On Thursday night’s All Things Considered, NPR publicized radical-left vegan activists putting up mocking images of fat people to scare people away from that menace known as cheese.
Reporter Allison Aubrey relayed “One billboard in Albany, New York features a huge photo of an overweight woman. She's squeezing the fattest part of her thighs with a message: ‘Your Thighs On Cheese,’ emblazoned across the side.” NPR publicized the group calling itself the “Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine,” despite it being mostly a group of non-physician activists.
This looks like an ongoing campaign.
-- On January 14, NPR blogger Barbara King promoted a PCRM video opposing the use of chimps in medical research (starring Kevin Nealon and James Franco): "This video, sponsored by the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine, makes a visually convincing case in 2.5 minutes for why these smart and sentient chimpanzees need our help, and what each of us can do. I hope it goes viral."
-- On January 23, NPR blogger Eliza Barclay promoted PCRM opposing fast-food joints getting a foothold in medical facilities.
And now, their anti-cheese billboards are a national story. Here's how Aubrey promoted the PCRM viewpoint, even as she admitted their anti-dairy, anti-meat advice is not "mainstream" nutrition advice:
AUBREY: So, why the scary close-ups of pouchy stomachs and doughy thighs? Well, the billboards were hung by a group called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. It's led by Neal Barnard.
NEAL BARNARD: If you look at the chemical makeup of what's in cheese, it's mostly saturated fats - the kind that's linked to heart disease. It's very high in cholesterol. Ounce per ounce about the same as any steak you can find, and surprisingly high in sodium. So, how often do you want to eat such an unhealthy food? I would argue never.
AUBREY: Never eat cheese? Barnard, who's a physician by training, has long advocated his personal belief that a Vegan diet is the healthiest way to eat. No dairy, no meat, no animal products at all. Now, this is a long way from mainstream nutrition advice. And federal guidelines say it's OK to get small amounts, up to 10 percent of your calories, from saturated fat, including cheese which does contain two things our bodies need - calcium and protein. But Barnard says his billboards are meant to wake people up.
BARNARD: Cheese is the number one source, cheese and other dairy products, are the leading source of the saturated fats that our kids are swallowing. And I think most Americans are totally oblivious to it.
AUBREY: Barnard argues that we deceive ourselves into thinking that we're eating cheese in moderation when we're not. We sprinkle it on salads, slap it in our sandwiches, layer it in our burritos and slather it on our pizza. In fact, since 1970, our per person consumption has almost tripled. That's a lot of cheese.
Aubrey “balanced” the story in a stereotypically liberal way: she congratulated the French for eating it in moderation. There was a small nod to critics of the obnoxious vegans: "When I called a few people in Albany who had driven by the billboards, they said they found them obnoxious. And, in Wisconsin, when Barnard's group designed a billboard portraying the Grim Reaper wearing a cheesehead hat, there was outrage. One farmer even said, what's the problem? Look at the French."
So she did, and her second source was cultural attache Antonin Baudry, who explained the French believe in cheese “like a religion.”
BAUDRY: A very common expression in French is fromage ou dessert. Means cheese or dessert. Means you cannot have both in your life. You have to choose.
AUBREY: So it's back to the idea of moderation, but doesn't it sound so much more palatable in French?
