Dump Your Milk in the Potomac Day will take place along the banks of the Potomac River, on the riverbank between the Watergate Complex and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The day will be touted as an “anti-dairy” industry awareness day. The dairy industry has a very successful “drink milk” campaign, which those in the anti-dairy community believe to be misleading. The activity will be a staged media event, reminiscent of the “Boston Tea Party” where participants will be encouraged to dump milk into the Potomac River.

During the course of the demonstration, presentations by prominent anti-dairy experts will be heard. Included among the presenters will be groups of concerned medical doctors and researches, as well as highly respected dietitians and health experts. The discussions center on the ill health effects of milk drinking. Experts will be on hand to discuss “Mad Cow Disease” and other human to animal transmitted illnesses, which plague agra-business. A talk will be given about the negative affects of providing milk products to African American and other minority children in schools through various breakfast programs. Other pediatric dietary experts will illustrate the harm milk products inflict on children and babies. A group of leading cancer researchers will present findings linking milk drinking with increased risks of cancer. Experts will discuss the bovine growth hormone IGF-I, found in milk, which has a link to the growth of cancerous tumors in the human body. Another group of experts will explain the pasteurization and homogenization process and the related health implications. They will highlight that pasteurization does not effectively filter out the ill contents of milk, namely hormones, iodine, virile pathogens, and pus cells. Celebrity actor Alicia Silverstone will be present during the demonstration. She will assist in dumping the milk into the Potomac River.

The issue is relevant to most people, as many in western society consume large amounts of dairy products daily. Whenever warranted criticisms are brought up about food safety, the public and media are always concerned.

The event will be hosted by the Anti-Dairy Coalition. This group consists of researchers, dietary experts, and concerned citizens. The driving force behind the Anti-Dairy Coalition is the need to raise awareness of the safety of diary products used for human consumption. This event fits into a yearlong public awareness strategy. Anti-Dairy Coalition will step up its public education efforts well in advance of the Potomac rally. Such efforts will include the distribution of research, newsletters, and background pieces to newspaper and magazine journalists. A target group is health, fitness, and science beat reporters. Another focus is the plethora of health, science, woman’s, men’s, and fitness magazines. Additionally, Anti-Dairy will actively encourage its members in the academic and research community to contribute articles to such publications, or to make themselves available as “experts” to journalists who need research for stories. A newsletter will be circulated to target groups. Such groups include family doctors, health clinics, fitness and wellness centers, dietitians, pediatricians, as well as parent-teacher groups and schools.

The goal of this strategy is to educate the public about the ill effects of dairy on humans.