Lunches taste great, less filling

Congratulations to thechildren who attend school in the Oak Park School District.You are fortunate that the Wellness Committee and your parents have voted to give you healthy food options at lunch. I know that you won't be see- ing fresh, uncooked spinach on the menu any time soon, but did you realize that by deciding to spend just a few cents more on milk that's free of hormones and antibiotics you are doing your part in prevent- ing future E.coli outbreaks? Here's why: The E.coli bacte- rium lives in the digestive tracts of healthy humans and cows. The acid in our stomachs is normally able to kill E.coli if we acciden- tally ingest it. But the type of E.coli that caused so many to be- come ill (and one death) recently is E.coli O157:H7, a far more virulent strain that comes from cattle that are fed grain, as most cattle are in the United States to- day. The stomachs of those cattle are highly and unnaturally acidic. It is their infected manure that contaminates the groundwater and hence the crops that grow near where the cows live. Most cows are put into confine- ment and forced to eat grain (mostly corn) so that they'll fat- ten up quicker. Many of them get sick from eating grain so they're also fed a steady stream of anti- biotics as insurance against the almost inevitable illness. Oh, and they're also given hormones so that they can produce more and more milk. By spending those few extra pennies on Alta Dena milk that's hormone and antibiotic free, you're supporting the farmers who allow their cows to pass at least some of their days munching on grass and maybe even some clo- ver thus keeping their manure relatively harmless. So, you're doing yourselves, and the cows, a favor. Betsy Milligan Calabasas