Letters & E-mails

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Plenty of Protein

As letter-writer Jen Williams pointed out in reference to your story about the environmental impacts of eating meat (“What’s for Dinner?,” Spring), vegetarians can easily get enough protein and vitamins.

Tell us what you think:

editor@earthisland.org
Letters to the Editor
Earth Island Journal
2150 Allston Way,
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Berkeley, CA 94704

I’ve been a vegan for more than 18 years and I’ve never had any trouble getting all the nutrients I need. You just have to make a basic attempt. It’s not fair to animals and the environment if you only make a half-hearted attempt and then claim that you can’t do it. Anyone who needs guidance should check out the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s tips on healthy vegan diets at www.pcrm.org. There are more tips and recipes on www.vegcooking.com, too. Give veganism a real try – for animals, Earth, and yourself.

Heather Moore
Sarasota, Florida

Pigs Are Mammals, Too

As a longtime Sea Shepherd supporter, I was glad to see your Q&A with Paul Watson (“Conversation,” Autumn), who I am often in agreement with. But I do take exception to his comment about pigs. I’ve read Upton Sinclair and some of Gail Eisnitz (author of Slaughterhouse). Pigs bound for slaughter endure horrible cruelties – getting bull hooks shoved in their faces and rectums to force them onto the truck, being insufficiently stunned prior to slaughter, kill lines moving so quickly that workers can’t keep up and end up boiling hogs alive. The list of atrocities goes on and on. I think it would be fairer to say that the Taiji dolphin slaughter and Smithfield’s hog slaughter practices are equally cruel, albeit not exactly the same.

The point is, I would have simply told the Japanese that two wrongs do not make a right.

Gabrielle DiFonzo
Staten Island, New York

Leaving the Leaves

cartoon depicting the travelers on the Yellow Brick Road on the way to OZ; Dorothy asking the others, No heart, no brain, no courage. How have you guys stayed out of politics?bizarrocomic.blogspot.com.

I totally agree with Dr. Bliss’s sentiments regarding what to do with autumn leaves (“Voices,” Autumn). I have always thought the idea of raking leaves or blowing leaves away from the tree seemed counterintuitive. And the noise pollution from blowers is so annoying. Now I read that the blowers also contribute to the air pollution.

I am e-mailing the article to my local legislators so they the can address the problem. I hope that your article leads to some changed mindsets.

D.L. Nichols
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Greenpeace in Good Hands

Thanks for such a beautiful and inspiring interview with Kumi Naidoo (“Conversation,” Summer). I think he puts things in a good perspective, particularly considering the urgent challenge of bringing together development and environmental agendas, something we thought was on their way to be solved back in 1992 at the UN Conference in Rio. But reality proved otherwise. His words about the beauty and pains of activism are moving. We should give it to our children to read. Greenpeace International is in good hands!

Atila Roque
Brasilia, Brazil

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