(Washington, D.C. — December 1, 2006) A U.S. District Court judge in Virginia yesterday dismissed the two lawsuits brought last year by the animal rights group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) that challenged the healthy weight with dairy marketing program. The suits had been filed against the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), National Dairy Council and several individual companies.

Earlier this year in a separate case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed PCRM's lawsuit requesting lactose intolerance warning labels on milk.

PCRM is an anti-meat, anti-dairy group whose campaigns and views are closely aligned with the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

"This ruling is another sound defeat for PCRM, a group whose views on nutrition have been repeatedly denounced by reputable science and health organizations," said IDFA Vice President of Communications Susan Ruland.

"The dairy/weight loss connection is grounded in sound science and has proven to be another compelling reason for the public to consume the recommended three servings of dairy a day," said Greg Miller, Ph.D., executive vice president of science and innovation, NDC. "The industry will continue to leverage this message as part of our comprehensive nutrition education and marketing programs."

A growing body of scientific research continues to strengthen the connection between dairy consumption and weight management. Research indicates that including three servings of milk and milk products each day as part of a reduced-calorie weight loss plan may help adults achieve better results, when it comes to trimming the waistline, than just cutting calories and consuming little or no dairy or calcium alone.

In several studies of overweight and obese people whose typical diet was low in dairy and calcium, increasing dairy to three servings daily as part of a reduced-calorie diet resulted in greater weight loss and fat loss than cutting calories alone.

The bottom line is that including three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt each day in a reduced-calorie diet along with exercise can be a healthy part of a weight management or weight loss plan for adults.

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For independent information on PCRM, visit the following websites:

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $90-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org