on each illness to read more about the link between dairy products and that illness.