Conflict of Interest in Research

PCRM presents itself as a medical authority but is only 5% physicians and functions as a plant-based advocacy group. Multiple pharmaceutical companies that profit from cholesterol-lowering treatments were involved in funding or supporting the study. At least one researcher disclosed receiving research support from AstraZeneca, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and several other pharmaceutical companies. Several studies cited by PCRM were authored by researchers who received fees or research support from pharmaceutical companies selling anti-cholesterol medications. PCRM's publication of alarming content about animal products aligns with its ideological goals rather than dispassionate science. Pharmaceutical funding by statin manufacturers fundamentally compromises researchers' ability to produce unbiased conclusions about dietary cholesterol. Researchers financially tied to the cholesterol-lowering drug industry have a direct commercial interest in finding that dietary cholesterol from eggs is dangerous.