Dear Editor:
2012 has not been a banner year for the meat industry.
Extreme drought has doubled the cost of animal feedstuffs. Undercover investigations documented male chicks suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground to death, their female counterparts crammed for life in tiny wire-mesh cages, pigs clobbered with metal pipes, and assorted farm animals skinned and dismembered at the slaughterhouse while still conscious.
A study of more than 120,000 people by the Harvard School of Public Health confirmed once again that meat consumption raises the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Director General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan, warned that routine use of antibiotics to promote animal growth in factory farms is causing “the end of modern medicine.”
No wonder U.S. per capita meat consumption has been dropping by nearly 4 percent annually!
October offers excellent opportunities for dropping animal products from our diet. The month kicks off with World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day on October 1st and 2nd, respectively. It continues with World Food Day on October 16th, and Food Day on October 24th.
Entering “live vegan” in a search engine brings lots of useful transition tips.
Sincerely,
Hugh Reilly