Advice & Dissent - Letter to the Editor

E: The Environmental Magazine, Sept, 1999

LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

WILD THOUGHTS

Congratulations on a brilliantly effective cover ("Fall of the Wild" May/June 1999). The innocence and trust implicit in the orangutan's eyes, combined with the "Fall of the Wild" title, left me paralyzed. Animals are totally dependent on humans--just for the right to exist. Your title is tremendous, as it marries one of man's greatest literary achievements (Jack London's novel) with one of man's greatest sins (species extinction).

In human relations, trust is an honor and a privilege that must be earned. Regrettably, the trust necessary to sustain the animal kingdom is quickly evaporating. Habitat destruction is the most critical issue wildlife faces. Where are the animals to go? It's imperative for us to provide an alternative to the ugly, shameful, unacceptable, but currently inevitable, answer: extinction.

Jay Lustgarten

North Bellmore, NY

DOWN THE AISLE

Three cheers to E for the Consumer News article "Nice Day for a Green Wedding" (May/June 1999). I was pleased by its emphasis on vegetarianism, which seems to be too often overlooked in environmental literature. After having attended several family weddings, I began to wonder how I could someday make my own event green. One topic not covered by the article was the gift-giving requirement and the tendency for the couple to register for a multitude of things that they probably don't really need. This concept of extravagant gift-giving simply feeds our over-consumptive tendencies. To avoid these unnecessary purchases, the bride and groom can select a few green charities and ask guests to make donations to them in the couple's name. In this way, a gift to the newlyweds is also a gift to the Earth.

Nicole Ott
Duke University
Durham, NC

I enjoyed Elizabeth Hilts' article on green weddings. My wife and I made some attempts at greening our own nuptials. We invited guests on a nature walk at a nearby wildlife sanctuary the day before the wedding, and my wife had the idea of creating an alternative "green wedding registry" at a local Earth-friendly store. Among our wedding gifts: a compost bin and recycled-glass stemware. The idea caught on and became a fixture in the store's catalogue. Also, some online wedding registries now donate a small portion of their sales to nonprofit conservation groups.

Fred Baumgarten

Sharon, CT

TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT

Jennifer Bogo's "The Diet-Cancer Connection" article (Your Health, May/June 1999) drew much-needed attention to a much-neglected subject. Though she did not mention it by name, the nutritional prescription for human and planetary health is a vegan diet, free of all animal products.

Americans eat one million animals per hour, and not only cancer, but heart disease, stroke, hypertension, kidney disease, gallstones, cataracts, asthma, obesity and other serious illnesses correlate strongly with animal-product consumption. The Union of Concerned Scientists, in a book-length report just out, named meat-eating as the consumer choice with the second-worst environmental impact (after cars) on global warming, air and water pollution and habitat alteration. Indeed, with every bite at every meal, true environmentalists can enhance their odds of being around longer and staying in better shape, while having a gentler impact on the Earth.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has addressed the very issues well-summarized in the article. For medical students hungry for what they are not learning in their courses, we recently prepared a free Nutrition Curriculum. For anyone wanting a primer on how and why to switch from bacon cheeseburgers to veganburgers, our free Vegetarian Starter Kit should prove helpful. Just write PCRM, 5100 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 404, Washington, DC 20016.

Neal D. Barnard, M.D.
President, Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine
Washington, DC

I enjoy E Magazine, but once again bump into the strong anti-bovine-of-any-persuasion attitude so prevalent among environmentalists ("The Diet-Cancer Connection"). Replicating a natural predator-prey relationship with a small (or large) group of domesticated ruminants results in prairie restoration and unparalleled food quality (including many anti-carcinogenic properties). Sounds too good to be true? It ain't. And many grass farmers and savvy consumers have discovered it. The irony to me is that the cow is nature's environmental tool of preference. Unfortunately, the environmental movement got crossways with the bovine early on.

David Schafer
Schafer Edinburg Farms, Inc.
Trenton, MO

RURAL REASON

I was very surprised to see the Heifer Project ("Cows 'R Us" In Brief, May/ June 1999) featured in E Magazine. I couldn't help wondering if there might have been a better form of aid than sending goats to the people in Monte Christe.

Numerous respected sources have documented the inefficiency and waste associated with animal agriculture, including loss of topsoil, destruction of forests and pollution of water. Why bring these problems to impoverished areas that are already struggling? And why cycle valuable plant energy and nutrients through animals, wasting much of it, when people can receive maximum energy and nutrients by eating appropriate plants directly? Giving the poor of the world "capital assets" in this form also serves to bolster the idea that a herd of animals endows status on its owner.