SOUND OFF: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Food for Thought October is turning into "food" month, beginning with World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day Oct. 1 and 2, continuing with World Food Day on Oct. 16 and culminating with Food Day on Oct. 24.
World Farm Animals Day is perhaps the most dramatic of these observances. It celebrates the lives, exposes the abuses of and mourns the slaughter of the billions of sentient animals raised for food. Recent undercover investigations have shown 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 an elevated risk of chronic killer diseases. Animal agriculture accounts for more water pollution than any other human activity. A 2007 United Nations report blamed it for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gases.
No humane welfare reform proposed thus far has alleviated the suffering of a single animal. Improvements in medical and environmental technology cannot possibly keep pace with the devastating impacts of meat consumption.
The good news is that dropping animal from our menus works beautifully on all these counts. Lots of recipes and helpful hints are at www.tryveg.com.
-Neil Raven, Upper East Side
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month As a person living with breast cancer, I'm grateful that so many people are trying to raise awareness about the disease, but simply wearing a pink ribbon, toting a pink bag or using pink dental floss isn't going to save many lives. If we are going to win the war on cancer, we must exercise regularly, get routine medical checkups and choose healthy, plant-based foods.
Studies show that women who eat lots of fruit, vegetables and legumes are less likely to develop breast cancer than women who eat meat and other unhealthy foods. Research has also shown that plant-based diets can also help prevent heart disease and diabetes, so both men and women-whether they have a family history of breast cancer or not-can benefit by eating vegan foods.
I'm confident that, if I continue to eat disease-fighting foods, I'll win my battle against breast cancer. I'll also save animals' lives along the way. I hope everyone will join me in eating green in October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month-and all year long.
Wearing pink is not required.
- Emily McCoy, Chambers Street