Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research. Founded in 1985 by nutrition researcher and author Neal Barnard, M.D., PCRM promotes a low-fat vegetarian diet, opposes unethical human experiments, and promotes alternatives to animal research.

Related Topics:
Non-profit organization - Washington, D.C. - 1985 - Neal Barnard - Vegetarian - Animal research

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PCRM's membership includes physicians, scientists, and laypersons. Its critics point out that only 5% of its membership are actually physicians.http://www.amprogress.org/News/News.cfm?ID=360&c=63 The organization's advisory board includes such prominent figures as T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., of Cornell University, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D., of The Cleveland Clinic, Henry J. Heimlich, M.D., and John McDougall, M.D.

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PCRM may be best known for its opposition to low-carb diets. The organization runs a website that collects reports of adverse health effects experienced by people on these popular weight-loss plans. PCRM also argues that consuming dairy products is unhealthful and advocates for improving the food served in school lunchrooms. In addition, PCRM runs The Cancer Project, a program for cancer prevention, research, and nutritional assistance to cancer patients.

Related Topics:
Low-carb diets - Dairy products

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PCRM's Research Department promotes alternatives to the use of animals in education and research. The organization's official position paper on animal experimentation argues that the scientific and medical communities must move decisively to replace animals: "The exploration and implementation of nonanimal methods should be a priority for investigators and research institutions and should take advantage of a wide variety of viewpoints to ensure progress toward scientific, human health, and animal protection goals."

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The organization's nutrition director, Amy Lanou, Ph.D., has frequently criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture for promoting allegedly unhealthful foods, including cookies and cheese.

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PCRM has been criticized by the American Medical Association for misrepresenting facts about animal research and for advocating vegetarianism. However, in a statement issued on February 10 of 2004, the AMA retracted its critical comments about PCRM's dietary recommendations. The AMA published one of Dr. Barnard's research articles in the Archives of Family Medicine in 1995 and has used various PCRM physicians as quotable experts in American Medical News.

Related Topics:
American Medical Association - February 10 - 2004

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PCRM's founder, Dr. Neal Barnard, is a psychiatrist by training, not a nutritionist. However, Dr. Barnard has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers on nutritional topics in such leading journals as The American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

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PCRM has been accused of being a front group for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PCRM does partner with PETA on some issues of common interest, including a campaign to eliminate animal use in toxicity testing.

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PCRM and PETA would appear to be independent organizations, PETA being based in Norfolk, Va., and PCRM in Washington, D.C. However, there exists a third organization called Foundation to Support Animal Protection housed out of the same address as PETA. This organization's board consists in part of PCRM founder and president Neal Barnard, MD and PETA's cofounder and president Ingrid Newkirk.http://www.the-aps.org/pa/action/charity/charitymarks.htm The IRS form 990s filed for FSAP confirm that from 1998 through 2000 PCRM was a supported organization.http://www.activistcash.com/foundation.cfm/did/106 Since 2000, FSAP has declined to itemize its supported organizations. http://www.guidestar.org/

Related Topics:
Norfolk, Va. - Foundation to Support Animal Protection

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FSAP board of directors: Neal Barnard, MD, President; Ingrid E. Newkirk, Secretary

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PCRM board of directors: Neal Barnard, MD, President

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PETA board of directors: Ingrid Newkirk, Director, Secretary

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The ties between PCRM, PETA, and FSAP have received criticism from consumer and professional watchdog groups; including ActivistCash.comhttp://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm?oid=23 and The American Physiological Societyhttp://www.the-aps.org/pa/action/charity/charitymarks.htm.

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For the other side of the issue read the PCRM website (http://www.pcrm.org/news/release050628.html). The bulk of the criticism of the PCRM comes from The American Council on Science and Health and The Center for Consumer Freedom. These two organizations have ties to chemical, meat, dairy, alcoholic beverage industries, food product manufacturers, and fast-food chains.

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