The New York Times on Nov 6 published an investigative report by its reporter Michael Moss saying the U.S. government is helping promote sales of cheese through an organization called Dairy Management.

In a case cited in the report, Domino's Pizza started losing business early last year because the worst tasting pies pissed off its consumers. Then Dairy Management came to work with Domino's to develop a new line of pizzas, which have 40 percent more cheese added and help devise and pay for a $12 million marketing compaign, boosting sales by double digits.

The NYT report says that at a time, Dairy Management spent millions of dollars on research in hopes to gain cheese-linked-to-weight-loss evidence so that it may use it to support a national advertising campagin promoting sales of more dairy products. The compains had lasted for years and ended in 2007.  Researchers including one paid by Dairy Management reportedly found no evidence that eating cheese helps weight loss.

The report says this organization is not a private business consultant. It receives much of its $140 million annual budget from the dairy industry as mandated by the government and several million dollars each year directly from the United States Department of Agroculture (USDA).

At issue are the "inherent complicts" in the role the USDA plays in the marketing or promotional organization.  On one hand, the USDA serves as the nutrition police giving out nutrition guidelines so that Americans may eat healthy and on the other, it is involved in promoting consumption of cheese, which is known to contain high fat among other things.

Dr. Walter C. Willett, of the Nutrition department at the Harvest School of Public Health was cited as saying "the USDA should not be involved in these programs that are promoting foods that we are consuming too much of already."

He was also cited as saying "A small amount of good flavored cheese can be compatible with a healthy diet, but consumption in the U.S. is enormours and way beyond what is optimally healthy."

Cheese is roughly made of milk fat (23 - 40 percent), dairy protein (30 percent) and minerals like calcium and phosphorus (5 percent). The composition varies by the type of cheese. But for most cheeses, this is a good estimate.

High saturated fat found in dairy products is generally considered a risk factor for cardiovacular disease.  Many people believe high protein and high calcium are beneficial while many others think otherwise.

In an interview with Mike Adams of NationalNews.com, Robert Cohen, author of "Milk, the Deadly Poison", said high rates of bone disease, heart disease and breast cancer are found in countries like Denmark, Norway, Holland and Sweden where people have highest intake of milk and dairy products.

By Jimmy Downs