Conscious Choice: In defense of the meat eater

February 2008 | Letters to the Editor

In defense of the meat eater

As a meat eater, I applaud your acknowledgement that we exist, despite the hypocritical and sanctimonious tones of some anti-meat readers. Kristina Cahill comments that she “felt sorry for Consentino himself. How sad to have to kill a defenseless animal for food.” People who butcher animals don’t do so with any more malice than any carnivore. Does Ms. Cahill make the same adverse judgments of other species of predators? Are cats morally deficient because they kill rodents? I don’t knock vegetarianism. My palate is diverse enough to appreciate the panoply of grains, legume and assorted soy products. I don’t, however, appreciate the inference that meat eaters are morally inferior. When someone makes categorical adverse moral judgments about people they don’t know, I have to think it’s the accuser’s karma who takes the hit, not mine.
—Laura R. Standley, Des Moines, WA

A Mouthful on SIGG

I appreciated your breakdown of non-plastic beverage containers in “Portable Potables” (Dec. 2007), but felt a little more research might have made for a more informed article. As a concerned citizen who works in the preventive health education arena, I try to keep my plastic-container drinking to a minimum, using glass and stainless steel bottles instead. I was disheartened to see SIGG’s products included as healthy options for fellow concerned consumers. SIGG bottles have an aluminum exterior, with a baked-on interior liner. Read the report on SIGG.com’s website; it’s VERY selective about which chemicals don’t end up in your drink. There is a possibility that undetectable levels of liner-chemicals leach into liquids stored in these containers.

Furthermore, SIGG will not reveal its recipe for its liner so as to retain a “competitive edge.” From what any old Joe can gather, aluminum needs a liner to enable “safe” drinking. Aluminum liners are either the breakable ceramic or the unbreakable (a feature SIGG prides itself on), baked-on epoxy, which is toxic. Also, I know SIGG bottles feature awesome designs by tons of different artists, but that still doesn’t change what’s going on inside the bottles!
—Erika Herman

Happy Place Show and Tell

I enjoyed your January issue, especially the “Happy Place” article. Mine is trail running in the East Bay Hills [outside of San Francisco], especially Redwood Regional Park.
— Jeff, via email

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