SCHOOL MILK

Press, Volume C, Issue 29459, 10 March 1961, Page 16

SCHOOL MILK

“Gaps In Diet Closed”

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND. March 9. The school milk scheme is the greatest preventive health scheme ever devised, according to the secretary of the National Council of the Parent-teacher Federation (Dr. L. R. Bedggood) He said that since the introduction of the scheme. New Zealand had often been lauded by overseas visitors and authorities. The idea had been accepted by other countries and put into operation both in the East and West.

"The school milk scheme has been attacked on the grounds of wastage, but where the scheme is well administered. there appears to be little or no wastage.” said Dr. Bedggood He said many other educational and health services would probably show more wastage, if they were investigated. If the milk was not used in schools it would probably go into the overseas products. further depressing the fall'ng overseas markets. “The protagonists of the scheme stress the fact that milk is the natural and most complete food and so closes the gaps left in the diet of many children." he said "It acts as a strong preventive to illness and builds up general bodily resistance to infections.”

Dr. Bedggood said that with pasteurisation, flavouring and homogenisation experiments, plenty of encouragement had been given to drinfc milk.

“It seems that the question is largelv a matter of economy. Can we afford to economise in our education and health services? Most countries are doing the reverse.” (Earlier Reference Page 22)