Day 034 - 11 Oct 94 - Page 70
1 A. I do not have a full awareness of all the things they
2 do but, in general, I support better treatment of
3 animals. They also promote vegetarian diets which is
4 certainly a very helpful thing and I support those aims.
5
6 Q. Does PETA make a financial contribution to your committee?
7 A. They have done in the past. It has never been a
8 substantial part of our budget, and I regret to say
9 I cannot tell you how much it was.
10
11 Q. Your devotion to vegetarianism then, if I have understood
12 you correctly, Dr. Barnard, springs entirely, does it,
13 from a concern for human health and not from a concern for
14 animal welfare?
15 A. I think one would have to say that the ethical aspects
16 are important as well.
17
18 Q. There is quite a lot in the beginning of your book, is
19 there not, about that sort of aspect of vegetarianism not
20 just in relation to the protection of animals, but in
21 relation to the use of the earth's resources?
22 A. No, I do not think I would say a lot. I think I put
23 in ----
24
25 Q. I am sorry, there is some.
26 A. I think I have put in one paragraph to mention that
27 most, well certainly many, thinking people, if I may say
28 it that way, have noticed that there are many difficulties
29 in animal agriculture that influence the animals and also
30 environmental consequences of it. I briefly alluded to
31 that, but that is not the subject of the book. That,
32 frankly, was not my interest in writing it, but
33 I recognise that those are legitimate concerns.
34 I certainly support people thinking about them and,
35 perhaps, acting on those concerns as well.
36
37 Q. I will put the question so you can deal with it. I would
38 be wrong then, I take it, to infer, Dr. Barnard, that your
39 concern that people should not eat fish arises,
40 principally, out of a concern for the welfare of the fish?
41 A. Could you repeat that question, please?
42
43 Q. When you tell people not to eat fish, it is not the fish
44 you are worrying about, it is the people; is that right?
45 A. That is correct. As I describe in great detail here,
46 we have serious problems regarding contamination,
47 regarding the cholesterol and fat that is in fish and
48 other factors. It is not my job to tell people what to do
49 or what not to do, but I do see it as my job to give
50 people information so that they can decide what risks they
51 may wish to take or may wish to avoid.
52
53 Q. You can achieve your object of persuasion, and I take it
54 you would agree that the object of this book is
55 persuasion, yes?
56 A. Information, I would say, rather than persuasion.
57
58 Q. I do not see the point then. What is the point of the
59 book if you are not trying to persuade people that you are
60 right about it?
