Interesting Article

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I got this on another list.

 

Jo

 

PETA fighting proposed grant for UNC researcher

 

 

 

The Associated Press

Jan 8, 2003 : 10:18 pm ET

 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- An animal rights group is fighting a proposed

grant to a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who

it says is anti-vegetarian.

 

The grant would come from McDonald's Corp. as part of a $10 million

settlement reached after the fast-food giant admitted it used beef extract

for flavoring french fries it had said were vegetarian.

 

Steve Zeisel, a UNC-Chapel Hill nutrition researcher, wants to use the

money to study whether women on strict vegetarian diets get enough of the

nutrient choline, which is abundant in eggs, during pregnancy.

 

Officials with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have asked

the Chicago judge presiding over the settlement to reject the grant. Judge

Richard Siebel is scheduled to hold a hearing on the settlement fund Monday.

 

In addition to being anti-vegetarian -- a claim Zeisel denies --

Zeisel has killed rats and used their fetuses for his research, PETA claims.

 

" The money is supposed to be earmarked for vegetarian groups, " said

Hannah Schein, a research associate for Norfolk, Va.-based PETA. " He doesn't

represent a vegetarian group. If anything, he recommends that pregnant women

not be vegetarian. "

 

McDonald's is supposed to distribute $6 million to vegetarian

organizations, $2 million to Hindu or Sikh groups and the remaining money to

help better feed children and to promote understanding of Jewish kosher

practices.

 

Zeisel contends that choline deficits in pregnant rodents impair

memory in their offspring.

 

He is now preparing a study in humans, paid for largely by the egg

industry. Zeisel said his lab has used rodents in tests and killed them to

study their brains, following national and campus rules set up to manage use

of animals in such tests.

 

Pregnant women can get adequate choline if they include eggs, beef and

dairy products in their diet, Ziesel said. He said he believes his research

would help vegetarians learn more about how to take the best care of

themselves during pregnancy.

 

" Pregnancy is a time that women have to be careful about their diet

and be sure they are well-balanced. This is not a time to be a careless

vegetarian, " Zeisel said. " If we're going to learn something about the

science of this, you need to go to the places that can do the science. "

 

 

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