For generations, dairy has been promoted as a dietary cornerstone. Yet as nutrition science advances and food systems change, long-standing assumptions about dairy’s safety and necessity deserve careful reexamination.
The Case for Dairy, and Why It Persists
Dairy is commonly presented as an efficient source of calcium, protein, and several essential micro nutrients. Public health messaging has long emphasized milk for bone health, framing it as critical for building strong skeletons in youth and preventing fractures later in life. Dairy proteins, particularly whey and casein, are also promoted as high quality and beneficial for muscle maintenance, athletic performance, and aging populations.
More recently, certain dairy products, especially yogourt and cheese, have been portrayed as neutral or even protective for heart health, despite their saturated fat content. Fermented dairy is also marketed for gut health and weight management, and dairy’s affordability and cultural familiarity are often cited as reasons it remains embedded in dietary guidelines and institutional food programs.
These claims have helped establish dairy as both nutritionally “necessary” and broadly safe. However, necessity and familiarity are not the same as optimal health.
A Biological Reality Check
From a biological standpoint, adult humans regularly consuming another species’ milk is unusual. Among mammals, milk is a highly specialized substance designed for a specific purpose: nourishing infants of the same species during a narrow developmental window. Once weaning occurs, milk consumption naturally stops. This pattern is remarkably consistent across the animal kingdom.
Humans are the lone exception. We not only continue consuming milk after weaning, but we do so from another species (most commonly cows) whose milk evolved to rapidly grow a calf into a several-hundred-pound ruminant. Even when other animals will opportunistically drink milk if offered, it is not a natural or sustained dietary behaviour.
The existence of lactase persistence (the ability to digest lactose into adulthood) is often presented as evidence that milk is “meant” for adult humans. In reality, lactase persistence is the exception, not the rule. Most people globally become lactose intolerant after childhood. Where lactase persistence exists, it represents a relatively recent genetic adaptation to dairying under specific historical pressures, not proof of biological necessity or optimality.
Crucially, adaptation does not automatically imply health promotion. Humans have adapted to consuming many substances without those substances being inherently beneficial or harmless. From a purely biological perspective, adult dairy consumption is best understood as a culturally normalized behaviour layered onto an evolutionary anomaly, rather than a default human design.
This does not automatically make dairy “bad,” but it does challenge the assumption that it is intrinsically natural, required, or beyond scrutiny.
When Safeguards Fall Short
In theory, nutrition science is protected by peer review, replication, and independent guideline development. In practice, these safeguards operate under strain. Peer review is inconsistent and vulnerable to bias, reviewer fatigue, and publication pressures. Passing peer review does not guarantee robust validation.
Advisory panels and research institutions often exist within funding ecosystems linked to industry, even when disclosures are made. Influence does not require corruption. Structural incentives alone can shape which questions are asked and which conclusions feel acceptable.
This pattern is well documented across multiple industries, including tobacco, sugar, and alcohol. Dairy fits comfortably within this historical context. Once embedded in school programs, subsidies, and guidelines, dairy acquired institutional inertia that makes reevaluation difficult.
The modern dairy industry benefits from:
- Government subsidies and price supports
- Guaranteed demand through public institutions
- Regulatory protection and marketing integration
This does not prove dairy is harmful, but it challenges the idea that its prominence rests solely on nutritional superiority.
Health Concerns Raised by Plant-Based Researchers
Whole-food, plant-based advocates argue that modern dairy consumption levels are unprecedented and unnecessary. Their concerns focus primarily on health outcomes:
- Cardiovascular risk is a central concern. Dairy remains a major source of saturated fat and cholesterol in Western diets. While newer studies suggest neutrality for some products, replacing dairy fat with whole plant foods consistently improves cholesterol and cardiovascular outcomes, making dairy unnecessary from this perspective.
- Digestive tolerance is another issue. Most adults worldwide experience lactose intolerance, with symptoms ranging from discomfort to significant gastrointestinal distress. Plant-based advocates view this as evidence that dairy is not an appropriate adult food for most people.
- Cancer risk is also emphasized. Higher dairy intake has been associated with increased risk of hormone-sensitive cancers, particularly breast and prostate cancer. Proposed mechanisms include elevated IGF-1 levels and exposure to naturally occurring hormones in milk from pregnant cows. Casein, dairy’s primary protein, has also been shown in experimental settings to promote tumor growth under certain conditions.
- Additional concerns include autoimmune conditions, acne and skin inflammation, weight gain from calorie-dense dairy foods, and food safety risks from pathogens and fat-soluble environmental contaminants. Antibiotic use in animal agriculture further raises concerns about residues and resistance.
- Bone health, dairy’s strongest selling point, is among the most contested claims. Large population studies show little or no fracture protection from milk intake, and some link higher dairy consumption with increased fracture risk. Calcium is readily available from many plant foods, often with comparable absorption.
From this perspective, dairy is not only unnecessary but potentially harmful at modern levels, especially given the availability of fortified plant milks and whole plant sources of key nutrients.
Ethical Concerns in Brief
Critics of the dairy industry argue that many standard practices raise serious welfare concerns, particularly in large-scale systems. These include repeated impregnation, early separation of calves from mothers, high rates of lameness and mastitis, confinement, and slaughter at a fraction of natural lifespan. Even in higher-welfare systems, core features such as forced reproduction and calf separation remain.
The ethical critique centres on the treatment of cows as production units rather than sentient beings with social and emotional needs. While practices vary, exploitation is viewed as inherent to commercial milk production.
Progressive Health Reform
Adventist pioneer Ellen G. White Ellen G. White consistently taught that God’s original diet was plant-based and that this pattern best supports physical, moral, and spiritual health. Animal products were viewed as concessions to circumstance, not the ideal.
Her counsel on dairy was measured but directional. She permitted limited use of milk, eggs, and butter as transitional foods where alternatives were unavailable or knowledge was lacking. At the same time, she warned that increasing disease among animals would eventually make these foods unsafe. Her counsel emphasized patience, individual conscience, and avoidance of extremes.
Her strongest warnings were reserved for cheese. Unlike her qualified statements on milk and eggs, she described cheese as wholly unfit for food and stated that it should never be introduced into the stomach. These statements were unambiguous and did not distinguish between types of cheese.
Taken as a whole, Ellen White’s counsel points toward progressive reform rather than static rules. She affirmed the plant-based ideal, permitted limited accommodations, warned of coming dangers, and urged thoughtful, humble movement toward greater light. In a time of widespread industrial food production, animal disease, and abundant plant-based alternatives, many find her principles increasingly relevant.
Conclusion
Taken together, the health evidence, ethical concerns, and prophetic counsel all challenge the idea that dairy is necessary or beyond scrutiny. With abundant whole-food alternatives now available, the question is no longer what must be kept, but what best supports long-term health and integrity. The next step is practical: exploring nourishing, accessible dairy alternatives that align with both evidence and conscience.
The following is a detailed list of dairy alternatives that can help you meet key nutrients often sought from milk and dairy (such as calcium, protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, phosphorus, and healthy fats). Many plant-based products must be fortified to approach the nutrient profile of dairy, so always check labels.
Milk Alternatives
- Soy and pea milk: protein, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12
- Oat milk: fibre, fortified calcium and vitamins
- Almond, cashew, hemp, coconut milks: fortified calcium and vitamins
- Hemp milk also provides omega-3 fats
Calcium-Rich Plant Foods
- Calcium-set tofu: calcium and complete protein
- Leafy greens: collards, kale, bok choy, broccoli
- Chia seeds, sesame seeds, tahini
- Beans and legumes
Plant-Based Protein Sources
- Lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas
- Tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk
- Quinoa and whole grains
- Nuts and seeds
Vitamin D and Vitamin B12
- Fortified plant milks and cereals
- UV-exposed mushrooms (vitamin D)
- Nutritional yeast (vitamin B12)
- Supplements when needed
Healthy Fats and Omega-3s
- Flaxseeds and chia seeds
- Hemp seeds and hemp milk
- Walnuts, avocados, olives, olive oil
Other Important Nutrients
- Potassium: beans, bananas, potatoes, greens
- Magnesium and phosphorus: whole grains, nuts, seeds
- Iron and zinc: legumes, seeds, whole grains
- Riboflavin and iodine: fortified foods, iodized salt
Sources Used:
- Dr. Mark Hyman; Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at all Costs, June 24, 2010
- Dr. Sophia Ochoa, Forks Over Knives; 7 Ways Milk and Dairy Products Are Making You Sick, March 19, 2016
- Physicians Committee; White Lies? Five Milk Myths Debunked, February 11, 2016
Related Articles:
________________________________________
This post was originally published by Benevolent Witness on Heaven's Health Plan.
It’s shared here with permission — you can find the original post here.