WASHINGTON—In response to the third confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is offering worried carnivores a free 16-page Vegetarian Starter Kit.

A cow in Alabama has tested positive for mad cow disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday. The first U.S. case of the disease appeared in December 2003, and the disease was found again last June in a Texas cow. In humans, eating meat contaminated with the infectious agent that causes mad cow disease has been linked to more than 150 deaths from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, an incurable brain-wasting disease.

“This disturbing discovery should alert consumers to the many problems with meat-heavy diets,” says PCRM president Neal Barnard, M.D. “Mad cow disease is terrifying, but the truth is that all animal products are a health risk because they’re loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol.”

PCRM’s Vegetarian Starter Kit offers a three-step plan for moving to a healthier diet and is packed with recipes, nutrition information, and cooking tips. Research has shown that vegetarians are slimmer than meat-eaters and have a lower risk of cancer and heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death.

To request a free copy of the Vegetarian Starter Kit, consumers should contact PCRM at 202-686-2210, ext. 306, or literature@pcrm.org.  Nutrition information and vegetarian recipes can also be found at www.PCRM.org.  To schedule an interview with Dr. Barnard or another PCRM expert, please contact Susanne Forte at 202-686-2210, ext. 339, or sforte@pcrm.org.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes alternatives to animal research.