[jimbo2012]

Ok, so now that I question senior citizens support of the Mediterranean diet he/she is going to attack the vegan diet that I follow.

First one needs to look at the credentials of the commentator Denice Minger and look to the credentials of of the Dr's.

China Study author Colin Campbell slaps down critic

Editor's Note: There has recently been a flurry of discussion prompted by an article by raw-animal-product advocate Denise Minger, which criticizes The China Study and attacks its author, Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Minger questions Dr. Campbell's personal motives and attempts to impugn his character.

Dr. Campbell recently took time to review Minger's observations and respond. You can read Minger's original article below, linked at the start of Dr. Campbell's response.

Previously we at VegSource had looked at some of Minger's anti-Campbell rhetoric. One thing we were struck by early on was the fact that Minger apparently removes comments on her blog from scientific researchers who point out the flaws in her reasoning and in her understanding of accepted research methods. In his report below Dr. Campbell notes an example of one researcher whose critical post was removed.

A cancer epidemiologist who says she posted criticism of Minger's methods last week on Minger's blog complained in a posting on VegSource that her critical post first appeared and then was removed from the Comments area of Minger's blog. In fact, Minger herself posted on VegSource in response to this epidemeologist's complaint, and did not deny that the epidemeologist's critical comments had been yanked. After complaining on VegSource about the post disappearing, the epidemiologist's post apparently reappeared on Minger's blog. (Minger subsquently said something about a "spam filter" being at fault.)

As the exchange showed, it was clear to the epidemologist that Minger was out of her depth, and she offered to give Minger some some assistance and teach Minger some proper methods of analysis. In response Minger expressed excitement at hoping to attract professional researchers to help examine Dr. Campbell's data in the future, and see if they can aid Minger in proving Dr. Campbell is wrong in some way. Minger wrote that if she could enlist actual researchers who could help her poke holes in China Study data, "this could be a really great opportunity to grab the attention of the medical community."

About the only community interested in the kind of thing Minger is attempting would be the pro-beef Weston Price Foundation and the meat industry. Minger may find helpers coming forward from those ranks and offering their assistance; many have already tried unsuccessfully for years to attack and undercut the message of Dr. Campbell's life work. On their own website, the Weston Price people express how thrilled they are that Minger has joined in their attempts to discredit Dr. Campbell's work. (In fact, Minger is a fan of the Weston Price Foundation and recommends their work to others. You can read an expose about the Price Foundation at the end of Dr. Campbell's article -- which includes the revelation that Price himself, the founder, actually recommended a vegetarian diet to his family as the most healthy.)

Of course, Minger expresses no interest in publicizing any of her work when it shows Campbell is correct.

We see this often; someone trying to build some credibility on their own by taking aim at the biggest target they can find in hope that they can punch a hole, thus showing themselves to be smart enough to take down the big guy. Unqualified to actually do any kind of study of her own, Minger hopes to find flaws in the peer-reviewed work of researchers from Oxford University, Cornell University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine.

Except she's not up to the task of taking on professional researchers who have to work to the most rigorous standards in academia. These are slightly higher than standards for kids blogging on the web.

A critic's post pointing out some of Minger's errors disappears from her blog, and reappears when the critic starts complaining about it elsewhere on the web. Minger then publicly admits that she could use help understanding Dr. Campbell's research, because she doesn't have professional expertise to analyze and interpret the data she's pontificating about.