Tc
Fri, Sep-29-06, 17:15
http://www.qsrweb.com/article.php?id=5911&na=1
Fast-food chains sued over grilled chicken claims CCF
calls bogus
By Fred Minnick Editor
29 Sep 2006
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is suing
seven quick-service chains for serving what it calls
carcinogenic grilled chicken.
The group filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Los
Angeles Sept.
28. The defendants include McDonald's and Burger King.
PCRM said independent laboratory analysis of every sample of
grilled chicken products served at each of the chains "tested
positive for a dangerous carcinogenic compound called PhIP."
According to the suit, PhIP is one of a group of carcinogenic
compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are found in
grilled meat.
In 2005, the U.S. government added HCAs to its list of
cancer-causing agents, the doctors' group said. "Grilled
chicken can cause cancer, and consumers deserve to know that
this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for
them as high-fat fried chicken," PCRM president, Neal Barnard,
said in a statement. "Even a grilled chicken salad increases
the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and other forms of
this lethal disease."
The Center for Consumer Freedom disputed PCRM's claims.
"The federal government and the American Cancer Society agree
that there's nothing dangerous about eating a chicken
sandwich," CCF director of research, David Martosko said. The
last time I checked, Americans were getting sick from spinach,
not grilled chicken."
CCF also claimed PCRM is a wealthy animal rights organization,
not a mainstream health group. CCF said PCRM's goals include
transitioning Americans to a strict vegetarian diet.
According to a CCF news release, publicly available tax
records show that two-thirds of the group's operating budget
now comes from Nanci Alexander, an animal-rights proponent and
millionaire who operates a Florida vegetarian restaurant.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also
has contributed more than $1.3 million to PRCRM, public
records show.
"When will people realize that this phony 'physicians' group
is just PETA with a lab coat? The animal rights activists at
PCRM would rather save lab rats than cure cancer and AIDS,"
Martosko said. "They don't deserve a say in whether or not
anyone eats a chicken sandwich."
******
TC
Fast-food chains sued over grilled chicken claims CCF
calls bogus
By Fred Minnick Editor
29 Sep 2006
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is suing
seven quick-service chains for serving what it calls
carcinogenic grilled chicken.
The group filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Los
Angeles Sept.
28. The defendants include McDonald's and Burger King.
PCRM said independent laboratory analysis of every sample of
grilled chicken products served at each of the chains "tested
positive for a dangerous carcinogenic compound called PhIP."
According to the suit, PhIP is one of a group of carcinogenic
compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are found in
grilled meat.
In 2005, the U.S. government added HCAs to its list of
cancer-causing agents, the doctors' group said. "Grilled
chicken can cause cancer, and consumers deserve to know that
this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for
them as high-fat fried chicken," PCRM president, Neal Barnard,
said in a statement. "Even a grilled chicken salad increases
the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and other forms of
this lethal disease."
The Center for Consumer Freedom disputed PCRM's claims.
"The federal government and the American Cancer Society agree
that there's nothing dangerous about eating a chicken
sandwich," CCF director of research, David Martosko said. The
last time I checked, Americans were getting sick from spinach,
not grilled chicken."
CCF also claimed PCRM is a wealthy animal rights organization,
not a mainstream health group. CCF said PCRM's goals include
transitioning Americans to a strict vegetarian diet.
According to a CCF news release, publicly available tax
records show that two-thirds of the group's operating budget
now comes from Nanci Alexander, an animal-rights proponent and
millionaire who operates a Florida vegetarian restaurant.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also
has contributed more than $1.3 million to PRCRM, public
records show.
"When will people realize that this phony 'physicians' group
is just PETA with a lab coat? The animal rights activists at
PCRM would rather save lab rats than cure cancer and AIDS,"
Martosko said. "They don't deserve a say in whether or not
anyone eats a chicken sandwich."
******
TC