September 16, 2003
Secretary Ann Veneman
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Jamie L. Whitten Building
14th Street & Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Secretary Veneman:
We were surprised and disturbed to learn that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is
hosting a totally biased "scientific symposium" about egg nutrition
(http://www.aeb.org/food/nutrition/first_international_scientific_symposium.htm;
accessed September 4, 2003). The event is said by its sponsors to be "A stimulating
conference assembling international scientific leaders to examine the evolution of
scientific research and the revolutionary new thinking about eggs and disease
prevention." In fact, the conference is a one-sided effort to exonerate eggs, and their
cholesterol, of any health concerns.
More specifically, the conference appears to be designed to help build industry’s case for
revising or eliminating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ advice about cholesterol
("Foods high in cholesterol also tend to raise blood cholesterol"). The American Egg
Board’s Web site states:
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the American Heart Association
recommend an average daily intake of no more than 300 milligrams. But
some health professionals, including the American Heart Association, are
starting to take another look at the 300 milligram limit, a recommended
level which has not been challenged, or revised, since the 1970’s.
http://www.aeb.org/food/eggs-health.html; accessed September 4, 2003).
The American Egg Board is paying for the event. The listed sponsors of the event
include the industry-operated Egg Nutrition Center, the American Council on Science
and Health (which received funding in the past from the American Egg Board, but
refuses to disclose its current funders), and the American Dietetic Association (which
receives major industry support, including from the Egg Nutrition Center).
Furthermore, some of the speakers have been funded by the egg industry (e.g., Stephen
Kritchevsky has served on an advisory committee of the American Egg Board; Won
Song has received research support from the American Egg Board; Jeffrey Blumberg
testified at a meeting of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on behalf of,
1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. / Suite 300 / Washington, DC 20009-5728 / (202) 332-9110 / FAX (202) 265-4954
on the Internet at www.cspinet.org • Executive Director: Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
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received research support from, and been a member of an advisory committee of the Egg
Nutrition Center). None of those affiliations and funding sources are disclosed in the
symposium’s program.
Most egregiously, despite the substantial research that dietary cholesterol contributes to heart
disease, not even one speaker at this "scientific" symposium is highlighting concerns about
cholesterol. It is inappropriate for USDA to host such an unbalanced symposium, provide a
high-level official as a speaker, offer the sponsors "innocence by association" with a government
department, and contribute financially by donating its facilities.
We urge USDA to dissociate itself completely from, and bar the use of its facilities for what is
essentially a public-relations vehicle for the egg industry.
Sincerely,
Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Bonnie Liebman, M.S.
Director of Nutrition
Center for Science in the Public Interest
On behalf of:
Gerald Berenson, M.D.
Professor and Director of the Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health
Department of Epidemiology
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Tulane University
Henry Blackburn, M.D.
Mayo Professor of Public Health Emeritus
Division of Epidemiology
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota
William Connor, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Clinical Nutrition
Oregon Health Sciences University
Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
Department of General Surgery Emeritus
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
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John W. Farquhar, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Health Research & Policy, Emeritus
Stanford Prevention Research Center
Stanford University School of Medicine
Christopher D. Gardner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Stanford Prevention Research Center
Stanford University School of Medicine
Philip Greenland, M.D.
Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine
Harry W. Dingman Professor
Professor of Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Stephen Havas, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Professor
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies
School of Education
New York University
Jeremiah Stamler, M.D.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Preventive Medicine
The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University