Maybe some of you will have chanced upon "Soy Online Service.co.nz". It's a New Zealand based website, one of the few that tries to demonstrate that soy is actually hazardous to human health. I have no problem with this website. Until recently, I believed that it was run by some adults who wished to put a differing opinion out there. However this couldn't be further than the truth. I'd like to post an e-mail conversation that recently occured. Judge for yourselves.
> email:
[email protected]
>
> to: Soy Online Service
>
> name: Frances
>
> subject2: Nina Planck Op-Ed piece
>
> comments: I'm appalled that you published the
ignorant article by Nina
> Planck on your website. The author of the Op-Ed piece has an agenda to
> sell her book which promotes Meat and Dairy products, knows very little
> about nutrition and does not state a single source in her article.
>
> These ignorant people merely starved their child to death. Would the
> article have been published if the parents were on the SAD? I doubt it.
> They were ignorant people, regardless of their dietary choices (as stated
> before, the Veganism had little to do with the tragedy. Breast is best, as
> any parent knows. Apple juice is nowhere on the list.) Please don't use
> such an unfortunate event to further your agenda. It's misguided and
> petty.
>
Hi FRM We help the webmaster.It's too bad that you wish to censor the NYT. What's your opinion of the research from NIH Pubmed in the website?
Does that appall you too? Valerie
Hi Valerie and Richard,
The main problem is that this piece is an Op-Ed. This means that the piece is purely opinion, one with dubious intent. If your site is intended to be a Information Service then it is your duty to present study and research to the public, not fear and hatemongering of Veganism. I would like to point out that a large percentage of babies are vegan, any baby not fed cow's milk formula. This baby was fed soy milk and apple juice, in very small quantities.
If you believe it is acceptable to publish from an article which provides not one citation to back up its theories, then it lays doubt on the credibility of the entire site.
Please understand that this article is not about soy, nor enlightening the public on the effects of soy. As the judge ruled, soy was not the cause of death in this infant. It was malnourishment and neglect. As I stated previously, I feel it is irresponsible for your site to use this tragedy to further your personal agenda regarding Veganism and Soy.
From: [email protected]
www.soyonlineservice.co.nz has over 200 citations in the form of summary abstracts of research with links to the originals in PubMed. You should read them. The webmaster likes to make available media articles so people not as smart, or blind, as you can get the message. We suggest you study them
Hi Valerie,
You seem to have misunderstood my e-mail. I have no problem with your contention of soy's health benefits - indeed I do not subscribe to the field of thought that soy is a necessary health product. My problem is that your site is predominantly (from what I can tell) focused on expert conclusions regarding the benefits or hazards of soy consumption. However the article "Death by Veganism" is not written by an expert. In fact the author in question holds no qualifications in any scientific or medical field. Without any knowledge of nutrition, the author makes outlandish claims about a dietary choice which many choose to take - the majority of the article is not focused on soy or soy products, it is a personal attack on a way of life that is subscribed to by millions of people around the planet.
For you to publish such an article suggests a personal agenda which is contrary to the intention of the site. I believe that the public should have access to differing opinions on such a widely consumed food. However, as you felt the need to insult me and call me blind and stupid, I would like to point out several very basic facts that may have escaped your attention when you posted the article.
The first is that the death of the infant was not caused by soy. If indeed soy had been the cause of death in this infant then of course, the headline would have been worthy of the site. Crown Shakur was born in a bathtub. He was never taken to a doctor. He was barely fed, and never breastfed. He died at 6 weeks old of starvation. Although soy milk would not have provided adequate nutrition for the development of a healthy baby, in this case it would be impossible to determine whether Crown would have survived had he been fed larger quantities of the product. Needless to say any responsible parent would breastfeed a child and not provide their child fruit juice and a very small amount of soy milk as a nutritional formula. This is even stated on the side of soy milk packets. The idea that fruit juice and soy milk is a vegan diet is completely ridiculous.
The second is that Nina Planck makes some very large errors in her article. This may be due to her lack of any scientific expertise. While I would be happy to go through every single claim the author makes, several people have already taken the time and effort to do so for me, so I will provide you with some links, as you seem to like reading and keeping yourselves informed.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/colb/20070529.html
http://consciouskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/05/response-to-death-by-veganism.html
http://www.pcrm.org/news/commentary070521.html
http://www.drmcdougall.com/response_to_ny_times.htm
http://vegfamily.com/news/op-ed-nyt.htm
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070510/clth120.html?.v=19
I am disappointed that such a prominent website would resort to calling a concerned reader stupid and blind. Although you like to make the assumption that I am short of a few brain cells, I am merely informing you that posting an Op-Ed piece is not akin to posting work from qualified researchers and scientists, and that such a work has no place on a website that prides itself in providing an alternate opinion regarding the intake of soy. It provides no citations and pulls vague statistics from seemingly nowhere. It uses the tragic death of a child to vilify a dietary choice.
Again, I will state, this opinion article is not about soy. Your website is "soy online service". I hope this e-mail will help you understand my initial and subsequent e-mails specifically regarding the article "Death by Veganism" by Nina Planck.
Regards,
Frances
Yeah....the bolded underlined part is just, you know, my favourite part. Hey, aren't you looking forward to what lovely sweet e-mails I'll receive in my inbox tomorrow?
Its so great your so excited!! I wish I could go vegan, but my mom says it'll make me sick (which is really silly considering my grandmom was vegan for years and is the healthiest and fittest person I know!).
)
Thanks for that, I can use that when people say even ovo-lacto vegetarians are unhealthy
They're finally okay with my choice.
my carbs
A few years ago I tried another brand of soy yogurt that was really good, but I can't remember which brand! 
It does have a strange taste.
