Beer is good, but so is milk, and PETA's claims are inaccurate and deceptive.
- Whole milk is 3% fat or more, depending on the cow. However, most people buy milk which has had some or all of the fat removed. Skim milk has almost no fat.
- Again, whole milk has 20mg of cholesterol per serving. Skim milk has around 5mg of cholesterol. Both of these are rather small amounts.
- rBGH is not present in the milk of cows treated with it. At present, no test can discern between milk from rBGH-treated cows and that from cows who have not been treated. If you are concerned, though, look for organic milk, cheese, and milk products.
- Half a gram of dietary fiber is damn little, considering that you should be getting around 25 grams daily. Stick to whole fruits and grains for fiber.
- Milk, even skim milk, does contain 125mg of sodium per serving. That really isn't very much, given that 2000mg is considered a healthy daily intake of sodium. Ramen and McDonald's food are "sky-high" in sodium; milk is not.
- "Complex carbohydrate" is a technical term for starch. 3g of starch is 12 calories' worth -- a minuscule amount. Incidentally, the fermentation of beer involves a conversion of starch to sugar, and thence to alcohol.
In addition, milk contains a large quantity of
calcium, and is usually fortified with
vitamins. Calcium -- which you can also get from eating dark-green
vegetables such as
spinach and
broccoli -- is necessary for healthy
bones and
teeth. Beer contains no calcium, and not much in the way of vitamins. Indeed, the metabolism of
alcohol depletes certain vitamins, particularly
B vitamins; this is one of the factors in
hangover.