Interview with Dave Rietz (2003)

Interview with Dave Rietz, webmaster and co-developer of Notmilk.com, a website devoted to exposing the harmful effects of dairy consumption. NotMilk is owned by Mr. Robert Cohen, the author of “MILK, the Deadly Poison” and “MIlk a-z”. This interview was first published on a prior site I had for Veggie Mama in 2003.

Trula: Why was NotMilk.com started?
Dave: Several reasons. First and foremost NOTMILK.com is a single large (over 1275 web pages now) repository of solid time-tested information on perhaps the single worst product line humans have ever consumed. The primary focus of NOTMILK is to provide the “other side of the story” in order to counter over 70 years of dairy industry disinformation, aided and abetted by USDA, FDA, Congress and even some presidents (such as Nixon and Clinton). My DORway.com on aspartame was created for the very same reasons.

Some will say “but NOTMILK.com sells two books, a tape, bumper stickers, T-shirts…” and my answer is provably simple: There is enough FREE information on NOTMILK.com to fill perhaps 20 books… including the original two books.

Personally, I have donated over 16,000 hours of my own time over the past seven years to NOTMILK.com, DORway.com (and other sites), associated Email, searches, etc. as my only means of thanking the Internet for restoring my health (albeit not completely), and in the case of the truth about milk and dairy (and IGF-1 “plug and play cancer fuel”)… with extending my life by slowing the growth of my prostate cancer simply by abandoning all milk and dairy.

I do this because it is the right thing to do (I had wished that someone had done it for me… before!), and because I have both the time and sufficient talent to get the job done properly. Over the past seven years I have also donated around 15 grand derived from my finite retirement income in support of my efforts to help others. Mr. Cohen (milk) and Mrs. Martini (aspartame) have donated far more time and personal resources than I both in time spent doing so and personal outlays accomplishing the self-assumed tasks.

Trula: Who is your audience? Who do you hope to reach?
Dave: Any and all who consume cow’s milk, dairy, or pieces and parts of it. Perhaps the prime focus are those already direly affected (even infants and children) … millions who have (or are at risk of) heart disease, obesity, diabetes, fast growing cancers, asthma, Crohn’s disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), autistic or ADD children, victims of antibiotic resistance… all the way to ZITS.

Trula: Has the site received any rebuttals or criticism from the dairy industry?
Dave: None. No contact from Monsanto nor any of their high priced PR and law firms, nor any Dairy organization, nor entities such as USDA, FDA, CDC, NIH, Congress, Clinton, or any other pro-dairy entity (including media such as Jane Brody of New York Times and her ilk at other media outlets, etc.)

Rather than open a can of worms by recognizing NOTMILK.com or its owner, the pro-dairy factions gin up “GOT MILK”, “Behold, the power of cheese” disinformation ads, and junk science that suggests that milk is needed for the calcium, that the calcium helps to prevent colon cancer, that milk will somehow help to prevent breast cancer, that pizza and yogurt can make one lose weight… etc..

Trula: On NotMilk.com there is a section featuring cartoons of children dumping milk on the floor. What has been the response to this?
Dave: From the opposition (including medical entities and the media)? None whatsoever!

Trula: What suggestions would you have for parents wishing to take dairy out of their childrens’ diet?
Dave: Eliminate those processed and home-made foods that require milk, dairy, or pieces and parts of milk (see notmilk.com/cowparts.txt)

Where this is not feasible, substitute HOME-MADE plant milks made from soybeans, wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, flax, corn, amaranth, millet, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, almonds… or any other suitable seed or nut. The best choice would be a mix of the above such as soy, flax (for the omega 3 fatty acids), a bit of corn (makes it a bit more thick), millet or amaranth (smother texture and makes it a bit more white).

We do not suggest that anyone consume processed soy products, including (and especially) commercial soy milks, most of which are processed on dairy equipment, and most of which incorporate a possible carcinogenic stomach-ache substance called carrageenan (see notmilk.com/carrageenan.html).

Very important… we do NOT think that soymilk or soy products are appropriate for infants under the age of one. Same goes for non-human animal milks.

Trula: What are some of the health benefits to not consuming dairy products for infants and children?
Dave: Dr. Spock shocked the medical world years ago when he said that NO infant consume cow’s milk. His prime reason was lactalbumin in milk that can induce diabetes mellitus in those children who are susceptible to this disease. Before he died (and I believe it is in his last book) he said that no human over the age of two should consume cows milk… that there were far superior sources of calcium. Perhaps www.dorway.com/topten.txt speaks louder than anything that I could create.

Trula: I’ve been told that cheese is not as high in lactose as milk, is this true?
Dave: From ilovecheese.com/lactose_intolerant_faqs.asp:
“Most of the lactose found in cheese is removed with the whey during the manufacturing process. Most ripened cheeses, such as Cheddar and Swiss, contain about 95% less lactose than whole milk. Aged cheeses contain almost no lactose – only 0.4-1 gram of lactose per ounce. Processed cheeses contain about 0.5-4 grams per ounce.

When shopping for cheese, look at the Nutrition Facts panel on the labels. If the amount of sugars listed is 0 grams, it does not contain lactose.”

Trula: Besides not consuming any dairy products, do you also not eat meat or other animal products?
Dave: Up until a few years ago Mr. Cohen was a typical American… partaking of the “Standards American Diet” (SAD). That means that he ate everything, and as a chef, he used milk, cheese, meats, fowl, fish etc. in the meals he prepared. After writing the book “MILK, The deadly poison” (1997) he chose to abandon all milk and, with typical difficulty, weaned himself from all cheeses, ice creams, etc. Following that he became a vegetarian (no meats, fowl, fish). The next step was to become Vegan… meaning no animal protein whatsoever.

Thanks to Mr. Cohen I learned in June of 1997 that milk has IGF-1 in it, a powerful growth hormone that fueled my surprise case of prostate cancer. It took me a good year to wean myself from my favorite cheeses, ice creams and butter. My greatest reward is a cancer that grows much more slowly. Isabel, my devoted wife of 43 years, has been an excellent chef for most of my 66 years. She has become convinced that IGF-1 is cancer fuel so she does not use any of it when preparing my meals. However, eliminating other animal proteins has not been so easy. For the most part I am, perhaps, 85% vegan (some eggs, some hamburger in dishes such as chili, and some fish). And… I am still working on going all raw and vegan.

Trula: Cow’s milk and other dairy products have been touted so long as being good for the healthy development of childrens’ bones. Why isn’t this accurate?
Dave: That requires a LONG and detailed answer (and all those answers are on NOTMILK.com). Cow’s milk is cow’s milk (the world over). Milk from the cleanest grass-fed dairy cow’s, given the minimum of antibiotics still has:

*59 hormones — Worst? Perhaps the powerful IGF-1 growth hormone (think fast growing cancers)

*Scores of allergens — Worst? Probably casein (80% of the protein) Think glue! (powerful histamine or mucus maker)

*blood — Even under the best of conditions

*feces — Even under the best of conditions

*fat — Of the calories in whole milk 49% come from fat (35% for 2% milk)

*cholesterol — 3 glasses a day = the equivalent of 53 slices of bacon

*herbicides — From the feed and water (they become concentrated in the milk)

*pesticides — From the feed and water (they become concentrated in the milk)

*dioxins — From the feed and water (they become concentrated in the milk)

*viruses — (most likely many kinds of them)

*up to 20,000,000 live bacteria per liter (FDA max limit)

*up to 750,000,000 somatic (PUS) cells per liter (FDA max limit)

*up to 52 different antibiotics (they only test for a few)

*Perhaps some TB (bovine mycobacterium paratuberculosis, the bacterium linked to Johne’s disease in cows and Crohn’s disease in humans)

*Perhaps some Prions (a crystal that acts like a virus – think mad cow disease, with a 5-30 years “incubation” for something that cannot be destroyed by 900 degree Celsius heat)

*Over 80% of America’s dairy herds have a leukemia virus.

The milk of each of the over 4,700 mammals on earth is formulated specifically for that species. There are species-specific lactoferrins and immunoglobulins that in humans serve as allergens. In cow’s milk the protein lactalbumin is considered a key factor in diabetes (and a major reason for NOT giving infants cows milk). Cows milk has three times the calcium as does human breast milk. No matter, neither are very usable because in order to be absorbed and used there MUST be an equal quantity of magnesium (as exists in the greens that cows eat to get all the calcium they need for their big bones). Milk has little magnesium (less than 12% magnesium to calcium).

Eighty percent of the protein in milk is casein. Milk can be considered as a “liquid meat”, which, when added to all the OTHER protein in an average diet, may actually leach calcium from the bones in response to an acid imbalance caused by too much protein in the diet. Countries with the highest intake of milk and dairy have the highest rates of osteoporosis. Milk moustaches = good bones are a milk industry 100% lie. That casein is best used as furniture glue because in humans it triggers histamines (mucus).

Mother-natures perfect milk-delivery system is directly from teet to mouth. When anything is exposed to air the oxygen in it CHANGES things. Metals oxidize (rust). Freshly sliced apples or pears turn brown. Paper does a slow burn. Milk not consumed via mother natures intended delivery system is automatically different.

There is no need in human nutrition for cow’s milk. Dr. Spock (the famous baby doctor whose books have been outsold only by the bible) said it several years ago. Nor is the consumption of milk medically sound or desirable. Milk and dairy play a significant role in obesity, heart disease, cancer, asthma, diabetes, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, leukemia, poor digestion, lactose intolerance (according to WHO 90% of world blacks are lactose intolerant), gas, bloating, behavioral problems, osteoporosis, zits and more.

Guess what… … the milk and dairy industry SPRANG from the old European tradition of collecting UNCONSUMED milk (by the calf, of course) from the old 1-4 quart a day cow (now up to 55 quarts a day) and quickly making it into either butter, or hard cheese, as a HIGH FAT EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY FOR HARD TIMES! Most of the first wave of Pilgrims died the first winter… because they were forced to sell MOST of their butter to buy passage for the trip to America.

Milk is EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT WATER… mother natures truly perfect drink. How much do you pay for a gallon of tap water? How much do you pay for a gallon of milk? That 13 percent of substance that is 49% of fat in calories (in the form of saturated fats), provides the equivalent cholesterol of 53 slices of bacon (per three glasses of milk), and all those other “goodies”… is VERY EXPENSIVE POLLUTION! Speaking of pollution:
notmilk.com/wm/pollution.txt

Considering that cow’s milk is a fluid from diseased animals that impacts heavily on human health … it should NOT be considered a “taste to die for”. Of note:
Our mothers weaned us (there were many excellent reasons for doing so) The cow weaned her calf (all natural and practical time-tested reasons) The file www.notmilk.com/milkinfo.txt is more complete than the above.

Trula: Is all the information on NotMilk medically accurate? Can parents use the information on your site to help them with skeptical doctors, schools, and family members?
Dave: Considering that no pro-dairy entity has taken either Mr. Cohen or myself to task for anything posted over the past six years I will have to say that what we present appears to be about as good as we can make it (especially considering that Mr. Cohen does the majority of investigation and data collection). It seems to have passed the scrutiny of BSMG (the “GOT MILK” folks) who once had NOTMILK (and my DORway.com) scanned twice a day (scanned means downloading all 1500+ web pages and having a team search through them) for months apparently looking for something to use against us. Monsanto, USDA, FDA, CDC and other pro-dairy entities have also made thousands of visits to both NOTMILK.com and DORway.com.

Perhaps the very best file anyone can use to impress brainwashed doctors, schools, family members, etc… is notmilk.com/a-z.txt which has LOTS of quotes by respected organizations, doctors, etc.. Even my layman’s time-tested overview has never had and open detractors: notmilk.com/milkinfo.txt (meaning no official beef from Monsanto, any of their many PR and law firms, the dairy industry, their supporting pro-dairy entities such as Cornell, USDA, FDA, CDC, NIH, etc.)

Suffice to say that most doctors, nurses, dietitians, nutritionist, etc. are NOT open minded and will, typically, refuse to even entertain the idea that animal milk, grandfathered by FDA just like tobacco, is anything less pure than apple pie and mothers milk. They are, in reality, a major part of the human health crisis now straining resources and financial elements of health care.

To those who insist that cow’s milk is appropriate for human consumption I submit the obvious: use the milk designed by mother nature for humans… mother’s breast milk! Shocking? Why? Well, then, why not yak, elephant, dog, cat, horse, mule, jackass, skunk, rat, mouse or OTHER mammal milks? One should have the same negative reaction to goat and cow’s milk!

Trula: This has been very informative and has definitely strengthened my resolve to completely delete dairy products from my (and my children’s) diet. Thank you so much for doing the interview!<
Dave: I hope you find these answers complete and fulfilling. For more information please visit NotMilk.com. You can also join the Not Milk online discussion group: groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk To read Dave Reitz’s story, visit dorway.com/mysympt.txt

Dave Rietz passed away in November of 2003. I will forever be grateful for the information I learned from him. Although I have tried veganism and concluded it is not for me, I have drastically reduced the amount of dairy products I consume. Notmilk.com has a wealth of information about how dairy affects the body.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting Family Footprint!

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