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Agnes Varnum is a freelance writer, film programmer and communications manager for the Austin Film Society. She is the primary contributor to doc it out and Tribeca Film Institute's Resources.

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1. 

   Comment by Jeff Boghosian on 23 May 2007:

   I’m surprised the NYTimes would publish something like this, although it was in the OpEd section. But many of the things the author claims, and she isn’t a nutritionist or doctor, go against what the mainstream diatetic orgs say.

   For instance, they say a (well-planned) vegan diet is okay for infacts and during pregnancy:
   “Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence.”
   (from http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm”

   Also, the protein myth she refers to was debunked a long time ago (protein is mentioned in the above link specifically). She doesn’t provide any references, and on her blog she mentions only a quote from a single doctor.

   The tragedy she refers to was very awful. But the child was given a very poorly planned diet, and I don’t think it’s fair to blame veganism in general.
2. 

   Comment by agnes on 24 May 2007:

   Thanks for your comment. It is a reminder to always do some research. I did think the protein part sounded incorrect. The link above isn’t working properly though I’m sure exploring the American Dietetic Association is useful.

   I’ll keep my eye on the Letters section to see if anyone responds. If anyone has other reputable resources to contribute here, I’d be interested.
3. 

   Comment by Jeff Boghosian on 24 May 2007:

   Here are some letters to the editor in the NYTimes, although most aren’t that useful:

   http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/opinion/l23vegan.html

   And here’s the link again to the American Dietetic Assoc:

   http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm
4. 

   Comment by agnes on 24 May 2007:

   Thanks again, Jeff. You got to it before I could check!

   I think the letter from the nutritionist who testified against the couple is very interesting, and her letter is supported in the abstract of the link you posted: “Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence.”

   And I can actually link this discussion back to documentary – King Corn by Aaron Woolf, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis investigates ubiquitous corn in our food chain, including our meat. I do believe that those who argue that only a meat-based diet is a healthy one are working in the food industry somehow. If you saw this doc, I’d be curious to hear if it changed your opinion of what you eat? (I still eat meat, but very infrequently. Special occasions usually).
5. 

   Comment by Jeff Boghosian on 24 May 2007:

   The trailer of the movie looks really interesting. Seems like it might be similar to Michael Pollan’s book ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’.
6. 

   Comment by agnes on 24 May 2007:

   Just a little more: It turns out that Nina Planck, who wrote the op ed, is a “real food” advocate. Her website looks like she does great work promoting local farming and farmers markets. I was hoping to find out if she was paid by the food industry and she answers the question: “Today a correspondent asked me to disclose whether I am paid by the meat, dairy, fish, or egg industry. Good question. I am not. I’m an independent food writer and I study the work of scientists and nutritionists. After much study, I’ve concluded that evidence in favor of diverse, omnivorous diets of traditional foods is overwhelming. I was a skeptic myself – until I did some homework about human nutrition.”

   I tend to veer toward real food also. I eat butter and olive oil over margarine or veggie oils when I can. Sugar, if I need sweetner, etc. I eat eggs rather than egg beaters. I get what she is going for – if it is produced in nature and we eat in moderation then we needn’t succumb to food fads.
7. 

   Comment by James M. Johnston on 25 May 2007:

   When I saw the inflammatory title on the IndieWire page I knew I had to click and read the post. I was glad to see someone already posted a sensible response in the comments.

   Here is another link to a response by the Physicians Committe for Responsible Medicine.

   My wife and I own a vegan restaurant and we personally know several parents who have raised their children vegan since birth. Not only are the chlidren healthy they are smart and well-behaved to boot.

   The whole argument of human diet history is completely invalid in the current world. There is nothing about the way we currently produce and consume food that compares with our past. What some would call a fad is what I call evolving.
8. 

   Comment by agnes on 25 May 2007:

   Perhaps there is no defense, but if I have one for posting an “inflammatory” post, it did come from the NYTimes. Yes, it’s an OpEd, but is the Times in the practice of printing known false facts? If you can’t assume that basic facts are checked from the New York Times, then we are in a lot more trouble than I thought. Oye.
9. 

   Comment by James M. Johnston on 26 May 2007:

   Duly noted about the inflammatory title. Even for an op-ed that title is very irresponsible for a paper of NYT’s stature. For all intended purposes calling it Death by White People would have been as appropriate because their race had about as much do with it as their dietary choice. More aptly it should have been called Death By Idiots because that’s what really happened.