Madam, - Hilda Griffin's letter of November 22nd attacking and over-simplifying the work of Prof Jane Plant and asserting that dairy products have no role in causing breast cancer would be more credible if she did not work for the National Dairy Council.
Her letter brought vividly to mind equally firm assertions in the past by tobacco companies denying any possible link between lung cancer and smoking. - Yours, etc,
CARMEL GRIMLEY,
Manor Rise,
Dublin 16.
Madam, - Bearing in mind that the National Dairy Council's raison d'être is to promote dairy products, it is no surprise that its nutritionist, Hilda Griffin, should seeks to undermine Prof Jane Plant's view that eliminating dairy foods from one's diet can be important in both the prevention and treatment of cancer and osteoporosis.
The bottom line is that cows' milk was never intended for human consumption, so let's not promote it as essential to human health. Incidentally, the Chinese, who do not consume dairy products, have one of the lowest rates of osteoporosis in the world. Can Ms. Griffin explain this? - Yours, etc,
ERICA MURRAY,
Lower Churchtown Road,
Dublin 14.