If you're using Gmail or sending to a gmail address[1], you know what you are in for, and if you don't you should at least know that anything you send to someone else is no longer in your control and you have very little control over who sees it.
1: Google Apps for business accounts are not scanned for ads.
If you want free email, expect to pay in some other way. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
No, I'm serious about this. I wasn't trying to be flippant. If you care enough about the integrity of your email content and it not being used to further a company's profit, the only way to be sure of that, to the extent that you can (which may not be much), is to run your own mail server. If that seems like it's way too much trouble, I think a you should take a close look at your motives for wanting a gmail alternative. Is it about the integrity of your email, or sticking it to Google? If it's avoiding Google because they specifically cause you concern, that's fine, and there likely plenty of choices, but I'm not sure what they are (as I said, I just use Gmail because I don't care).
> By your logic even a private mail server isn't enough, you'd have to use PGP.
Well, by my logic you have to do enough to make yourself comfortable. Depending on your reasons for avoiding some other companies that will be different things.
> If you don't have any recommendations just say so.
I don't have any recommendations for Gmail if you consider a good UI, responsively web based, and free as major components of that. If you are willing to give up one or more of those, there are options. The local ISP I mentioned is Sonic.net. By all accounts (including mine, I've worked there multiple times in the past), a great company, and with great EFF ratings. An email account there is not free though.
Do you have any source for that claim, or is it just pure libel?