Science based studies against dairy products

Re Family benefits from dairy products (Gaz 16/6).

Whilst I thank the Gazette for including my views on dairy products as headlines Matter of balance (Gaz 9/6) I must point out the irony of the bold heading to a response letter of Monique Jefford Family benefits from dairy products (Gaz 16/6).

Firstly, my commernts were a science based response to World Milk Day an obvious promotion by a struggling dairy industry.

Also I’m reluctant to have to say it, but I get the impression Ms Jefford has not objectively considered any aspect of the scientific literature relating to dairy, particularly views not sponsored by the industry.

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD has the virtue of being the largest epidemiological project on human nutrition. One of the many independent unbiased studies, which among other aspects points out the dangers of dairy consumption.

Recommended reading which is true and provable for Ms Jefford and others. Verifiability is a virtue of high standard compared to anecdotal comments from a dairy farmer.

In a spirit of balance, I rest my case.

David Gillespie, Warragul

Federal Court's recent judgment which found that the state-owned VicForests is conducting logging unsustainably, leading to the both endangered Leadbeater's Possum and Greater Glider being pushed closer to extinction.

Does Russell seriously want these creatures to become extinct by removing the protection that the judgement provides?

Will VicForests seriously risk millions more in taxpayer dollars when it knows that an appeal can only succeed if its lawyers (who have already pocketed millions) can find a legal loophole?

VicForests knows that the evidence that was heard over a 12 day trial (which demonstrated that its systems are fundamentally flawed because they involve the unsustainable slaughter of endangered animals) can't be challenged.

If the federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, allows logging where these creatures live, she will be doing so in the face of the court findings of fact which cannot be legally overturned, including a finding that VicForests cannot be trusted when it says it plans to log more sustainably in the future.

The court also found that promises to do things better have come too late. A combination of bushfire and prolonged unsustainable logging have resulted in less than 1.16 per cent of the Central Highlands being Mountain Ash which is 80 years or older. The endangered creatures need old trees because only they have hollows for nesting. But VicForests wants the same trees in order to meet its supply contract with the Japanese-owned Australian Paper.

We already know our local state member, Gary Blackwood, does not care about the survival of our state faunal emblem.

Please Russell - don't position yourself on the wrong side of history.

David Clarke, Noojee academic, Jenna Price wrote on June 16 in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Big structural issues are rarely addressed by current members. And they are a shrinking proportion of the electorate. Australians don't want to join political parties. We hate them. Membership was about four per cent in 1967, about two percent in 1996 and about half that now."

Long overdue across this country is the rise of independent candidates at state and federal levels raising finds, building an organisation and publicising the public interest issues the major parties avoid, ignore or pervert for their partisan interests.

Their fundamental objective must be to eliminate the sitting Coalition or ALP placeman or woman.

Otherwise sit back and watch the continued accelerated ruination of this country by venal self serving party oligarchies strutting at home but frequently grovelling abroad.

Frank Carleton, Longwarry