AR-News: ALERT: PLEASE E-mail American Cancer Society re: Cattle Barons' Balls fund-raisers

[Howard White]

For Immediate Release:  March 29, 2004
Contact:  Howard White: 202-686-2210 ext. 339
hwhite at pcrm.org



PCRM LAUNCHES NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CALLING FOR END TO AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
“CATTLE BARONS' BALL” EVENTS
Cancer Society Promotes Disease with Beef Fundraisers, Say Doctors

WASHINGTON – The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is
calling on the American Cancer Society to put an end to its “Cattle Barons’
Ball” events – beef-themed fundraisers promoting the very disease the cancer
research and prevention giant is committed to curing.

The fundraisers feature Western and cowboy themes, including “chuck wagons”
loaded with beef and other meats. More than 30 are held each year, mostly in
the South and Southwest, almost two-thirds of them in Texas and Florida.

PCRM Nutrition Director Amy Joy Lanou, Ph.D., has written to the local
organizers of the ACS-sponsored Cattle Barons events across the country
urging them to either cancel or find new themes. As part of its campaign –
“Cancer: It’s What’s for Dinner at the Cattle Barons’ Ball” – PCRM has
launched a nationwide e-mail write-in effort calling on American Cancer
Society CEO John Seffrin, Ph.D. and ACS chapters to call off or re-theme
these events. An e-mail “postcard” can be sent to Dr. Seffrin by going to
PCRM’s Web site www.AmericanCancerSocietyPromotesDisease.org/letter.html.
Dates and full contact information on all upcoming Cattle Barons’ Ball
events are here as well.

“It is irresponsible of the American Cancer Society to sponsor events that
promote beef consumption,” said Lanou. “For more than 20 years, major
scientific studies have linked beef and other meats with increased risk of
cancer, particularly colorectal cancers.”

More information on the link between cancer and meat consumption, PCRM’s
e-mail “postcard” urging the American Cancer Society to cancel or re-theme
its Cattle Barons’ Balls, and the dates, locations, and contact information
on all upcoming Cattle Barons’ Ball events can be found on PCRM’s Web site
www.AmericanCancerSocietyPromotesDisease.org.