THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, August 19, 1996               TAG: 9608160008
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A6   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

DON'T CAUSE ANIMALS TO ``SUFFER IN MY NAME''

As an insulin-dependent diabetic, I resent David Narr's attack on those who fight to keep animals from suffering in my name (``Diabetes Institute could use PETA's funds,'' letter, Aug. 1).

I became insulin-dependent in 1979 when I was 25. After starting pork and beef insulin therapy, I quickly lost muscle mass in my thigh and stomach injection areas and my blood sugar was still poorly controlled.

Five years later, I adopted a vegan diet and discovered the real secret to being a healthy diabetic. Being able to curb my dosage from more than 50 units of insulin in the morning when I first became diabetic to taking only 15 units today can be directly attributed to not eating any animal products. Instead, I eat a lot of legumes, vegetables and carbohydrates, and I stay away from fat as much as possible. (Fat may be more dangerous to diabetics than sugar - a small bag of potato chips sends my glucose sky-high.)

When I exercise regularly, I have to take even less insulin. And because I now use Humulin, a synthetically produced insulin much more appropriate for the human animal, I have regained the muscle mass I lost when I was on animal-based insulin.

Every time I look at my own dogs, I know that other equally loving dogs are living terrible, lonely lives in laboratories in my name and that makes me angry, because I have looked into the role animal experimentation has played in helping diabetics and know now that the emperor has no clothes.

Mr. Narr seemingly hasn't realized that our budget, which he feels would be better spent on a cause he deems worthy, represents the private contributions of hundreds of thousands of people who want to help animals. If they wanted their money to go to pointless animal experiments, they would have sent their checks elsewhere.

Eighty-one percent of all PETA's expenditures in the past fiscal year went directly to programs helping animals. This is well above charities' national average of 60 percent of funds received used for stated purposes.

If Mr. Narr had called us, he would have discovered the June 1996 report of the Philanthropic Advisory Service of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in which PETA is found to be in full compliance with the PAS requirement that solicitation and information be accurate, truthful and not misleading.

MARY BETH SWEETLAND, director

Department of Research, Investigation

and Rescue

People for the Ethical Treatment

of Animals

Norfolk, Aug. 9, 1996 by CNB