Animal rights beefs

This is in response to Alexandra Kraemer's statement that eating meat is a cause for high blood pressure and cancer [Letters, "Further fur fury," Jan. 6].

High blood pressure can't be argued with, as we all know that fatty meats like bacon cause high cholesterol and high blood pressure. But cancer? Please! Humans have been eating meat for thousands and thousands of years, yet cancer is purely a 20th-century phenomenon.

It's not the meat that causes cancer, it's all the additives and steroids that greedy farmers feed their animals to make them grow faster. And it's all the white flour and processed food we all eat daily. But it's very easy to get meat without any additives - a simple matter of spending a couple more bucks and finding meat from animals that were only fed natural grains.

Please note, I'm not "attacking those of you who care." I am one of those who care, but I don't "care" blindly. I look at all sides of the issue before making up my mind. For example, I don't agree with animal testing in general, but if it's going to find a cure for AIDS, or even just an improved asthma pump to help people breathe better, then it's got to be done. If it's going to save millions of people from suffering, then let's sacrifice a few rats. But it seems Ms. Kraemer doesn't care about humans, just animals.

If we all stopped eating chickens and beef, these species would cease to exist. These are animals that, along with domestic goats and sheep, have been bred for thousands of years as food. They have almost no escape instinct and depend on humans for food and water. If everyone on Earth stopped eating these animals, they would no longer exist, and that goes against what Ms. Kraemer believes in, right?

I would also like to add that I have never heard of anyone wanting to wipe out an already dying culture more than Ms. Catherine Bégin, the other "Further fur fury" letter writer. She says that we have "tolerated" the Inuit way of life, when in fact it was us who invaded their land. If anything, they are the ones who should be tolerating us. It may come as a surprise to Ms. Bégin, but sometimes the media only portray the worst side of every story for their own purposes. Perhaps the Inuit don't hunt and fish as much as they used to, but they still base a part of their diet on caribou and Arctic char. I suggest she do a little more research.

» Cyan Caruso-Comas

Here's a response to Alexandra Kraemer's challenge to "just name me one animal that tortures another animal, and kills another animal for any other reason than food!"

Simple. Cats play with their prey and often they will not eat it. Dolphins are known to gang rape other dolphins. Orca kill seals just to play with them, using them like play balls. Ants use slavery.

Cruelty is not reserved to humankind.

» Sophie West

Tsunami tedious?!

Dave Rosen's recent cartoon pictures a street person asking for change while the headline of the newspaper on his lap reads, "Billions in Aid for Tsunami Victims" [Jan. 13]. The week before, Rosen included tsunamis on his list of cliché things "we've had enough of" [Jan 6.].

Shouldn't we indulge in such insensitive humour (points for clever irony) only in private, with people who are equally bored with the painful events happening so frequently these days? Perhaps Rosen would be more entertained if 150,000 people were killed right here in Quebec, including his family. Or if his own home and neighbourhood were destroyed, maybe then he'd sympathize a bit.

In lieu of that, he could send his cartoons off to Asia to explain why he's donating his quarter to someone more like himself.

» Steven Douglas

Sorry to read that Dave Rosen has "had enough" of that tedious tsunami disaster. Those 160,000-plus dead people are so five minutes ago, right up there with Paris Hilton.

Just how far up his own ass is this guy?

» S. Ein

No jail for tax evaders

Regarding a recent column by Kristian Gravenor ["The ethical glutton," Kristian Perspective, Dec. 23]: in Quebec and the rest of Canada, they cannot "throw you in the slammer" for non-payment of taxes. They can threaten you with interest and harass you with letters and phone calls, but they can neither sentence you to jail nor put a lien on your accounts or paycheques.

Contrary to popular belief, both are illegal under Canadian law, as paying taxes is an act one voluntarily commits to the first time one files. Furthermore, under laws established when the provinces first formed a country, liens and jail time were deemed unjust punishment for such an offence. What they can do though, is sentence you to community service, with pay equal to minimum wage, until your debt to society is paid.

Don't believe me? I found this myself in the Canadian Law section at Concordia's library. With luck or patience, Mr. Gravenor could too.

» Jeff Rey

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