Vegan Propagandists Boldly Come Out Against the Cronut, Dominique Ansel Responds

The vegan fanatics at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine want the world to just stop it already with chef Dominique Ansel's Cronuts, which they compare to KFC's dreaded Double Down sandwich. In the Associated Press' report on Cronut Mania, the AP quotes dietitian Susan Levin of the PCRM, which the AP calls "an anti-obesity advocacy group." Not quite.

Apparently, Levin sees "no difference between a high-end Cronut and some notable fast-food crazes of yore, including the KFC Double Down sandwich" and calls the Cronut "clearly a nutritional nightmare." What the AP doesn't mention is that the PCRM is a headline-hungry vegan propaganda group in which less than 5% of whose members are even physicians. Of course the fried, glazed doughnut-croissant hybrid is not super healthy. But could Levin's objections be that Ansel uses butter and eggs in his shop, not that his "dreamy" Cronut is a decadent-sounding pastry? The AP certainly isn't worried about it.

This isn't the first time the PCRM has wormed its way into major food stories. Just last week they tried to jump on the Paula Deen train when they circulated a press release about their desire for her museum to serve vegan food. Their disproportionate terror of the Cronut also recalls their hot dog and cheese fear mongering attempts.

Eater reached out to Cronut master Dominique Ansel to get his response to Levin's comments, here's what he has to say:

To compare a small shop in Soho making 200 Cronuts a day to a national chain like KFC serving millions is missing the point. If that's the case, nutritionists should be sent into every restaurant in the US to calculate the calories of their desserts on the menu.

This is a specialty item made made with no preservatives and meant to be enjoyed sparingly (in fact, you can only get two). It is one thing to preach good health, but also another to pick on someone just because their product is popular when there are so many worse alternatives out there. Please keep in mind that the nutritionist questioned has never sampled a real Cronut. Oh, and the journalists who did the article each bought two.

· 'Cronut' craze in New York [AP]
· All Cronuts Coverage on Eater [-E-]