People's Concerns spin: ABC 20/20 The untold story:Soy 6/9/2000

[Guest guest]

First, I want to thank the author of " People's Concerns "

(note that it's one people, possessive, not multiple peoples,

for some reason) for identifying a number of websites

which outline some of the health problems with animal products.

However, once again, the presumed " critique " of criticism of

including one particular food - soy - seems to be that

soy is the " alternative " to meat and animal products, and

therefore that any question regarding soy consumption

must be an implied endorsement of animal products.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

However, activists will want to collect the addresses

below for later contact with the ABC television network

on both related and unrelated matters.

 

We must point out that segments of the vegetarian community

have LONG doubted the legitimacy of including a number of

foods of plant origin:

 

1 - the deadly nightshades: potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant

2 - hot spices

3 - common allergens: wheat, soy, corn, peanuts, etc.

4 - root vegetables

5 - nuts

6 - certain flowers

7 - certain herbs

(a number of herbalists have been only partially sympathetic to

common herbs:

some herbs found commonly in herbal teas are known to be toxic)

8 - various prepared and processed foods: breads, cakes, pies, pastries,

and - tofu.

 

The ABC editorial is not the first time plant foods have been questioned,

either by the medical community or

nor is the potential allergenicity of soy - to some persons - unknown among

the general public.

 

Whatever could be said about the allergenicity of certain plant foods would

need to be based

upon systematic empirical investigation, not a cheerleading of one side

over the other.

Such simpleminded either-or seems reminiscent of some of the early

partisanship

in politics, simplistic approaches to religious, political, and other

ideological dogmatisms,

and to us-them dichotomies found in gangs, ethnic and regional disputes,

wars, gangs, etc.

 

etc.

 

There is a LONG history of questioning the appropriateness of including CERTAIN

plant-foods in the diets of certain individuals, simply because there is

biochemical

individuality, and some foods may NOT be among the foods of biological

adaptation

for large groups of persons.

 

 

At 05:32 PM 6/11/00 -0500, People's Concerns wrote:

>SUBJECT : URGENT : ABC 20/20 : The untold story : SOY. on June 9, 2000

>

>Dear Friends ,

>

> We were so shocked to see ABC 20/20 report on SOY by Mr. Brian

> Ross (an investigator for ABC) which was prestaged to interview two of

> the FDA " scientists " questioning (or attacking ??? ) soy's health benefits.

 

I don't think that they questioned soy's health benefits related to the

heart, but rather that they felt (as we do here) that autopsies of Japanese

men in Hawaii showed physiological evidence of brain aging, and that these

physical evidences ought not to be ignored.

 

>We just realized how much the country appears to be controlled by the

>dairy industry especially the big media and big scientists are

>particularly vulnerable and seem to become those industry's targets for

>their interests......

 

What they actually questioned was the lack of any downsides to soy.

Indeed, there is a significant amount of research which does provide fodder

for new research on physiological evidence of aging./

What is NOT questioned is the research on the hearty-healthy benefits of

soy, which remains unchallenged.

 

" So, yes, there ARE " benefits " of consuming soy - for the heart, and for

slowing cancer growth in some subjects,

but we have two serious areas of critical inquiry and concern, that some

WOMEN might increase

acceleration of cancer growth under some circumstances, and that large

amounts of certain kinds of soy,

particularly TOFU, a heavily processed food, MAY accelerate physiological

aging of the brain

(in both males AND females, we tend to observe).

 

The kind of " loaded language " you use does not lend itself to supporting

the belief that the vegetarian community is characterized by scientific

objectivity,

and, to the extent that your comments are received uncritically, perhaps

that segment of the vegetarian population is NOT characterized by

scientific objectivity.

The research raises some questions which, in our opinion, does warrant

further inquiry.

 

You will note that Barbara Walters, if you had watched the program,

mentioned that she is a large user of soy,

and she asked two questions: is soy of all kinds risky for all users under

all conditions and in all concentrations,

and what directions should inquiry take in resolving some of the questions

that remain around soy?

We hold that such a spirit of inquiry would serve us much better as

vegetarians who have recently been habitual consumers of soy,

for, although soy is found in at least some things that nearly everyone in

America consumes, we are the ones

who not only consume large amounts of soy and soyfoods, but who advocate it

to others.

 

If there were some downsides, as this admittedly pr4eliminary research

seems to suggest,

then would it not be irresponsible for us to both continue to consume it in

large quantities without respite

AND to blithely advocate its' consumption by others? We here surely feel

that way, and urge more inquiry of relevant nature.

 

Hopefully you will see the wisdom of encouraging study of the populations

that already do habitually consume large amounts of soy of various kinds.

 

The counter-evidence to the tentative conclusions of the study

 

There are several legitimate approaches to questioning the conclusions of

the research:

1 - Locate hard facts, whether of biostatistics or of relevant laboratory

inquiry.

2 - Question the nature of the research

3 - Question the completeness of the research (not its original integrity.

 

However, we do NOT believe that rhetorical ad hominem arguments are fair

play here,

simply because they are constructed upon what the communities of science

and logic

recognize as logical fallacies - faulty reasoning methods - and yield

undependable results.

 

Counter-arguments could include the relative long life and good health of

many Asian

populations who have traditionally relied upon large quantities of soy and

soyfoods.

The the question seems to become, " If they lived well with soy products before,

why are there these physical evidences? How can we account for what the

human eye and camera detect visually? Have some additional factors been

introduced which alter the physical effects of soyfoods consumption,

or were these effects present but simply never before observed,

simply because no autopsies had ever before been done on soy-consuming

populations? "

The evidence must be explained, factually, with data, not ignored.

 

This is the difference between the ways of science and the partisan ways of

preferred ignorance.

 

>(The ABC's story :

><http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020Index.html>http://www.abcnews.go.com/\

onair/2020/2020Index.html

>)

>

> Just not long ago (Sep 22, 1998), Barbara Walters was reporting

> the Soy products " FIGHT CANCER DIRECTLY " by interviewing some people who

> had cancer in the past and now who are deeply benefited from the soy

> . One of them was Michael Milken. Once he said without Tofu , he would

> been already dead. Dr. Rivlin, noted cancer specialist also concluded

> that " SOY PRODUCTS DO FIGHT CANCER DIRECTLY. " in Barbara Walters program.

>

> There are numerous research articles on health benefits with

> consumption of soy, even reducing the cancer. (example:

>

<http://www.soyinfo.com/studies/cancer.shtml>http://www.soyinfo.com/studies/canc\

er.shtml

> )

>

> " Americans will not reduce their rates of cancers, cardiovascular

> diseases and other chronic degenerative diseases until they shift from an

> animal-based diet to a plant-based diet. " ----said Dr. T. Colin Campbell,

> a world renowned Nutritional Biochemist, at Cornell University.

>

> In May 1998, in the last edition of Dr. Spock's Baby and Child

> Care Dr. Spock encourages parents not to send their children down the

> road of meats, dairy products , and junk food and instead to serve

> healthy, vegetarian foods at home.

>

> " A diet free of meat and dairy products will almost completely

> eliminate the risk of those life-endangering diseases, eg.: heart

> diseases, strokes, some cancers, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis etc. "

> --- said Dr. Michael Klaper, M.D., Director of " Institute For Nutrition

> Education & Research " .

>

> The entire country just started its healing from the MEAT AND

> DAIRY dark clouds which kills 1.4 millions of Americans each year due to

> the high cholesterol and high saturated fat from all animals sources

> foods by inflicting millions of Americans with obese, heart

> diseases(nearly one million died each year) , cancers, diabetes, strokes

> (more than 220,000 death per year in this country).... ........ .

>

> Dairy industry spends millions of millions dollars in

> advertisement and promotion everywhere in everyway possible ....

> including " influencing " scientists ......... They do NOT even allow

> little soy to be called " milk " even though they are more superior milk in

> everyshape . Because they are so afraid the Soy may become one of the

> main stream food to replace the dairy products ! We can understand

> some FDA scientists are so much sided with the dairy industry and try

> hard to attack the little plant . Even the Secretary of Health Donana

> Shalala posed with white mustache and big smile for the Dairy industry on

> the 2 feet colored photos. However, we never thought about big media may

> possibly join their bend wagon to attack little soy--- the savior for

> millions of Americans .

>

> Soy was always the main stream food in the Orient. They had the

> least of breast cancers, heart diseases before they started to change to

> deadly Western Diet.

>

> We are extremely worried. Our nation will sink even deeper to

> the blood pit of MEAT AND DAIRY.....which those industry kill every male

> calf by stealing their " milk " from their mother to sell to the consumers

> and eventually killing all of the dairy cows when there is no more milk

> and profit to be squeezed. (to understand more of this cruelty, please

> click

> <http://www.meatstinks.com/rfact4.html>http://www.meatstinks.com/rfact4.html

> ). The human babies are fed with Cow's milk and at the end the dairy

> industry kills all our foster mothers !!! It is the biggest tragedy in

> our times for the entire nation.

>

> If without soy isoplavones, many of us would have severe hot

> flash(Because we refuse to take possible cancer causing agent Estrogen

> ). Thanks to the soy so much, it relieves our hot flash almost entirely

> . One of the nurses from a Gynecologist locally said she took estrogen

> hormone and feel the pain in her breast . But after she started to drink

> soy milk daily, she said her pain is completely stopped. There are many

> documented examples on the health benefits on soy.

>

> The modern day dairy products have so many problems. (To know

> more about dairy , please click: <http://www.notmilk.com>www.notmilk.com

> We also listed some at the bottom of this letter) ABC 20/20

> investigator raised big problems on soy based on just 2 people's

> arguments in front of the entire nation and at the most golden time,

> millions of Americans saw it and remember what it said in the

> 20/20. However, we have never seen ABC 20/20 raised health risk

> problems on dairy products , or did we miss it ? It seems the bigger

> the health organization or media , the less they mention about the health

> risks on " dairy " products. The dairy industry's " influence " can be seen

> from here so clearly ! Far and Deep !

>

> In one of the recent National Public Radio's programs, Dr. Neal

> Barnard talked about the link between the food industry and the

> scientists . His remarks : " The egg industry, the dairy industry, the

> meat industry, ... they are all there. They've got the money. And their

> biggest allies and best allies are scientists..... There is tremendous

> pressure on a researcher to come up with industry friendly findings. If

> you don't , you're never going to get re-funded..... "

>

> He continued " ....The press release will usually say who paid for

> it (the study), But once it is reported on radio, on television, that may

> get lost. And what's remembered in the mind of the viewer, of the

> listener, of the reader, sometimes , is just what bottom line industry

> wanted you to have, and that it plugged in its PR machine to get into

> your mind.... Besides actually paying for studies, it can also put you on

> a paid advisory board. It can pay for you to give a special lecture. It

> can send you on a nice trip. It can give you a consulting fee. And

> the bigger the industry, the more of these they do. And they go right

> to the top. " (Dr. Neal Barnard is the founder of " Physicians Committee

> for Responsible Medicine " , Web site : <http://www.pcrm.org>www.pcrm.org

> ) Well , now you should know what is going on for the rest ?

>

> Please contact ABC and 20/20 for your being shocked for such a

> twisted report and politely demand them to address the health risks of

> dairy products to humans. Also address the health benefits of little

> soy. Try to make email short and to the point ! Let them know it is for

> the sake of 1.4 millions of Americans death each year paid to the high

> cholesterol diet which only exists in animals sources foods---mainly meat

> and dairy. (The ABC contact info. is at the bottom of this email).

>

> It is important to tell them your personal experience too on the

> health benefits with soy. PLEASE URGE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND MEMBERS

> TO WRITE TO ABC.

 

What individual health benefits will individual record that are not

isolated cases, and what will a rash of testimonials accomplish?

Nonetheless, surely there WILL be some kind of response to this, and the

question is, do YOU believe that vegetarianism is defined by the

consumption of soy and soy products?

The vegetarian Resource Center does not now nor has ever maintained that

the definition of vegetarianism is bounded by the consumption of soy and

soy-based products,

but rather that the practice of vegetarianism is defined AS the practice of

nourishing oneself with food from the plant kingdom - fruits, vegetables,

grains, and legumes,

with or without the addition of eggs and or dairy products, but optimally

without those needless and identifiably harmful animal-derived products.

 

 

> Remember : ALWAYS BE POLITE AND SERIOUS.

>

> Thanks so much. Your letter is so important and will make a big

> difference to turn the tide for the better.

>

>Very Truly Yours,

>

>People's Concerns

>

>P.S.: Some health risks of dairy products can be seen from the following

>statements from various sources . This is only for your references :

>

> " Large numbers of nonwhite Americans have trouble digesting milk and other

>dairy products. While 25 percent of Americans are lactose intolerant (the

>figure worldwide is 75 percent) , members of minority groups are

>disproportionately affected. ----------(Source: Dr. R. Grand , Tufts

>University Medical School. Also seen on June 29, 1999, Science/Health ,

>New York Times ).

>

>. " Milk " does NOT protect bones fractures. According to new data from the

>Harvard Nurses Study. The study recruited a group of 77,761 women who were

>between 34 and 59 years of age when the study began in 1980, and followed

>them for the next 12 years. (SOURCE: " Good Medicine " by " Physicians

>Committee for Responsible Medicine " , Vol. VI, NO. 4, Fall, 1997).

>

>. " Milk & other Dairy products " contain a substantial amount of protein

>which can enhance renal calcium losses " . ( " Science " , Volume 264, P. 535,

>Apr., 1994).

>

> " Ovarian cancer is linked to dairy products. When dairy product

>consumption exceeds the enzymes capacity to break down galactose, there is

>a build-up of galactose in the blood, which may affect a woman's ovaries.

>Some women have very low levels of these enzymes, and when they consume

>dairy products on a regular basis, their risk of ovarian cancer can be

>triple that of other women. " ----Dr. Daniel Cramer and his colleagues at

>Harvard. Lancet 1989:2:66-71

>

> " Growing kids can get the calcium the need from leafy green vegetables,

>soy milk and beans, rather than from cow's milk and dairy products, which

>are too high in fat and can aggravate conditions such as asthma and

>chronic ear infections. " ----Dr. Benjamin Spock (The last issue of his Baby

>and Child Care before his death.).

>

> " Studies have shown that breast cancer rates correlate with dairy product

>consumption. " (Source: " Milk and Breast Cancer " from " Good Medicine " , 1998)

>

>The " American Academy of Pediatrics " concluded exposure to cow's milk

>protein may indeed be an important factor in the development of children's

>on-set diabetes, based on the more than NINETY(90) Studies. (Source: " Good

>Medicine " , 1997) " Insulin-dependent diabetes(Type I or child-hood-onset)

>is linked to dairy products. " (Source: Scott FW. " Cow milk and

>insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus " American Journal of Clinical

>Nutrition , 1990;51:489-91) " Milk protein causes an immune reaction in

>diabetic children. " (Source: The Lancet)

>

> " The biotech hormone(Bovine Growth Hormone) induces a marked and sustained

>increase in levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1, in cow's

>milk.....IGF-1 induces rapid division and multiplication of normal human

>breast epithelial cells in tissue cultures. It is highly likely that IGF-1

>promotes transformation of normal breast epithelium to breast cancer.

>IGF-1 maintains the malignancy of human breast-cancer cells, including

>their invasiveness and ability to spread to distant organs.... "

>----(Source: " A Needless New Risk of Breast Cancer " by Dr. Samuel S.

>Epstein, Los Angeles Times, Mar. 20, 1994. Dr. Epstein is a professor at

>the University of Illinois School of Public Health and Chairman of the

>Cancer Prevention Coalition, Inc.) (note: US has the highest consumption

>of dairy products and highest rate of Breast cancer on earth !)

>

>.=====================================================

>

>ABC contact information :

>

>1. ABC : <abcabc , Tel: 212-456-7777,

>

>1. Chairman Robert Iger, 212-456-6400

>

> email: <robert.igerrobert.iger

>

>2. President Patricia Fili-Krushel, 212-456-6309

>

> email:

> <patricia.fili-krushelpatricia.fili-krushel

>

>3. Programming President Angela Shapiro, tel: 212-456-6442

>

> email: <angela.shapiroangela.shapiro

>

>4. 20/20 : 212-456-2020, fax: 212-456-0533

>

> email: <20202020

>

> Barbara Walters, 212-456-7050

>

> her email: <barbara.waltersbarbara.walters

>

> Diane Sawyer, 212-456-2060

>

> her email: <diane.sawyerdiane.sawyer

>

> Sam Doanldson, 202-222-7090

>

> his email: <sam.donaldsonsam.donaldson

>

> Connie Chung, 212-456-7777

>

> her email: <connie.chungconnie.chung

>

> Charles Gibson, 212-456-7777

>

> his email: <charles.gibsoncharles.gibson

>

>5. Executive Producer, Victor Neufeld, 212-456-7000

>

> email: <victor.neufeldvictor.neufeld

>

>6. Medical/Health Producer, Callie Crossley,

>

> 212-456-6944, Fax: 212-456-1114

>

> email: <callie.crossleycallie.crossley

>

>7. Medical /Health Producer, Roger Sergel,

>

> 781-455-6016, fax: 781-455-6036

>

> email: <roger.sergelroger.sergel

>

>8. Medical /Health Correspondent, Timothy Johnson,

>

> tel: 781-455-6018, fax: 781-455-6036

>

> email: <timothy.johnsontimothy.johnson

>

>9. Chief Correspondent, Chris Wallace,

>

> tel: 202-222-7090,

>

> email: <chris.wallacechris.wallace

>

>10. Anchor , Ted Koppel,

>

> tel: 202-222-7364,

>

> email: <ted.koppelted.koppel

>

>=============================================

>

>Important References :

>

><http://www.soyinfo.com/benefits.shtml>http://www.soyinfo.com/benefits.shtml

>

>http://www.soyinfo.com/studies/cancer.shtml

>

><http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html>h<http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html>tt\

p://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

>

>

>www.pcrm.com

>

><http://www.notmilk.com>www.notmilk.com

>

>http://www.newcenturynutrition.com

>

><http://www.milksucks.com>w<http://www.milksucks.com>ww.milksucks.com

>

>http://www.hfa.org/veal.html

>

><http://www.meatstinks.com/rfact4.htm>http://www.meatstinks.com/rfact4.html

>

><http://www.farmsanctuary.org/>http://www.farmsanctuary.org/