July 2, 2009

WRONG: Vegetarian diet ‘weakens bones’

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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Why can’t the media report science correctly? According to this AFP story: “People who live on vegetarian diets have slightly weaker bones than their meat-eating counterparts.”

They could hardly misreport a scientific study more spectacularly. I mean, how hard is it to:

 

  • Assess the fact that differences in bone density (which the researcher himself deemed “clinically insignificant“) did not lead to any increase in the number of bone fractures?

The Australian news reported the story somewhat more accurately.

But this headline and misleading story have been virulently misreported today. And what is the effect but to reinforce meat-eating habitats that are bad for the health of individuals and for the health of our world?

Jeez.
 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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