TO THE EDITOR:
Please allow me to respond to your Jan. 8 article "Health Study Anti-Vegetarian, PETA Says" about PETA's "beef" with giving money from the McDonald's settlement fund to an animal experimenter at UNC.
Vegetarians sued the fast-food giant in 2001 after learning that its "vegetarian" french fries were actually coated with a flavoring agent containing beef. McDonald's agreed to pay millions to vegetarian groups to settle the class-action lawsuit.
UNC researcher Steven Zeisel does not fit the bill. Zeisel, who receives funding from the egg industry, has said that vegan women should alter their diets during pregnancy to include cow's milk and -- surprise -- eggs. Never mind that the American Dietetic Association concluded, in its 1997 position paper on vegetarianism, "Well-planned vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy and lactation."
Zeisel's research has included cutting open rat embryos at various stages of growth (killing both mother and baby) to examine the fetuses' brains.
As students might know, UNC was investigated by the National Institutes of Health for violations of humane animal care guidelines.
The McDonald's settlement money is supposed to fund people and organizations dedicated to vegetarianism -- not anti-vegetarian, anti-animal researchers at universities with poor track records on animal welfare.
Paula Moore
Staff Writer
