Pros And Cons Of Eating Meat

To the Editor:

Mrs. Lennon’s article, “Why Vegetarians Are Eating Meat” (Aug, 2007) was very persuasive. However, to me it was more persuasive in terms of whether or not people should change from eating “conventionally raised” to “humanely raised” and “sustainable” meat rather than how it’s okay for vegetarians to eat meat as long as it was raised in an “ethical” way.

No one should be forced to be a meat eater or a vegetarian but I feel that their options should be for the right reasons thus I agree with Ms. Katzen’s quote saying, “For people who are against eating meat because it's wrong or offensive to eat animals, even the cleanest grass-fed beef won't be good enough”. I do not believe that eating meat is ethically better than being vegetarian.

This farmer “loads his truck full of...cattleman’s steaks and homemade pork sausages” and sells directly to “conscientious eaters” at farmers’ markets. Perhaps the truth may have been censored as terms like ‘free range’, "pasture raised”, “grass fed" and “organic” have little legal meanings and are often routinely abused by larger farms, most likely for a marketing advantage and to charge consumers more. For example, the cows, branded with sizzling-hot irons, are sent to be fattened prior to slaughter after spending their lives being kept in filthy enclosures… and farmers would still be permitted to label them as "organically raised". So although these things can be slightly less cruel, it’s still unacceptable meat and definitely should not be considered as "humane" as that would be like saying harming an animal five times rather than six is okay, either way, they’re all unethically treated and will end up in the same

Lennon’s article to a certain extent in which she stated that “eating meat selectively is better for the planet and our own health”. It can also improve the economy and we should all encourage welfare improvements for animals. Moreover, I applaud the editor’s ethical decision to eat less meat and her suggestion on grass fed and pasture raised meat is definitely a better alternative for health conscious people as well as people who lack knowledge in the nutrition field that are vegetarian for health purposes. However it is not seen to me as a moralistic solution but rather a slightly more ethical answer for meat eaters and an excuse for not so “ethically motivated” vegetarians to justify the commodification and consumption of animals for their