Just like Nina Smith (“Fries With That?”, Feb. 14), I am inspired by Stewart and Terri David’s thought-provoking letters. Not to go to McDonald’s, but rather to work towards a more compassionate world.
Being vegan is an easy, delicious and simple choice that we can make at every meal that will have an impact far beyond our taste buds: personal health, animal cruelty, workers’ rights, world hunger and countless environmental benefits. The consumption of meat and dairy products has been conclusively linked with heart disease, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, asthma and impotence.
Vegans live six to 10 years longer than the average meat eater, and a recent study concluded that switching to a vegan diet is better for the environment than driving a hybrid car.
The facts are too compelling to ignore. And honestly, it could not be easier to do, especially here in Asheville. You are hurting yourself—and up to 100 animals per year—when eating meat and dairy. It’s a matter of life and death for all of us. Don’t take the Davids’ word for it, take a look at www.GoVeg.com and see how you can be a part of the revolution.
I’m assuming the recent study pointed out in this letter is titled “Diet, Energy, and Global Warming” by Eshel and Martin from the Univ. of Chicago. Here’s a link to a pdf version: http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutri3.pdf
What the authors fail to discuss, and Ms. Poindexter fails to see for herself, is that a discussion (in this case) about the energy inefficiencies in current large scale meat production and transportation are not an effective critique of meat eating. They are a critique of the energy inefficiencies of factory farming. If we were to compare the energy used to produce and bring tofu in little plastic tubs all the way across the country to someone who hunts and fishes locally for his or her protein source, would we then be able to stake a claim to some moral high ground telling one person or the other what they “should” be eating?
It’s a free country. I applaud the fact that one can choose the diet and production system that fits their level of interest and care about energy efficiency, health, or animal slaughter.
Most of the studies one reads on the subject, however, need to read with a grain of salt and the authors’ assumptions carefully examined. When employing the phrase, “A recent study said this…”, writers should realize that many readers understand that, well, the recent study actually didn’t.