Response to John Robbins

[You can read Robbins' original letter here.]

I didn’t "misquote" John Robbins. The whole interview took place by e-mail, and I have his exact words. I didn’t use everything that he gave me, but he did not request, nor did I agree, that the entire quotation be used.  Readers should look at the full quotation (below), compare it to what I actually used, and judge for themselves as to how significant this was.  

Robbins states that I didn’t talk to the vegetarians who were appealing this settlement. This is false. I contacted, or attempted to contact, all of the vegetarians who appealed the settlement. John McDougall agreed to be interviewed and I featured his comments prominently. Alex Hershaft, Joanne Stepaniak, and Colin Campbell all politely declined. Jeff Nelson also declined, as did the attorney Michael Hyman.

Robbins attacks my statement that the beef in the french fries was a "distant memory," which he says implies that the beef is no longer in the french fries.  This is false.  My statement (prefaced with the phrase "The real news is not . . . ") is a comment on the news value of the beef in the fries, not a denial that there was still beef in the french fries.  The context of my article makes this explicit.  

When the story about beef in the french fries came out in 1998 — and for three years afterward — this provoked only a small ripple of interest within the vegetarian movement. It’s the lawsuit and the subsequent political dissension, not the beef, which made this a major story.  

I can sympathize with Robbins when he suggests that an open discussion of what has gone on in this case might give vegetarians a bad name. He’s correct that this is a real possibility. But the controversies surrounding this lawsuit, whatever our opinions on it, have already been publicly and prominently discussed for well over a year. For the most part — except for my article — we have heard only one point of view, namely Jeff Nelson’s.  I believe that this process of open discussion, as painful as it is, is essential to our progress as a movement.

Keith Akers

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The unedited quote which John Robbins gave to Keith Akers was:

 "With all the legal wranglings and obvious misunderstanding and turbulence, I really am not informed enough to offer anything worthwhile by way of comments. Sue Havala [sic] is a friend of mine, and I know she has a lot of integrity. Jeff Nelson is also a friend of mine, and also has a lot of integrity. These two people, and many of the others who are involved in this conflict, have all contributed enormously to the veg cause and movement. I am sorry to see things have become so divisive."

As it appeared in the original VegNews article, it was cut down to read:

John Robbins said, "with all the legal wranglings and obvious misunderstanding and turblulence, I really am not informed enough to offer anything worthwhile by way of comments."  He described himself as a "friend" both of Jeff Nelson and Sue Havala Hobbs (associated with VRG), adding "I am sorry to see things have become so divisive."