From recycler@eclipse.net Thu Dec 23 14:48:20 1999 Date: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 23:42:30 -0500 From: Dave Miller To: sanet Subject: Doctors Sue Glickman and Shalala [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] Okay, so I am more than a week late: On Wednesday, December 15, 1999, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a national health advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15, 1999 Doctors Sue Glickman and Shalala Financial Conflicts of Interest, Racial Bias on Diet Panel Washington, D.C.^×The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a national health advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). PCRM is charging the government with violating the law that bans undue influence in federal advisory committees. The D.C.-based doctor's group is concerned about the activities of a powerful 11-member federal advisory committee, appointed to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Along with the Food Guide Pyramid, these Guidelines provide nutritional advice for all Americans and form the basis of all federal food programs, including the National School Lunch Program which feeds 26 million children a day. "We have uncovered evidence that at least six of these committee members have had or currently have significant ties to the meat, dairy, or egg industries," says Mindy Kursban, PCRM staff counsel. "And we have good reason to believe the government has intentionally withheld documents revealing conflicts of interest." {THIS IS REALLY SAD} "It doesn't take a physician to diagnose the problem with this committee," says PCRM president Neal D. Barnard, M.D. "Clearly, its work^×and the public's health^×has been compromised. As health professionals concerned with the staggering levels of illness in this country, these industry ties are particularly hard to swallow." PCRM is also suing the USDA and the DHHS for promoting dietary guidelines that undermine minority health. In a national campaign launched last spring, PCRM is asking the government to acknowledge that minorities suffer from higher rates of prostate cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases than Caucasians and to promote diets low enough in fat and rich enough in plant products to reduce their risk of these conditions. Additionally, PCRM is asking the government to make dairy strictly optional, acknowledging that the majority of African-, Hispanic-, Asian-, and Native-Americans are lactose-intolerant, and that they may wish to choose other sources of calcium. PCRM's proposals for changing the Guidelines have been endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust; the NAACP; former U.S. Surgeon General M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D.; Martin L. King, III; Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.; Muhammad Ali; and many other community leaders and minority health advocates. For interviews with PCRM medical and legal experts, as well as video footage of the news conference, please contact Simon Chaitowitz at 202-686-2210, ext. 309. SimonChai@aol.com The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization founded in 1985 and focused on preventive medicine, particularly good nutrition, and higher standards in research. To learn more, please visit: http://www.pcrm.org/news/lawsuit.html -- Happy Solstice, Prosperous New Century! _______________________________________ «¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤» ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Recycler Dave A remodeler, drummer, farmer, soapmaker To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". All messages to sanet-mg are archived at: http://www.sare.org/san/htdocs/hypermail