Far from being a cowardly tactic (Letters, October 3), Peta's "Dump Dairy" campaign should be applauded.

Cow's milk is a great foodstuff - for baby cows, not humans. Dairy products are increasingly implicated in a range of health problems, including lactose intolerance (the inability to digest the sugar in milk), irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies and infant colic.

Type 1 (childhood onset) diabetes is also beginning to be linked with cow's milk consumption.

Dairy products are high in fat and cholesterol (even semi-skimmed milk weighs in with some 34 per cent of the calories derived from fat) and contribute to about half the saturated fat intake in the UK.

Saturated fat is time and again implicated as a high-risk factor in heart disease and obesity.

And what of the equation cow's milk=calcium=strong bones?

Countries with the highest consumption of dairy foods have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

Like all animal proteins, dairy products encourage calcium to be lost from the body.

The best sources of calcium are dark green vegetables, nuts (especially almonds), seeds (especially sesame) and soya milk and beans.

Cow's milk contains no fibre, no carbohydrate, no iron, no vitamin C, is loaded with unhealthy fats and is implicated in a whole host of health problems.

It is no more natural for people to drink than milk from giraffes, cats or elephants.

-Laura Scott, Senior Nutritionist, Viva!, Queen Square, Brighton