Dear Editor:
October is turning into "food" month, beginning with World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day on Oct. 1 and 2, continuing with World Food Day on Oct. 16, and culminating with Food Day on Oct. 24.
World Farm Animals Day (www.WFAD.org) is perhaps the most dramatic of these observances. It celebrates the lives, exposes the abuses, and mourns the slaughter of billions of sentient animals raised for food. Recent undercover investigations showed male baby chicks suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground to death, pigs clobbered with metal pipes, and cows skinned and dismembered while still conscious.
Numerous studies have linked consumption of animal products with elevated risk of chronic killer diseases. Animal agriculture accounts for more water pollution than any other human activities. A 2007 United Nations report blamed it for 18 percent of greenhouse gases.
No humane welfare reform proposed thus far has alleviated the suffering of a single animal. Improvements in medical and environmental technology can not possibly keep pace with the devastating impacts of meat consumption.
The good news is that dropping animals from our menus works beautifully on all these counts. Lots of recipes and helpful hints are at www.tryveg.com.