U.S. dairy industry calls for greater market access to Japan

Just to point out to the dairy haters that Milk and dairy foods are healthy foods and considered nutrient-rich because they serve as good sources of calcium and vitamin D as well as protein and other essential nutrients. They provide phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, B12, and riboflavin1.

The calcium in milk, yogurt and cheese is significant yet most people don't get enough calcium or vitamin D each day2. Getting the recommended three servings of dairy per day can help build bone mass, leading to improved bone health throughout the life cycle. 

A diet rich in protein and vitamin D contributes to bone health. Due to their high protein, vitamin D and calcium content, dairy foods are a good choice for maintaining strong bones.

A diet rich in fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods, with reduced saturated fat, is as effective as some medications in reducing blood pressure in people with increased blood pressure. It has also been shown to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes!

Cutting a whole food group out of your diet is not always a good thing ,as Omnivores human beings get essential nutrients from different sources. You can cry all you like about animal welfare but until someone comes up with a plan to deal with likely effects of freeing all those animals on farms which would include over population and reduced lifespans for the animals in question as well as the economic collapse of the agriculture industry coupled to mass unemployment and starvation then I will continue to consume dairy and meat to my hearts content.

"Man can not live on bread alone! He needs cheese and peanut butter!"

I do hope you're not putting the PB on the same piece of bread as the cheese.

well I guess you got a point, this is just as any of the other substances consumed at will regardless of their known effects.

As my Mom used to say "Anything in moderation!" I am not going to let scientists decide what I can eat or not consume, I reserve the right to make that determination on my own.

Besides, what fun is life without a good cheese! "Man can not live on bread alone! He needs cheese and peanut butter!"

US cheese surely beats the stuff sold in Japan any day. Top butters from around the world are everywhere.

Hmmm....   Importing fresh milk makes no sense.  US cheese is well known for bweing awful.  US butter?  Not sure I have heard it is great....

@Yubaru, well I guess you got a point, this is just as any of the other substances consumed at will regardless of their known effects...and yes the point here is to open the market and I agree with that...the consumers will have the final choice...

Get us more butter

HM0707 and @Maria I totally agree with you two, it is a totally unnatural and unnecessary industry...

Your opinion of course.

Cheese is the "milk" of life to many so it is a totally natural and necessary industry!

@HM0707 and @Maria I totally agree with you two, it is a totally unnatural and unnecessary industry...I am pretty sure dairy consumption leads to a myriad diseases simply because milk is loaded with hormones not meant for humans, you don't need a PhD to be able to realized that. In any case, you just need to look at the statistics, pre-war Japan and post-war Japan (before and after great increases in milk consumption pushed by the US) and that thing about forcing kids to drink milk at schools...awful...

Look, people are allowed their opinions about whatever, but to over generalize and make a blanket statement about an entire industry is off the mark too.

While the benefits or not of milk may are debatable the industry does have a valid argument with regards to the market here. Other dairy products are being held out because the Japanese producers can not compete with them, it's that plain and simple of a problem.

It's an individuals choice whether or not to consume, but that does not mean EVERYONE has to follow the beliefs and opinions of a few!

Not all dairy industry is cruel. Yes, some of it is. 

All of the dairy 'industry' is cruel. Repeated artificial insemination of cows in order to keep them pregnant, the newborn is removed within hours of birth so that it doesn't steal any of the product from the industry, and is then raised for veal, or killed straightaway.

Eat and drink it as you choose, but remember it is breast milk, meant for another species to raise their offspring. It is not meant for human consumption. This is why the industry spends so much time and money making it potable.

I don't drink milk, but you'll get me to give up cheese when I'm dead and cold.

Not all dairy industry is cruel. Yes, some of it is. Be wary of mass production, and US over production is the reason their industry is desperate to flood other markets (ie: Canada, and now Japan).

It's baffling why people still consume dairy. Milk is designed for baby cows, not for adult humans. We don't need to be breastfed as adults (and certainly not from another species!).

Not only that, but you also have the abhorrent cruelty of the dairy industry and the massive environmental degradation caused by this nefarious industry.

Yes, indeed, dairy is scary.