Thanks for your article (“PETA president speaks about vegan lifestyle,” ODE, Jan. 31) about Ingrid Newkirk ‘s new book “50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were no more school shootings, no more MySpace videos that show animals abused by children, and no more childhood obesity, diabetes, and other diseases? If everyone treated all living beings with the compassion and respect they deserve, we could be closer to this reality.
Students go to school to be informed and apply their knowledge to the real world. Who really wants to wake up every morning knowing that they are going to pay for animals to be crammed into cages, beaten and bled to death? When young people learn that there are over one million animals slaughtered for food every hour, they understandably want to avoid being part of that violence by choosing a vegan diet. In today’s world of virtually unlimited choices, our continued exploitation of animals is simply unacceptable. We can eat better, educate ourselves better, clothe ourselves better and entertain ourselves better without torturing and killing animals.
Pulin Modi
College Campaign Coordinator, peta2.com