Subject: milk: possible harmful effects of,

I have heard certain disparaging things said concerning milk 
consumption by  adult human beings, and  I wonder if this is possibly 
a serious concern.  Some things I am specifically interested in:

1) what number of people are lactose intolerant and does this number 
vary with different populations? Is it true that 70% of minorities are 
lactose intolerant?

2)Is lactose tolerance a relatively new adaption in human evolution?
(how much difference is there chemically between processing milk from 
a human being and from livestock)

3)Do people need milk, and is there any substance to  the studies 
suggesting milk may help cause osteoperosis?

4)Is milk really a good source of calcium or are there better sources? 
Specifically, how efficiently does the calcium in milk get proccessed 
as opposed to that in other sources? 

5)Is the "four food group model" right in saying we should all have 4 
servings of milk a day?

6)Has the American Dairy Council conceived a grand conspiracy to dupe 
the people into buying their evil products, and should I alert Agent 
Mulder? (I'm just kidding)

In answering all the above, I would appreciate it if you could be as 
specific as possible.  I have had a very difficult time finding 
anything but vague answers that lack a means of verifying their truth 
value.

I really appreciate your help. 
Thanks much!! :)

Re: milk: possible harmful effects of,