Day 021 - 29 Jul 94 - Page 61


     
     1        claiming to avoid red meat ostensibly because they believe
              it to be healthy.  The trend towards vegetarianism is
     2        strongest in the younger age groups and particularly in
              women.  The present considers the nutritional adequacy of
     3        diets devoid of meat and the health of vegetarians, and
              questions whether avoidance of meat offers advantages to
     4        health."   Is that a question you have asked yourself,
              Professor Wheelock?
     5        A.  Yes, it is.
 
     6   Q.   To what conclusion have you come, tentative or firm as the
              case may be?
     7        A.  Well, on current evidence I personally am not
              concerned about consuming red meat.
     8
         Q.   I am not going to run all the way through this paper, but
     9        I do wish to draw your attention to a passage on page 299
              under the heading "Iron Deficiency".
    10
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not sure that is the question you
    11        asked, was it, Mr. Rampton, but never mind.
 
    12   MR. RAMPTON:  What was that, my Lord?  I asked him whether he
              had asked himself the question whether avoidance of meat
    13        offers advantages to health.  He answered I think that in
              his opinion it did not.
    14
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I thought you were applying yourself to red
    15        meat, but maybe.
 
    16   MR. RAMPTON:  Maybe I got a different answer to the question
              I asked.  Would you like to ask the question in two parts?
    17        A.  Certainly I do not see any health advantages in
              avoiding red meat.
    18
         Q.   Does it follow you do not see any health advantages in
    19        avoiding any kind of meat?
              A.  That is correct.
    20
         Q.   If there is a candidate for villainy in the diet amongst
    21        meats, it would be red meat, would it?
              A.  Yes.  There are various papers which suggest possible
    22        links between red meat and colon cancer, but that is the
              subject of quite vigorous debate at the present time.
    23
         Q.   In the course of this paper the authors consider various
    24        deficiencies in different kinds of vegetarian diets, lacto
              vegetarian, vegan, so on and so forth, amongst which
    25        possibly deficiencies is iron deficiency or conditions; it
              is iron deficiency anaemia, do you see that? 
    26        A.  Yes. 
  
    27   Q.   "Although iron is ubiquitous, its availability from foods
              or plant origin is low compared with that from meat.
    28        Consequently, vegetarians are probably more prone to iron
              deficiency than meat eaters.  The Asian vegetarian
    29        population in the UK and North America has a higher
              incidence of iron deficiency anemia, particularly among
    30        women an infants  compared with the general population.
              The incidence is highest in those who rely on rice rather

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