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In a 2004 article about connections between animal rights groups, Jamie Doward and Mark Townsend of ''The Observer'' described PCRM as a "quasi-scientific organisation part-funded by PETA." <ref name=Doward>Jamie Doward & Mark Townsend. , ''The Observer'', August 1, 2004.</ref> The founder and president of PCRM, Neal D. Barnard, sat on the board of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection until 2005 (which has since become known as ''The PETA Foundation'' after it became the ] that manages ]' assets). Collectively PETA and the Foundation have given more than $1.3m to PCRM.<ref name="Nature">Meredith Wadman, Profile:Neal Barnard, ''Nature Medicine'', 12, 602, (2006)</ref><ref name="Salon1">Peter Brandt, , Salon.com, March 12, 2001</ref><ref name=Doward/> | In a 2004 article about connections between animal rights groups, Jamie Doward and Mark Townsend of ''The Observer'' described PCRM as a "quasi-scientific organisation part-funded by PETA." <ref name=Doward>Jamie Doward & Mark Townsend. , ''The Observer'', August 1, 2004.</ref> The founder and president of PCRM, Neal D. Barnard, sat on the board of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection until 2005 (which has since become known as ''The PETA Foundation'' after it became the ] that manages ]' assets). Collectively PETA and the Foundation have given more than $1.3m to PCRM.<ref name="Nature">Meredith Wadman, Profile:Neal Barnard, ''Nature Medicine'', 12, 602, (2006)</ref><ref name="Salon1">Peter Brandt, , Salon.com, March 12, 2001</ref><ref name=Doward/> | ||
Organizations such as the ] and ] say that PCRM are a ] for the ].<ref name="NYT">], ,''New York Times'', November 23, 2004</ref><ref name="ToFF">Anthony J. Nocella, Steven Best, Terrorists Or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals, Lantern Books, 2004, p321. ISBN 159056054X</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== |
Revision as of 12:39, 26 November 2010
"PCRM" redirects here. For the political party, see Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova.Founded | 1985 |
---|---|
Founder | Neal D. Barnard |
Focus | to promote nonanimal methods in research and education (opposition to animal testing) and to promote a plant-based diet (veganism) for disease prevention and survival. |
Location | |
Members | 100,000+ |
Key people | Neal D. Barnard |
Employees | 78 |
Website | pcrm.org |
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. which promotes a vegan diet, preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research, and encourages higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research. Primary activities include outreach and education about nutrition and compassionate choices to healthcare professionals and the public; ending the use of animals in medical school curricula; and advocating for legislative changes on the local and national levels.
It was founded in 1985 by Neal D. Barnard of Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Governance
PCRM has a paid staff of 78, with a membership of approximately 8,500 physicians and 120,000 laypeople. In late 2009, Elizabeth Kucinich became its director of public affairs.
Board of directors:
- Neal D. Barnard M.D. - President
- Russell Bunai, M.D. - Treasurer and Secretary
- Mindy Kursban, Esq. - Director
- Mark Sklar, M.D. - Director
- Barbara Wasserman, M.D. - Director
Advisory board:
- T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., Cornell University
- Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D., The Cleveland Clinic
- Henry J. Heimlich, M.D., Sc.D., The Heimlich Institute
- Suzanne Havala Hobbs, Dr.PH., M.S., R.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lawrence Kushi, Sc.D. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente
- John A. McDougall, M.D., St Helena Hospital
- Virginia Messina, M.P.H., R.D., Nutrition Matters, Inc.
- Milton Mills, M.D., Gilead Medical Group
- Myriam Parham, R.D., L.D., C.D.E., East Pasco Medical Center
- William Roberts, M.D., Baylor Cardiovascular Institute
- Andrew Weil, M.D., University of Arizona
Policies
Nutrition
The PCRM advocates a vegan diet, which it argues helps combat a multitude of physical ailments, such as diabetes and high blood pressure among many others. PCRM goes further and claims that certain vegan products, which are "naturally low in saturated fat, high in fiber, and replete with cancer-protective phytochemicals," can help to prevent cancer.
PCRM runs a website that collects reports of adverse health effects experienced by people on the Atkins diet. PCRM also argues that consuming dairy products is unhealthful and advocates for improving the food served in school lunchrooms. In addition, PCRM runs The Cancer Project, a program for cancer prevention, research, and nutritional assistance to cancer patients.
The organization's nutrition director, Amy Lanou, Ph.D., has criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture for promoting high-fat, high-calorie product, such as some cookies and fast-food products linked to child obesity. Lanou also sent a letter to the minor league baseball team the West Michigan Whitecaps to complain about a 4-pound, 4,800-calorie hamburger on the team's concession stand menu and to request that the team put a label on the burger indicating that it was a "dietary disaster".
An advertising campaign launched in the Washington, D.c. area by the group in September 2010 under the slogan "I'm not lovin' it" shows a grieiving woman in a morgue as the camera circles around a middle-aged white man draped in a white sheet clutching a partially eaten hamburger in his right hand. As the camera reaches the man's feet protruding from underneath the sheet, the familiar Golden Arches logo is displayed over the unmoving feet and the screen fades to a red background with the catchphrase "I'm not lovin' it" as a narrator says "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian."
PCRM's founder, Neal Barnard, M.D., has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers on nutritional topics in such journals as The American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
PCRM's founder, Neal Barnard, is a psychiatrist by training, however he has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers on nutritional topics in such journals as The American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
The American Council on Science and Health (which receives more than 75 percent of its funding from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries) is critical of PCRM's nutritional policies, saying that the group emphasize and exaggerate the reliability of certain research, to further an animal rights agenda.
Other lifestyle changes
Analysis and research by PCRM has suggested that exercise and other lifestyle changes other than, or in combination with, dietary changes, can improve health. Non-dietary lifestyle changes recommended include aerobic exercise, weight-bearing exercise, and exposure to sufficient sunlight for vitamin D production.
Animal testing
Its research department promotes alternatives to the use of animals in education and research. The organization's official position paper on animal experimentation argues that the scientific and medical communities must move decisively to replace animals: "The exploration and implementation of non-animal methods should be a priority for investigators and research institutions and should take advantage of a wide variety of viewpoints to ensure progress toward scientific, human health, and animal protection goals."
Relationship with animals rights groups
In a 2004 article about connections between animal rights groups, Jamie Doward and Mark Townsend of The Observer described PCRM as a "quasi-scientific organisation part-funded by PETA." The founder and president of PCRM, Neal D. Barnard, sat on the board of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection until 2005 (which has since become known as The PETA Foundation after it became the legal entity that manages People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' assets). Collectively PETA and the Foundation have given more than $1.3m to PCRM.
Organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom and Foundation for Biomedical Research say that PCRM are a front organization for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
See also
References
- ^ "About PCRM", accessed June 5, 2010.
- For staff, see Report on PCRM, BBB, accessed June 5, 2010; for membership, see PCRM entry on GuideStar.org. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- "Mrs. K wants to give the big apes a break". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health. Retrieved August 11, 2006.
- "Atkins Diet Alert / Neal Barnard, M.D., president / a PCRM site". Atkinsdietalert.org. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- "Healthy School Lunches / a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) site". Healthyschoollunches.org. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- "The Cancer Project / A Nutrition and Cancer Nonprofit Organization / Dietary Guidelines, Recipes, Resources, and Classes". Cancerproject.org. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- "Cookie Monsters Oreo promotion puts USDA on wrong side of obesity fight", July 11, 2004. Retrieved August 2006.
- Fast Food Linked To Child Obesity, Associated Press, January 5, 2003
- Doctors Have Beef With Burger ESPN, March 31, 2009
- Wilson, Duff. "Doctors’ Group Attacks McDonald’s in TV Ad", The New York Times, September 16, 2010. Accessed September 16, 2010.
- ^ "Neal D. Barnard, M.D./ a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) site". Nealbarnard.org. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine: Not So Responsible. Retrieved September 12, 2006.
- The Good, the Bad, and Jenny Craig PCRM Weighs Diet Programs
- Permanent Weight Control
- Calcium and Strong Bones
- Calcium in Plant-Based Diets
- "PCRM Position Paper on Animal Research", adopted June 4, 2004
- ^ Jamie Doward & Mark Townsend. Beauty and the beasts, The Observer, August 1, 2004.
- Meredith Wadman, Profile:Neal Barnard, Nature Medicine, 12, 602, (2006)
- Peter Brandt, A Conversation with Dr. Neal Barnard, Salon.com, March 12, 2001
- Joe Sharkey, Perennial Foes Meet Again in a Battle of the Snack Bar,New York Times, November 23, 2004
- Anthony J. Nocella, Steven Best, Terrorists Or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals, Lantern Books, 2004, p321. ISBN 159056054X
External links
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- The American Council On Science and Health
- What's "innovative" about medical atrocities
- The Cancer Project
- Atkins Diet Alert -- a project of PCRM
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