To the Editor:
The Health section in the August 12 edition of the Bayonne Community News featured an article that was very pro-vaccine and pro-animal testing for the medical industry. I felt that the tone of the article seemed more like an op-ed piece rather than a well-researched health article, so I decided to do some investigating.
The article was written by someone named Frankie L. Trull, described as the founder and president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research. The Foundation for Biomedical Research is actually a front group whose main goal is to promote animal testing. Ms. Trull is also the president and founder of the National Association for Biomedical Research, an industry association, and Policy Directions, Inc. Policy Directions is a public relations and lobby firm for the animal testing, animal breeding, pharmaceutical, agribusiness and processed food industries.
In short, Ms.Trull is a Washington, D.C.-based public-relations professional and lobbyist for the animal testing and medical industries. Ms. Trull has also personally lobbied against amendments to the Animal Welfare Act that proposed more humane treatment of animals used in research. I am not sure why a lobbyist is writing articles for the Health section. Moving forward, I suggest that articles in the Health section be written by an unbiased health professional. In the least, if articles are written by lobbyists, this should be made clearer moving forward.
For anyone looking to do further research, please search for Ms. Trull and the three groups I mention above at sourcewatch.org.
RACHELE DEMBOWSKI