To the Editor,
Every year around Earth Day, Larry Penner circulates an opinion piece in which he urges us all to be good to the earth and recycle, use mass transit, etc. Yet the author — who has also had opinion pieces circulated praising White Castle hamburgers and urging us to celebrate Cheeseburger Day — neglects to mention the environmental degradation caused by factory farming.
The website of People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a number of videos documenting horrific abuses suffered by animals on factory farms, all in the name of food and clothing. While I cannot testify they are true, I can relay something I observed on Tremont Avenue, at the beginning of the winter. A flatbed truck was carrying cages packed to capacity with live chickens to a “live food” store. One of the cages fell off the truck with a hard thud. I can only imagine the terror these chickens must have been feeling.
I urge all my Bronx neighbors — and especially Mr. Penner — to check out PETA’s website. I also urge my Bronx neighbors to consider a plant-based diet instead of meat filled with preservatives and created under conditions torturous to animals. I do not claim to be perfect, but I am trying. My lunch is generally meat free. When ordering Chinese food, I order vegetables instead of meat. I love bacon and sausage but instead eat oatmeal for breakfast.
And most importantly, I don’t urge people to be kind to the environment and urge them to enjoy hamburgers.
Nat Weiner
