2008 Woodie Awards
Imagine your life as a factory farm animal...
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
[In regards to "As long as we have 99-cent hamburgers...", Feb. 19]
I am writing you to commend Mr. Kamal Prasad for being one of the first people to ever write such a heartless, unethical, and extremely biased argument for the sake of 99-cent hamburgers; kudos Prasad.
Let me start by defining ethical, because I feel that is an essential part of my argument. I define ethical as being in agreement with the standards for right practice or conduct.
Mr. Prasad states, "Do you think we would have 99-cent hamburgers, which we all enjoy as evidenced by our growing waistlines, if meat factories were not allowed to cram cows into tiny stalls to get more meat per square foot?" In a recent study done by the VRG (Vegetarian Resource Group) in 2000, they succeeded in calculating the number of vegetarians in the United States at 2.8% of the population. This was a significant increase, as in 1994 only 1% of the population was vegetarian. Therefore, why would we want to cram cows into even smaller stalls than they are already in when the demand for meat is decreasing?
Huge corporations such as Burger King have caught onto this phenomenon and have decided to put vegetarian options on the menu. Prasad mentions that shareholders lose money from less meat production. If these shareholders were smart, they would take their money out of the meat industry and invest in new vegetarian items.
Finally, he makes the argument "Why else would God put us on top of the food chain if not to use (and abuse) animals as we see fit?" Obviously, this is an issue based on one's own ethics. Personally, I feel that every creature on this earth has a right to live their own life.
Imagine if you were born into a world such as a factory farm animal. Once you leave your mothers womb, you are stripped away from her, have your teeth cut and maimed, ears clipped, and tails removed… all without anesthetic. You would be put into a cage just as big as your body where you couldn't turn around for your whole life. You would be fed the remains of other creatures of your same species. When the workers wanted you to go to the slaughterhouse, and you refused, they would hit you with big metal poles or electrocute you to get you to move. Once you got there, you would see a fellow animal that looks just like you getting their leg clamped and hung high above the other animals waiting in line. The worker would then slit the fellow animal's throat right in front of you and let them dangle helplessly until they bled to death. You would be next.
Do you think you are under a lot of stress from school? Imagine how much stress these animals feel. If animals believed in God, humans would be their hell.
Instead of being closed-minded to animal rights, educate yourself and be open to the changing world.
Sincerely,
~Vince Sugrue
[In regards to "As long as we have 99-cent hamburgers...", Feb. 19]
I am writing you to commend Mr. Kamal Prasad for being one of the first people to ever write such a heartless, unethical, and extremely biased argument for the sake of 99-cent hamburgers; kudos Prasad.
Let me start by defining ethical, because I feel that is an essential part of my argument. I define ethical as being in agreement with the standards for right practice or conduct.
Mr. Prasad states, "Do you think we would have 99-cent hamburgers, which we all enjoy as evidenced by our growing waistlines, if meat factories were not allowed to cram cows into tiny stalls to get more meat per square foot?" In a recent study done by the VRG (Vegetarian Resource Group) in 2000, they succeeded in calculating the number of vegetarians in the United States at 2.8% of the population. This was a significant increase, as in 1994 only 1% of the population was vegetarian. Therefore, why would we want to cram cows into even smaller stalls than they are already in when the demand for meat is decreasing?
Huge corporations such as Burger King have caught onto this phenomenon and have decided to put vegetarian options on the menu. Prasad mentions that shareholders lose money from less meat production. If these shareholders were smart, they would take their money out of the meat industry and invest in new vegetarian items.
Finally, he makes the argument "Why else would God put us on top of the food chain if not to use (and abuse) animals as we see fit?" Obviously, this is an issue based on one's own ethics. Personally, I feel that every creature on this earth has a right to live their own life.
Imagine if you were born into a world such as a factory farm animal. Once you leave your mothers womb, you are stripped away from her, have your teeth cut and maimed, ears clipped, and tails removed… all without anesthetic. You would be put into a cage just as big as your body where you couldn't turn around for your whole life. You would be fed the remains of other creatures of your same species. When the workers wanted you to go to the slaughterhouse, and you refused, they would hit you with big metal poles or electrocute you to get you to move. Once you got there, you would see a fellow animal that looks just like you getting their leg clamped and hung high above the other animals waiting in line. The worker would then slit the fellow animal's throat right in front of you and let them dangle helplessly until they bled to death. You would be next.
Do you think you are under a lot of stress from school? Imagine how much stress these animals feel. If animals believed in God, humans would be their hell.
Instead of being closed-minded to animal rights, educate yourself and be open to the changing world.
Sincerely,
~Vince Sugrue