THERE is another disease, far more widespread than 'mad cow disease,' which is linked not only to the consumption of beef, but to all meats - It is heart disease.

According to a recent World Health Organisation study, the UK had the highest rate of heart disease among women and the second highest among men.

The causes of heart disease, are smoking, a diet high in animal fats and a lack of both exercise and stress management, but it can not only be prevented by the adoption of a low fat vegetarian diet, it can also be cured!

Last year, members of Plan 2000 asked the British Heart Foundation to increase their expenditure on health education and to abandon the scientifically-unsound practice of vivisection. Though BHF agreed to more than double their budget on health education, they refused to abandon vivisection and have failed to inform the public of the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Until BHF changes its policy on health education, heart disease will remain Britain's biggest killer. And the many millions of pounds raise annually will continue to be wasted on the development of drugs with their dangerous and deadly side effects, and research into unnecessary surgery such as the transplanting of pigs hearts to humans.

STEPHEN MORLEY, Campaigns Manager, Plan 2000, Molyneux Close, Huyton, Liverpool.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.