The Saturday, February 9, Los Angeles Times has two important stories for animal advocates. On the front page is an article, by Richard C Paddock, headed "Smoking, and ire, at UCLA: A study of nicotine addiction is funded by a tobacco company." And the editorial page includes a piece by the Times editors headed "Hard to Stomach: Our food supply watchdogs, the USDA and the FDA, are falling down on the job."

Paddock's front page article opens with:

"Here's a recipe for academic controversy:

"First, find dozens of hard-core teenage smokers as young as 14 and study their brains with high-tech scans. Second, feed vervet monkeys liquid nicotine and then kill at least six of them to examine their brains. Third, accept $6 million from tobacco giant Philip Morris to pay for it all. Fourth, cloak the project in unusual secrecy.

"At UCLA, a team of researchers is following this formula to produce what it hopes will be a groundbreaking study of addiction. So far, the scientists have proved that the issues of animal testing and tobacco-funded research are among the most contentious on university campuses."

We learn that UCLA professor Edythe London, the lead scientist on the three-year study, has been targeted by animal rights activists who have damaged her home. They accuse her of using "sadistic procedures" and "torturing nonhuman animals to death" in earlier studies.

And we read:
"At the same time, Philip Morris' role in the study has drawn sharp criticism from anti-tobacco activists. They doubt that the company wants to help people stop smoking and question whether the study of teenage and monkey brains could help Philip Morris design a more addictive cigarette."

But the researcher, London, has called that suggestion "twisted" and has said, "The representatives of Philip Morris were very sincere."

We read: "The company awarded London $6 million to establish the Adolescent Smoking Cessation Center at the school and conduct the study on teenage and animal brains."

Altogether, "Tobacco company Philip Morris is sponsoring 23 tobacco-related research projects at seven University of California campuses."

The article is lengthy and informative. You will find it on line at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tobacco9feb09,0,969218.story

The Los Angeles Times editorial on food safety opens with:

"It was upsetting enough to hear that animals had been abused by slaughterhouse employees in Chino; far worse to think that a meat producer was willing to send beef from 'downer' cattle into the food supply -- to public schools, no less. There always will be a certain number of bad operations looking to break the rules. But there's a government agency assigned to catch and stop them. Where was the U.S. Department of Agriculture?

"The abuses at Hallmark Meat Packing were uncovered by the Humane Society of the United States, not by the USDA. And this isn't the first time it took outsiders to act on food issues..."

You'll find the full piece on line at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-usda9feb09,0,4771799.story

Both of the articles cited above provide superb opportunities for letters to the editor about our treatment of other species. You might choose to respond to whichever speaks to you more directly, or that which deals with a topic about which you have some knowledge or personal experience. For example you might know something about animal testing, or nicotine addiction, or plant-based diets; you can respond accordingly.

The Los Angeles Times takes letters at letters@latimes.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read advance reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals" and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.