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THE REAL COSTS Regarding the flurry of letters about humanely raised animal farms like Laughing Stock Farm vs. vegetarianism and veganism, I think the debate needs to refocus around sustainability and local production rather than animal suffering alone. When you look at the true costs of a vegan diet that relies on the privileges of a first-world food transportation/agriculture/packaging system that ships protein from the soy producing areas of the country at great petroleum expense, you find a large amount of animal suffering. How many gophers, snakes, field mice, birds, moles were killed in the combine of that organic soybean harvester? How many deer, coyotes, raccoons, antelope, skunks, squirrels were killed by the semi that delivered those organic soybeans from the Midwest to make your vegan tofu? If the reason for not eating meat is to lessen the suffering of living beings, then a true look at the pain of a death involved in that choice is necessary. Just because the costs of industrially transported vegan protein are hidden does not make them any less costly. It is clearly more humane to grow a modest garden and buy local produce, care for a small flock of egg-laying chickens, buy milk from the neighbor who has a few dairy goats, eat the chickens who turn out to be roosters, and buy meat occasionally from local, humanely raised farms. The real food revolution is the fight of the bioregional local economy against the agribusiness behemoth, and meat-eaters and vegetarians need to join forces if we are going to win. Brian Thomas, Cottage Grove
COMMON SENSE Violent crime is down in America. Of course, none of us knows exactly why it's down, but logical people would agree that rational gun control laws could be part of the reason. That's why I am amazed that the gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association, is campaigning now to gut the Brady Bill and let the Assault Weapons Ban expire. These are moderate laws that pass the common sense test. The Brady Bill requires that gun sellers keep records on gun sales for 90 days. The Assault Weapons Ban outlaws guns designed for soldiers to mow down enemy troops. I hope Congress puts safety first and defends these laws. Julie Mathey, Eugene
JUST SAY WHAT? Does anyone else feel "One Voice: Media United Against Drugs" is a bit hypocritical? The "media," in this case, seem to be television media; dollar for dollar, television commercials are the biggest drug pushers in America today. They push Viagra, Lipitor, Procrit, Caltrate, Imitrex, Wellbutrin, Plavix, not to mention all the sugar and beer commercials. After watching football and drinking beer for years it finally dawned on me — I don't like beer. And these are not just poor street kids pushing drugs. These are highly educated, highly paid drug pushers. These pushers have been taught advanced psychology at prestigious universities to trick you and your children into buying their drugs. Now I realize the local media are trying to do a public service with their "Media United Against Drugs" but to paraphrase Pogo: "You have met the enemy and the enemy is you." Chris Pender, Eugene
UNINSURED CATASTROPHE As the president delivers his State of the Union Address I'm reminded of the 44 million Americans, 15 percent of the population, including 8.5 million children, who don't have health insurance. But do those figures accurately cover the situation? Shouldn't the millions of Americans who have only catastrophic health insurance be added to the list of the uninsured? Essentially, they have no present coverage, either. A catastrophic plan typically covers only major hospital and medical expenses above a certain deductible; and that deductible, in the case of surgery, can be in the thousands of dollars — essentially making the patient pay for a large percentage of the hospital bill. A plan such as this also leaves the insured paying out-of-pocket expenses for almost everything else, including routine doctor visits and prescription drugs. Not being able to afford to see a doctor today or to pay for the drugs one needs is, of course, a catastrophic situation in the making. Bob Berman , Elmira
SPRINGFIELD STATUS The more things change, the more they stay the same. Take as an example the claim-jumping activities of the current Springfield City Council and a few high-placed fire badges. They are attempting to outright steal ownership of millions of dollars of fire truck rolling stock, equipment, buildings, levied tax dollars and paid-for hours of training with housing support supplies. There is also the possibility money will be diverted from running the city. But what is a "city"? This is an important definition because it sets standards that apply when any city entity submits for any federal grants, which in this case has been done for some of that very same expensive Fire Rescue gear and training. It is a unique condition that the local City Council has moved to steal not only from the citizens but also from the federal government, putting the complete status of the existence of the city of Springfield into question. The same people who would threaten that status also feel that if a vote takes place it would allow the surrounding people not of Springfield city to also vote if they want to take Springfield's property. This is a federal elections crime called "gerrymandering," which could just cause the FBI to be forced to investigate and prosecute in this election year. Hmm? Anyone listening yet? Daniel J. Moore, Former Asst. Fire Chief, Springfield
POLITICAL CONSUMERISM People who write letters must occasionally need to be reminded that it is not their responsibility to save the world — at least not by writing letters. Wake up, America! The problem is not your crooked politicians but your desire for more things and increasingly greater comforts that keeps them in office. At this time, we have a runaway government that leans so far to the right it threatens every living thing on the planet. Resistance to some of the current administration's policies is growing and many of you have vowed to do whatever you can to prevent the president from being re-elected. But most likely, your spending habits will do more to influence the outcome of the coming election. The fantasy is that government will always protect us, and that technology will eventually solve all our problems. But government thrives on economic growth (destructive to the environment), and technology generally lags a decade or two behind in its effort to solve the problems that it has created for itself. We have begun to do some really stupid things — like bombing for peace, or cutting down the trees to protect the forests. Ultimately the solution to the problem of man versus the environment will not come from government or technology. It must come from individuals making better, more conservative, responsible choices regarding how they live. Kim Richard Smith, Junction City
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Thank you, Molly Sargent (1/15) from Pleasant Hill. Annie's ignorance of the law and basic humanitarianism toward animals is more than disturbing. Pets are the most innocent, loving, trustworthy beings on earth. They don't steal, lie or cheat. All they do is love and play and sleep. Also, I agree with Amber Dean 100 percent. Pets are the ones that unconditionally love you every single day of their lives (mangy or not). How any people do you know, Annie, that you can say that about? I own a beautiful dog that I would jump into a burning house to save. She was the unwanted runt of a 13 puppy litter. Two years ago, I adopted and paid $50 on Christmas eve to adopt a cat from Greenhill (which I support financially among other animal care associations). It was the best Christmas present ever, as I am reminded daily when she purrs peacefully in my stressed out arms after work. Annie, if you don't know the joy of owning a pet, perhaps you should adopt one and feel what we are trying to convey; or at least you could buy one less latté a month to save a "mangy" dog. Wouldn't the love a pet could give to someone be worth it? What if someone put you to sleep because you were fat or ugly? If you can't grasp this, then you really don't deserve another word. Lisa Woodie, Eugene LETTERS POLICY: We print as many letters as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words and submissions to once a month. All letters are subject to editing for length and clarity, and must include address and phone number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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