Dear Editor:
With April 1 just around the corner, it appears that the meat industry is playing us as April Fools by hiding its violations of humane and sanitary laws.
Under intense pressure from the meat lobby, Iowa and Utah have enacted the infamous “ag-gag” laws that criminalize taking or possessing photographs and videotapes documenting the atrocious treatment of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. Six other state legislatures (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and New York) have been considering such legislation.
As these bills were being debated, the head of the World Health Organization forecast the “end of modern medicine,” unless the meat industry stops its wholesale use of antibiotics. Industry uses these drugs to ensure that animals survive the extreme crowding of factory farms.
Each of us has a choice to make on the next trip to the local supermarket. We can continue to subsidize the inhumane and unsanitary conditions hidden by the meat industry and condemned by the World Health Organization. Or, we can elect a wholesome nonviolent diet of vegetables, fruits, and grains recommended by leading health authorities.
Sincerely,
Elmer Leighton