Vegan teacher's action out of line

Amazing! I'm referring to the incident with Dave Warwak, an art teacher, who was trying to teach and impose his vegan lifestyle on Fox River Grove Middle School students. Why doesn't Warwak stick to what he was hired to do -- teach art -- instead of nutrition?

Facts: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development started a public health education campaign called "Milk Matters" in 1997 to help increase calcium consumption among children and teens. According to the institute , starting around age 9, young people need almost twice as much calcium as younger kids to help during the critical bone-building time between the ages of 11 and 15.

Tweens and teens need 1,300 mg. of calcium daily and low-fat or fat-free milk is a great source of calcium because it also contains vitamin D, which helps the body absorb more calcium. For more facts about calcium/milk, go online to "Milk Matters," www.nichd.nih.gov/milk.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Vice President Bruce Friedrich said, "The school was pushing commercial milk advertising ... stamping its vote of support on a product that promotes cruelty to animals and harms children."

Not true -- dairy producers are committed to cow comfort, quality rations and care with their herds. Experience this yourself at one of the largest dairies in the country, Fair Oaks Farms Dairy Adventure in Northwest Indiana just outside of Chicago. See www.fofarms.com. It's educational and fun. I highly recommend it.

Lastly, PETA plans to honor Warwak with the group's "compassionate educator" award. I say it's time to support those schools and educators like Principal Tim Mahaffy for recognizing Warwak was out of line. Kudos!

Patti Cardoso

Elgin