Nutrition Expert Joins Food Fight at Federal Prison

September 28, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday 22 August 2000

Doctor Files in Court to Support Vegan Prisoner's Dietary Choices

Washington, D.C. — Neal D. Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee

for Responsible Medicine, has filed an affidavit in support of a federal

prisoner's right to receive vegan meals. Keith Maydak, an inmate at the

Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, is suing the U.S. government

over its refusal to create an adequate meal program for vegan prisoners. Vegans

abstain from eating all animal products, including pork, beef, chicken, fish,

dairy, and eggs.

" Typical prison meals are cruel and unusual punishment, " says Dr. Barnard, a

clinical researcher and author of six nutrition books. " The medical evidence

clearly shows that vegan diets are not only nutritionally adequate, but offer

numerous health advantages, such as decreasing the risk of diabetes, heart

disease, cancer, and other health problems. " Dr. Barnard's affidavit was filed

in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday 18 August.

Mr. Maydak has been fighting his dietary battle for the past four years. In a

precedent-setting ruling this May, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the

penitentiary to provide soymilk to Mr. Maydak as a means of temporary relief to

prevent irreparable harm and held that Mr. Maydak's lawsuit is " substantially

likely to succeed " on its merits. While this court order was a step in the right

direction, the prison has resisted instituting a food plan to meet Mr. Maydak's

overall nutritional needs.

Dr. Barnard's affidavit notes that an institution that forces vegans to try to

construct a suitable diet by picking among the items served on typical meal

trays is likely to be promoting malnutrition because there is little to choose

from other than meat and dairy products. He also offered to assist the

government in formulating a vegan meal program. " Given the price of medical

care, prisons would do well to make vegan options available to all inmates, "

says Dr. Barnard.

CONTACT:

Simon Chaitowitz, Communications Director

tel: 202-686-2210, ext. 309; simonc

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