Marie Canon of West Middlesex, Pa., Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program board member, and ADA North East dairy advocate, National Dairy Council Ambassador and nutrition expert Leslie Bonci, wrote letters to the editor in response to a vegan activist’s letter disparaging dairy and promoting plant-based products in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Bonci’s response ran in the newspaper’s online and print editions on Sunday, June 20, reaching 174,000 households in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Asking nationally known experts like Bonci with whom ADA North East works regularly to speak to the second-to-none nutrition benefits of real dairy, builds confidence in dairy foods as part of a healthy diet. Partnering with all health professionals is critical because they share the importance of including dairy in with their clients and other consumers.

To further build consumer trust in dairy, Canon’s letter explained the top-quality care dairy farmers take of their animals to ensure their safety and comfort in order to produce a wholesome, nutritious product for consumers.