Our Fellow Creatures Deserve Compassion

Re “Killing Them Softly,” April 29: Kudos to those in the meat-production industry who have begun to see living creatures as deserving of our compassion. That is an excellent first step toward recognizing that compassion for our fellow creatures includes not raising them for the sake of our appetites.

The conversation ought to extend beyond animal welfare. The environmental costs of factory farming are alone worthy of deep consideration. Additionally, the national and personal health costs associated with the consumption of animal products and byproducts have been well documented, as have the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Surely, for the sake of the animals, for the sake of our planet and for the sake of our own health we should discontinue eating our fellow creatures altogether.

Eric Prescott

Los Angeles

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When a dog named Dosha (April 25) survives after being hit by a car, shot by a police officer and then placed in a freezer, people cry, cheer and can’t stop talking about this canine survivor. When millions of nameless cows, chickens and hogs are prodded, shot with electric stun guns and scalded every day, nobody cries, cheers or talks about it, except to congratulate themselves that these livestock are being killed in a more “humane” way. As long as they’re killed with kindness, I guess it’s OK for some living things to end up in the freezer but not others.

Karen Lindell

Oxnard