The latest stretch of logic from the Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM) involves an attempt to blame meat and other animal products for as many American deaths as possible. In a short article for the “vegsource” web site, FARM makes the claim that “in 1999, 1.29 million, or 54%, of all U.S. deaths were attributed to diseases for which consumption of animal products represents a substantial risk factor.”
To get this startling number, the radical animal-rights group FARM blames non plant diets for every death which an unnamed group of “physicians” says is meat-related. Who are these physicians, anyway? And why didn’t they notice an August 21 report in the Annals of Internal Medicine which blamed veggie sprouts (not meat) for more than half of food-borne illnesses? According to the American Council on Science and Health, the study’s authors were able to trace “specific sprouts…back to the farms that had grown them,” and found “contaminated” plants still growing and ready for sale.
It’s no surprise that radical animal-rights activists play fast and loose with statistics in order to grab headlines and generate financial contributions. One of PETA’s many web sites claims that “America’s meat-based diet costs this country billions of dollars in health care costs.” Another Nanny group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), made news this week when it announced that chicken and beef deserve ‘Biohazard’ labels.
