A CARROT to U.S District Judge James Robertson for ruling that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated conflict-of-interest laws in its selection of members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in August 1998.  The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against the government in December 1999, charging that at least six out of 11 committee members had financial ties to the dairy, meat and egg industries.  PCRM has long expressed concern over the government’s biased promotion of meat, eggs and, in particular, dairy products, which are indigestible to 50 percent of Hispanics, 70 percent of African-Americans and 90 percent of Asian-Americans.  In the suit, PCRM demanded access to more information on the appointees as well as the 140 so-called experts who were considered for the committee.  The government argued that providing such information would be a “violation of privacy.”  But in a major embarrassment to the USDA, Judge Robertson sided with PCRM and ordered the agency to provide the curricula vitae of all 140 experts who applied for the job.  We hope this decision will make the USDA think twice before they appoint industry cheerleaders to advise Americans on their eating habits.

For more information, visit the PCRM press release.

Vegetarian Times