Originally Posted by
NT001
Yes, Dodgy, the company is very well aware of such issues, not only in the US but elsewhere. For instance, it continues to suffer from constant reminders by its detractors that ten years ago an independent company that marketed A2 Milk in Queensland was successfully prosecuted for making health claims for the product. It doesn't even challenge publicly the falsehoods published by the NZ Food Safety Authority and the European Food Safety Authority. Its policy is to keep its head down and avoid confrontation and litigation. And the company's structure and marketing strategy have been changed so that it keeps much tighter control over what claims are made on its behalf.
It also avoids the direct confrontation with the mainstream milk industry that proved so counter-productive in its early days. It largely leaves it to outside scientific and medical experts, consumers and the media to publicise the health benefits of A2 and the health risks of A1, especially when it comes to medical issues such as autism, schizophrenia etc. In most markets it's just offering A2 Milk as an alternative dairy product appealing to consumers who have problems with "ordinary" milk and are prepared to pay more. It's seeking only a niche in the market for now, not threatening the domination exercised by standard milk.
Meanwhile the scientific proof that A1 carries medical risks to some consumers is steadily building, and any litigation that might be brought against a2MC could in fact be an opportunity for such risks to be brought out publicly in the form of evidence by scientists working in this area, whose work is at present little publicised. That would be damaging to mainstream dairy, causing consumers to turn away from milk. As in NZ, where Fonterra steers well clear of engaging in debate with a2MC, the global dairy industry is aware of the dangers.
Of course things will evolve gradually as A2 becomes bigger and more popular. For the moment, a2MC is tailoring its strategy to the present situation where supplies of A2 Milk are still limited anyhow. But as demand grows, largely through public awareness, supplies will increase to meet it and it will build up market share at the expense of mainstream dairy. At the same time, the science will also grow. It took many decades to "prove" that smoking causes lung cancer although logic, statistics and medical research pointed to this. It will take decades or longer for scientists to prove through clinical research involving human subjects that A1 is a causal factor - although not the only one - in a range of major diseases such as ischaemic heart disease and type 1 diabetes.
The causal link with autism and schizophrenia is already becoming clear as the basic facts are now pretty well established. Contrary to what the European Food Safety Authority declared, the opioid by-product BCM7 generated by A1 in the digestive process does get into the bloodstream of some consumers and does get into the brain where it can cause havoc, and doctors have found that switching patients to A2 milk has remarkable benefits. But you won't find a2MC promoting A2 Milk as the answer to autism. In Australia, consumers and doctors found this out for themselves and made it public. In the US, where science is king, at least one university medical research team is well advanced on proving the cause-and-effect link.