The Red and Black

Issue date: 6/29/08 Section: Opinions

Meat-free lifestyle practical, ethical

Tulsi Patel gets it right in her column ("Vegetarian pleas for animals", June 19). But she leaves out three important points that greatly strengthen her case.
First, the argument from marginal cases. Some may still object that animals aren't like people.
But what if a person did not have these vital human characteristics, like maybe someone permanently in a coma? Surely, any moral person would object to eating or experimenting on them.
Second, the environmental impacts of livestock go far beyond water pollution. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, livestock are the greatest single contributor to global warming, greater than "all cars and trucks combined."
Third, even if one does not accept animals' status as deserving moral consideration, the inefficiency of feeding animals food we could eat directly leads to higher grain prices and human starvation in the third world.

CHRIS SHIRLEY
Senior, Douglasville
History

Vegetarian diet easy to adopt

In response to your opinion piece, I would like to compliment Ms. Patel for presenting one of the most clear and concise arguments for a meat-free diet to date. As Patel mentions, the abuses billions of farmed animals face every year would result in felony cruelty to animals charges if they were inflicted upon dogs or cats.
Yet, study after study has concluded that pigs, cows and chickens are as intelligent, if not more, than the animals that share our homes. So what possible justification could there be to skin and dismember animals by the billions (many while still fully conscious), when more humane alternatives are widely available?
Thankfully, in this day and age, it's never been easier to choose a delicious and cruelty-free meal (especially in Athens). Popular dishes like vegetarian BBQ "riblets" and vegan pizza are available at every grocery store, and local hotspots like The Grit serve up tasty vegetarian and vegan meals daily. Indeed, there's never been a better time to leave meat off your plate, for good.

RYAN HULING
College Campaign Coordinator, peta2.com

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