Letter to Editors: No more porky pies

| 12 August 2008
minute reading time
Little pig

Dear Editor, It’s official – going veggie is safer and healthier… This week saw all Irish pork products recalled from stores after the discovery of toxic substances called dioxins in slaughtered pigs. Dioxins are known as persistent organic pollutants or POPs. These harmful chemicals don’t break down easily and are widespread in the environment. However, most animal foods contain dioxins anyway. The government states that: “They are generally present at low concentrations in most foods, especially fat-containing foods such as milk and meat.” This is because they are lipophilic (fat-loving) compounds that accumulate in fat.

Dioxins are implicated in heart disease, cancer, infertility and can harm developing foetuses by disrupting the development of male babies’ reproductive organs. They were the primary ingredient in Agent Orange, the defoliant sprayed over Vietnam and which has produced an appalling legacy of cancers and other diseases, miscarriages and birth defects. The best way to avoid dioxins is to avoid animal foods and go veggie!

For a free information pack contact the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation, Top Suite, 8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH or call 0117 970 5190 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm). Dr Justine Butler Senior Health Campaigner Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 970 5190 Email: justine@vegetarian.org.uk www.vegetarian.org.uk www.safetyofsoya.com

About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
I joined Viva! as a health campaigner in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. My scientific training helped me research and write numerous reports, guides and fact sheets for Viva! including Meat the Truth, Fish-Free for Life, One in Nine (breast cancer and diet) and the substantial report on the detrimental health effects of consuming dairy; White Lies. This accompanied Viva!’s report The Dark Side of Dairy which spelt out the inherent cruelty of dairy farming. We were the first UK group to take on the dairy industry in this way, and many of our supporters go vegan after reading these reports.

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