Although the news may not have been welcome, president of the US-based Physicians for Responsible Medicine laid it on the line for New Zealanders. In a country where nearly 176,000 people have diabetes, Dr. Neal Barnard suggested overhauling a meat-and-dairy centered diet be the first step in combating the deadly disease. “The low-fat vegan diet is more effective at treating diabetes than the typical diet or oral medications,” he said in an address at Victoria University. With the dramatic increase in adult-onset diabetes due to unhealthy eating habits in affluent countries, people are slowly starting to replace standard meat-based fare with vegetarian foods.