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From Karen Davis, PhD
United Poultry Concerns president
Re: "Food Producers Vital to Arkansas Economy," editorial, Sept. 24.
Those of us who are working on farmed animal issues have a two-pronged approach: One is to get food companies and government agencies to implement practices that reduce the suffering of the animals in their charge; the other is to get people to buy animal-free foods instead of animal-based products.
Vegans, such as myself, do not eat less food because we don't eat animal products. Vegans love, buy, and eat mountains of food. We won't put producers out of business. Instead, we are fueling a growing vegan economy. As long as there are people on the planet, food will have to be produced, processed, transported and sold. Jobs won't be lost, and food industry workers will be liberated from slaughterhouses and the respiratory diseases, rage, violence, guilt, and other miseries that come with jobs that sicken and degrade them.
As for the comment, "All animals on this planet have a purpose beyond looking pretty and wandering around": They do, and that includes raising their families and pursuing their own interests. The purpose of animals is not, instead of looking pretty, to be crippled, covered with feces, and full of diseases. It is not, instead of wandering around, to be locked in prison compounds awaiting death -- unless an evil spirit rules the world. If you believe in a loving and benevolent God, then you know that factory farms do not fit the plan of a joyful earth.
Thank you for your attention.
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. http://www.upc-online.org
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United Poultry Concerns, Inc.