Second Look at Idea of Killing Animals for Food

Regarding Suzanne Sutton’s letter (Feb. 2), one might better ask if all this naive, emotional rhetoric is really necessary. Before taking her so-called “second look at the concept of killing and eating animals in general,” perhaps Sutton should have a first look at the idea of killing and eating plants. It may come as a shock to find that plants are also living and breathing organisms.

When browsing through the produce section of the market, few stop to think how it all got there. Those gorgeous heads of broccoli or cauliflower are grown in regimental rows, coaxed to fulfill their maximum genetic potential. Then, just as they are ready to bloom in all their glory, their reproductive organs are brutally severed from the plant, boxed and sent to market. All this horror, just to satisfy man’s insatiable desire for salad.

Preposterous? Of course it is. But beyond the near hysterical emotionalism, the facts, as stated by Sutton, are taken out of context or are twisted. She does this to support her apparent contention that the planet Earth will see an end to starvation if we simply give up eating meat. If only world hunger were such a simple issue.

Perhaps more constructive suggestions could be made if people such as Sutton came down out of their sheltered ivory towers and discovered firsthand about the world in which we live.

DOUGLAS GETTINGER

Long Beach