I get a lot of cooking magazines and emails.  I have a request of recipe writers: use less dairy! 

Why does everything from granola bars to six consecutive pasta dishes have to be full of cow's milk?  I know the dairy industry is a big one - sitting at about 187.6 billion pounds of milk each year.  That makes a lot of cheese, yogurt, whey and various percentages of cream and milk. But here's the deal: Some a 2005 Cornell University study suggests between 30 and 50 million Americans is lactose intolerant (and as we age as a nation, the percentage will go up). That doesn't include the people with a true milk allergy. 

It's very difficult to read the ingredients in everything one eats.  It's also not fun to miss out on birthday cake and ice cream.  While low-fat dairy is and will continue to be a good source of calcium for millions - especially people of Northern European descent - it sure would be nice for companies to take notice of the millions of people who cannot process the white stuff.