OK. I have my advocacy pants on again, and they’re on fire!
PCRM, Physician’s Commitee for Responsible Medicine (really?) just started running this offensive ad, allegedly to encourage more people to become Vegan. In the ad, PCRM manages to encourage both weight stigma and sexism! See what you think.
I just had to let them know how I felt!
On Friday, March 30, 2012, I wrote this to PCRM:
Subject: Please become more informed
Dear Dr. Barnard and PCRM,
I’m writing to encourage you and your organization to consider the following research. Surely you can find more accurate and clever ways to promote being a Vegan without spewing weight bias and inaccurate information about BMI risk? (Please see attached studies using large samples.)
BMI and Mortality; Results from a National Longitudinal Study of Canadian Adults
BMI and All-Cause Mortality Among Japanese Adults
As I’m sure you know, numerous studies have shown Doctor’s bias toward people of size. Is that what we’re seeing in your latest tongue and cheek ” Sit Next to a Vegan “ campaign?
Best,
Ellen Shuman
_________________________________________________________________
Ellen Shuman
Founder/Coach; A Weigh Out Life Coaching and Membership Circle,
President BEDA;Binge Eating Disorder Association,
Co-Chair; Academy for Eating Disorders “Health at Every Size” SIG
www.aweighout.com
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The same day, PCRM responded:
Dear Ms. Shuman,
Thank you for contacting PCRM. We appreciate your taking the time to view our ad and share your comments. I have passed your letter on to members of our communications and membership departments, and they carefully review all comments and take them into consideration. I’ve sent the attached PDFs to our nutrition department for their review. Your feedback is important to us.
The intention behind PCRM’s most recent ad, directed toward American Airlines, was to highlight a particularly positive benefit of the vegan diet – weight management. The video was not intended to offend those who are overweight. Certainly, there is no value in blaming overweight people for a condition that results from a mixture of industry marketing, government promotions, addictive qualities of foods, genetic vulnerabilities, medication effects on appetite, and, in the end, overeating. Instead, it is essential to zero in on the problem foods, expose them, and do what we can to get them off our plates.
We sincerely appreciate your feedback and hope that you will continue to share your thoughts with us in the future. Should you have any further comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Emily Price, Membership Assistant
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Here’s My Response to That (Note…I’ll take on their “problem foods” strategy at another time…it’s way too simplistic):
Thanks for your response, Emily. I’m glad my concerns will be further considered! We look forward to further comment from PCRM.
In your email, you wrote, “The video was not intended to offend those who are overweight.” How could your video NOT offend those who are overweight. Your video actually encourages weight stigma. Very disturbing that PCRM
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