On April 16, 1985, my vision for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine was a handful of doctors coming together to write white papers. We have grown a great deal since then.

Thanks to your unwavering support, the Physicians Committee has grown into an organization of leaders who are successfully bringing compassion and prevention to the forefront of research and medicine.

With your help, we have accomplished many things. And I can’t wait to see what we will accomplish together in the next 30 years.

Neal Barnard, M.D.President and FounderThe Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

1985-2015

30 Years of ProgressSince 1985, the Physicians Committee has made great strides in modernizing medicine by eliminating unethical experiments and research and promoting nutrition’s critical role in preventive medicine.

PhysiciansCommittee

for Responsible Medicine

PCRM

April 16, 1985

The Beginning

Neal Barnard, M.D., founds the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

1986

Army Stops Shooting Animals

We expose the U.S. Army’s animal-wounding laboratory at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. As doctors call for a moratorium, the Army stops the shootings.

1992

Cat Shooting Experiments Halted

Physicians testify before Congress on the military shooting restrained cats in the head to “model” human injuries. An investigation results in ending the cat-shooting experiments!

1992

Iconic Pediatrician Sides with the Physicians CommitteeDistinguished pediatrician Benjamin Spock, M.D., joins our call for parental warnings about links between dairy products and type 1 diabetes.

1993

Dog Laboratories Stopped

The University of Nevada drops its required dog laboratory after we launch a public education and media campaign to end it. This victory paves the way for a national shift in medical training. In the ensuing years, nearly every medical school would halt the use of animals in medical education, thanks to our efforts.

1993

Millions Get Nutrition GuidanceThe Physicians Committee debuts the first Vegetarian Starter Kit to reinforce outreach efforts and make health education readily accessible. Our publication is later adapted by many organizations, with millions of copies collectively distributed.

1994

California Says No

Our experts and members persuade California legislators to cut funding for tobacco experiments on animals at the University of California.

1995

AMA Publishes Our Message

The American Medical Association publishes Dr. Barnard’s analysis of means to promote dietary change in its journal, Archives of Family Medicine.

1995

Dr. Heimlich Helps End Dog LabsDr. Barnard persuades Harvard Medical School to eliminate its physiology dog laboratory course, in favor of a human operating room training module. Harvard faculty and the Physicians Committee produce a video program promoting Harvard’s innovative method, narrated by Henry Heimlich, M.D. Columbia University’s medical school drops the last animal laboratory from its curriculum the same year.

2000

USDA Exposed

We file a lawsuit after discovering that more than half of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee members have financial ties to the meat, dairy, or egg industries. The Court rules that the U.S. Department of Agriculture violated federal law by hiding conflicts of interest.

2003

Corporate Giant Backs Down

In response to a false-advertising lawsuit filed by the Physicians Committee, Tyson Foods withdraws advertisements that encouraged consumers to eat chicken for heart health.

2003

NIH Funds Our ResearchThe National Institutes of Health awards us a grant for research on the effect of a low-fat vegan diet on type 2 diabetes. This randomized controlled trial found that a low-fat vegan diet treats type 2 diabetes more effectively than conventional diabetes diet guidelines and may be more effective than oral diabetes drugs. This ushers in a new approach to diabetes treatment.

2004

Cruelty-Free Research Made Possible

The Physicians Committee develops the world’s first cruelty-free insulin assay, a test that is used to measure insulin levels in diabetes patients and is now routinely used by the research community, saving thousands of animal and human lives every year.

2005

Milk ≠ Health

The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes a study by Physicians Committee experts showing that milk does not improve bone health.

2006

Animals Spared from Chemical Experiments

After Physician Committee scientists suggest that Dow Chemical test a specific chemical’s effect using a nonanimal model, Dow cancels a planned experiment on 675 animals. Our scientists work with corporations from the top down to promote nonanimal testing methods.

2007

Physician Education Program Launched

The Physicians Committee launches a continuing medical education program of nutrition education for health care professionals. The online program is offered at no charge and is free of commercial influence.

2007

Chemical Company Changes Course

Ciba Specialty Chemical Corporation drops its plan for testing an industrial chemical, sparing the lives of more than 1,000 animals, after our scientists identify existing information about the chemical.

2007

Dairy Claims Dropped

In response to our petition, the Federal Trade Commission announces that dairy advertisements overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will stop claiming that dairy products cause weight loss. This has an enormous impact on the dairy advertising campaign.

2007-2009

Influencing Industry PolicyThe Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Chemistry Council, and other organizations invite our toxicology experts to serve on policy panels to help reduce animal use in pesticide, nanomaterial, and industrial chemical testing.

American ChemistryCouncil

2007-2014

Big Leaps in Medical Training Thanks to our dedicated efforts, at least 29 medicals schools and other training facilities, including Duke University, the University of Virginia, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (the country’s only military medical school) have stopped using live animals to train medical students, residents, and physicians. Over the years and under pressure from the Physicians Committee, the number of U.S. medical schools using live animals dropped from 127 to 3.

SIMMAN: LAERDAL

PREMIE SIMULATOR: GAUMARD

2008

Combating Childhood Obesity The Physicians Committee helps Broward County, Fla.—the sixth-largest school district in the country—bring vegan options into school cafeterias to promote the importance of nutritious school lunches for curbing the childhood obesity epidemic and for long-term health.

2009

Power Plate Leads the Way

We introduce the Power Plate, a visual reminder of the types of food required for a healthy, balanced diet. Two years later, after the Physicians Committee sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over confusing language in the new Dietary Guidelines, the USDA unveils MyPlate, strikingly similar to our Power Plate.

Physicians CommitteePower Plate

USDAMyPlate

2009

National Conference Spotlights Obesity

The Physicians Committee and George Washington University host the first National Conference on Childhood Obesity and address the role of nutrition in solving this epidemic. This paves the way for future medical conferences that address nutrition and Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular health.

2010

400,000 People Kickstart Their Health

We launch the innovative 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program. The program features celebrity tips, daily meal plans, nutrition information, and many other activities to help make it easy for participants to test drive a plant-based diet. To date, more than 400,000 have participated, and the Kickstart is now offered in multiple languages!

2010

The End of Chimpanzee Research

Our leadership led the federal government to phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research; release the more than 500 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries; and prohibit future breeding of chimpanzees for purposes of conducting invasive research. Thanks to our work, chimpanzee experiments have effectively ended in the United States.

2010

Army Stops Poisoning Monkeys

After a protracted effort by the Physicians Committee, the U.S. Army finally stops poisoning monkeys in chemical weapons exercises.

2014

Beagle Experiments HaltedAfter learning that the Taiwanese government plans to conduct rabies experiments on beagles, the Physicians Committee utilizes a multi-channel campaign to stop the experiments. Our scientists and medical experts, celebrities, our members, and the Taiwanese public banded together and the puppies were saved!

2015

Vegan Diet: The Best MedicineA new meta-analysis by the Physicians Committee published in Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy found that a plant-based diet improves type 2 diabetes treatment—and does so more effectively than oral diabetes medications. In the last 30 years, we have published more than 70 research papers, including three major meta-analyses on the role of plant-based diets in improving blood pressure, blood sugar, and body weight.

2015

A Blueprint for the Future

The Physicians Committee creates the Barnard Medical Center, scheduled to open doors in November. The center will draw on the Physicians Committee’s 30 years of experience in clinical research and educating physicians and the public on the link between diet and health. The center will focus on prevention and integrating nutrition into patient care.

2015

We could not have come this far without your support. On behalf of all the wonderful and committed staff at the Physician Committee,

thank you for making this all possible.

PhysiciansCommittee.org