Ms. Minger makes extraordinary claims, and extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof. The strength of a conclusion is a function of the
quality of the evidence provided in its support and the a priori probability of the claim being supported. Suppose, for example, that a reasonably
reliable source tells me (a) that former President Bush choked on another pretzel and (b) that Dick Cheney has switched to the Democrat party. I would be much more confident of the truth of the first report than of the second,
even though the source is identical. The difference lies in the a priori plausibility of the claims.

In her Facebook profile, Ms. Minger lists one college: a community college in Flagstaff, Arizona, and notes that she is a "Professional Sock Puppeteer" - hardly comparable qualifications to Campbell's 50+ years researching and publishing on nutrition and health.

Because Ms. Minger's claims have a very low a priori probability, it means that potential biases and research flaws are more plausible as explanations for her claimed "findings" than is the truth of the claims.

The real mystery is why a "Professional Sock Puppeteer" would attack such well-defended findings of a noted expert that have already survived scrutiny by more informed, better trained and more thoughtful people, but I won't waste time investigating her motives - if I turn to her expertise in the future, it will only be to watch her play with her sock puppets.

Dr. Campbell,
I was recently directed to the film, Forks Over Knives, by my primary care physician, Dr. Benjamin Gozun (Brooklyn, NY), which film convinced me to give the plant-based whole foods diet a try (just about a week ago). I'm already feeling a difference, despite having been a fitness enthusiast already for many years. Previously, I've been a vegetarian and an omnivore, alternatively, for several periods of my life, as I've continued to explore the evidence for either, as well as according to personal factors not directly related to scientific/health considerations. Yours is the most comprehensive, compelling case I have come across for what appears to be a most healthy diet/lifestyle. (As a philosophy professor, I am not easily fooled by specious reasoning, and I am usually very slow to accept anything, much less embrace anything whole-heartedly, in advance of sufficient evidence.) I want to thank you for your life's work, and compliment you on the virtues you exhibit in your response to your critics. You strike me as an exemplary human being, and your integrity is inspiring to me.

Congratulations Mrs Minger for study in depth the subject. For his clear explanation. A notice of Languedoc in France