Yá’át’ééh (hello in Navajo) and ahéhee’ (thank you) for reading the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter.
Jonathan Nez, former president of the Navajo Nation, is helping to lead a national effort to remove dairy from the United States Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines.
He and medical professionals who have joined him in the call argue that most Native Americans and most people in the world are lactose-intolerant.
They also argue that not only can many people not digest dairy, but its consumption for them can lead to negative health factors, such as being a trigger for asthma.
I have received quite a few emails about this article.
Many readers argue that people should have a choice if they want dairy and that tribal groups shouldn’t dictate dietary guidelines for the rest of the country.
Amy Winters, executive director of the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association, echoes that sentiment and adds that the USDA dietary guidelines do not dictate what people should eat, but merely recommend the best foods that meet the needs of vitamins and minerals that people need.