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People with only a passing familiarity with the Dalai Lama -- the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner -- might assume the religious leader to be a vegetarian. In fact not only does the Dalai Lama eat meat, but recently he has told reporters he approves of some medical experiments on animals. Sounds a lot like the animal welfare position espoused by this site.
Well, of course, it annoys animal rights activists to no end to have the world's best known preacher of peace not in their camp. On August 5, 1998 The Fund for Animals released a letter it sent to the Dalai Lama urging him to issue a statement affirming that "Buddhism's compassionate opposition to all forms of animal abuse, including the genetic manipulation of living beings and the use of animals in scientific research."
According to the letter, authored by The Fund for Animals coordinator Norm Phelps, "By refusing to make your [the Dalai Lama's] body a coffin for slaughtered animals, you can only enhance your work for world peace." The letter does not explain how going vegetarian will convince the Chinese to withdraw from Tibet.
No word yet on what the Dalai Lama thought of the letter. Could it be that the Dalai Lama values the life of a breast cancer victim over the life of a lab rat?
Source:
Animal advocates tell Dalai Lama that 'peace begins in the kitchen. The Fund for Animals, Press Release, August 5, 1998.