To the Editor:
If you’re like most people, you agree that animal cruelty is wrong. However, few people understand how profoundly animals suffer in our modern food system.
A few years ago, I decided to research how the animals we eat are treated. What I found deeply disturbed me — animals are regarded simply as machines for our use, rather than as individuals deserving respect. In every form of animal agriculture, I found the same pattern: if a human stands to gain something financially from an animal, it comes at the expense of the animal’s basic well being. I wasn’t an animal lover, but I knew what I saw was wrong and that I didn’t want to support it. I began to change my diet.
Over the period of two months, I shifted away from animal-based foods and toward a completely plant based diet. Going vegan was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and an aspect of my life I take pride in.
I later learned that by bringing my diet more in line with my ethics, my health also benefited. A growing number of studies have linked the consumption of animal based foods to our nation’s most deadly diseases. The power of a low-fat vegan diet has also been shown to prevent and treat these diseases.
While the science is exciting, what is more meaningful to me is the increased vitality I now experience in my everyday life. Aside from feeling better physically, I’m proud to live a more nonviolent life, a life more consistent with my values. It feels good to consciously make choices based on my ethics rather than just going along with dominant culture. Every time I sit down to a meal, I cast my lot with those who cannot stand up for themselves and against those who profit from suffering, something I’ve found incredibly empowering.
As college students, we have more control over our lives than ever before. This freedom allows us to make decisions based on our values, including the choices we make about food. So, I encourage you to educate yourself on how animals raised for food are treated. The online short film “Farm to Fridge” is a good place to start. If what you learn troubles you, I encourage you to join the growing number of people reducing or eliminating animal-based foods from their diets. After all, a fresh school year is an excellent time to try something new. Even a small change — like giving up meat one day a week or abstaining from seafood or poultry can have a huge impact over time.
For tips on making a change, I recommend chooseveg.com and livingvegan.org. Another excellent resource is the BU Veg Society, an active, diverse community of students who enjoy respectful discussion and action on animal issues. I would also like to make myself available as a resource (gb@bu.edu). You have the power to educate yourself and the freedom to change what you eat. Your choice is meaningful.
Sincerely,
Graham Boswell
CFA Junior
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
After reading this I’m still unmoved. Eating animals and treating them as food sources is more natural than treating them as pets. Our bodies evolved to eat meat so while vegan and vegetarian lifestyle seem more “natural” they’re really the opposite.
On another note: stop preaching bro
Did you even read anything in the editorial before posting this reply? Never once is the word natural mentioned in the text of the letter, nor is an appeal to nature ever made. The only statements with regard to human bodies made in the letter concerned the pursuit of good health, not the pursuit of a “natural state” (In a state of nature, humans tend to die before 40, so I don’t know why you’d ever pursue such a state), and the health benefits of reduced consumption of animal products are pretty well established scientifically.
As far as discussions of veganism go, I’d say this one is pretty far from preachy also– the author simply asks that you fully inform yourself with regard to how your food is produced, then come to your own conclusion. There are most certainly other strong arguments for a plant based diet other than the prevention of animal cruelty, and informing oneself about the food production process is a good way to become aware of these arguments, as most of them center around the energy inefficiency and health risks surrounding commercial farming.
I think the point of this piece was more to give a glimpse of life as a vegetarian/vegan and how fulfilling it may be. It’s to encourage certain people to go out and do a bit of research for themselves. If a reader is curious, then there are some sources given to help out.
There’s no shocking statistics or extreme violent imagery used to try to sway you. There’s nothing telling you what’s right and what you should absolutely do. It’s simply, letting us know more information exists out there and we’re free to go out and find it.
I personally think it gets to a point in your life that you learn so much about a certain topic that you really can’t go on living in denial anymore. Certain choices aren’t the best for you or those around you; and you feel like you wouldn’t be true to yourself if you didn’t take steps to avoid or eliminate those negative choices. Of course, with this comes the natural response of wanting to encourage others to learn more for themselves as well. You simply want them to benefit and find truth. It’s really as simple as that. More education on any topic is never a bad thing.
…I have no idea where you got the “preachy” tone from it, dude.