‘Got Beer?’ Bus Stop Ad Says Booze Beats Milk for Bone and Heart Health

University of Wisconsin–Madison Is Ranked Top Party School, Prompts PETA Campaign Noting Dangers of Dairy Foods

For Immediate Release:
September 6, 2016

Contact:
Diane Hsiung 202-483-7382

Following news that the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been ranked the nation’s top party school, PETA is negotiating with outdoor advertisers to display an ad on bus stops near the campus noting that a side-by-side comparison shows that beer, not milk, protects bone and heart health. The ad (available here) reads, “Got Beer? It’s Official: Beer Is Better for You Than Milk”—and cites scientific studies that make the case.

“The verdict is in, and even beer beats milk hands down,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Alcohol in moderation can be good for you, but there’s no way to consume dairy foods responsibly when they harm our health and cause billions of cows to suffer.”

Consumption of dairy foods has been linked to serious health problems, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer —as well as to conditions such as acne, excess mucus, and symptoms of lactose intolerance, such as flatulence. There is even evidence that dairy foods cause osteoporosis—rather than preventing it—by depleting bone mass.

Beer, on the other hand, has been shown to help keep bones from going brittle, among other health benefits. According to Harvard Medical School, more than 100 prospective studies show that moderate alcohol consumption can lower the risk of heart attack, strokes caused by clotting, and death from all cardiovascular causes. In addition, moderate drinking may help prevent gallstones and type 2 diabetes.

In addition to damaging our health, dairy-food consumption contributes to animal suffering on a massive scale. As documented by PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—calves are typically torn away from their mothers within a day of birth, which causes them both extreme distress. Mother cows can be heard calling for their calves for days. Male calves are confined to cramped veal crates or barren feedlots, where they are fattened for slaughter, and females are sentenced to the same sad fate as their mothers.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.