Reply to the following letters recently:
“Our Relationship with Animals”, by Karl Sugarman May 3rd; “Banning meat in order to combat climate change actually makes sense”, by Kasper Sweitzer May 3rd; “For health and ethics, eat a vegetable diet”, by Jean Slepian May 8th.
My name is dove. I am a nontraditional student at Keene State College studying public health with a specialization in nutrition. I am also the mother of a college student and a middle school student.
I’ve been interested in nutrition since my daughter was a baby. She and I had thrush – a type of yeast infection in her mouth and nipples. I tried the recommended treatments (including nystatin drops for the mouth and strict washing protocols).
After many months, I went to an alternative doctor who suggested eliminating wheat, dairy products, and sugar. That sounded awful! However, it got me thinking. Since then, I’ve thought a lot about nutrition.
Nutrition is an interesting area to study because recommendations change over time. This is partly due to new research. It’s also a matter of public opinion and the health messages consumers get through product marketing.
Dietary fats are a particularly controversial topic in the field of nutrition. Some evidence correlates with saturated fat and / or cholesterol-containing foods and heart disease. Other evidence suggests that dietary fats are an essential part of a healthy diet.
If you are reading this letter, I want you to consider the idea that fats are controversial.
In view of the possible environmental differences in animal and vegetable agriculture, the production of grain, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetable, fruit and oil seeds is not always good (from an environmental point of view). Tractors need fuel. Factories use electricity. Almond groves use tons of water.
Ethical concerns were raised. To which I answer: ethics is closely related to religion.
When comparing religions, there are those who actively seek to convert others and those who do not. Christianity and Islam tend to proselytize. Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism do not tend to do so. If you are actively trying to convert people to vegetarianism or veganism, know that you are proselytizing.
The food choices are very personal, as personal as a person’s beliefs … or nipples! People around the world eat animals, animal products, and in some cases insects. I say judging people’s eating habits is presumptuous and unethical.