>Being a woman, at highly at risk for ostioprosis,
>this anti-cow bit gets a bit old.  Women need good sources of calcium.

They also have done studies with non-milk drinking societies who have much
lower incidences of osteoporosis than the US at least (but we have been
through all this before). I think the TUMS 500 chewable calcium supplements
taste a whole lot better than milk anyway!

I just thought this was interesting; I am in the process of moving to
Sydney, Australia from Virginia, USA. I just got back from a two week stay
in Sydney and I had been worried about finding nondairy things to eat and
drink. I have to say that I was so impressed, they had the best variety of
drinks, icecream, and different non-dairy foods available at the local
grocery stores, 7-11's and even gas (petrol) stations. (lots of creamy
deserts even!) Also, most of the bread had no dairy included. The food is a
lot less processed there than in the US. I would imagine that this might be
true for Europe also (less processed food). In the US we have a good range
of specialized non-dairy products, but you usually need to shop at health
food stores, and specialized grocery stores. If you walk down the frozen
food section at the local supermarket, they sneak milk products into the
most bizarre places.

I think that the reason so many of us in the US spend so much time talking
about products we can buy is that it is such hard work here. In Belgium I
would imagine you have the opportunity to shop at the local bakery and get
fresh dairy free bread. Once you start reading labels carefully, I would
imagine that you would start to find plenty of available foods, just be
sure to talk to the company that makes them if you are dealing with a
severe reaction. Of course I haven't been to Belgium, perhaps food is as
processed there as it is here?

-Bronwyn