Amy Hillman’s article on vegetarianism really misses the point. For one, she makes many factual errors.

1) It is natural for animals to eat other animals for survival. Uh, herbivores?

2) Successful farming is only possible with pesticides.

Her arguments are flawed. Vegetarianism is not the same as environmentalism. Also, hunting is not the same thing as the industrial for-profit processing of animals for consumption. But the biggie is that she confuses the means with the end. Sure, vegetarians do not like dirty (or clean) confinement houses, hormone-gulping steers or disease-riddled chickens.

However, regardless of how these animals are treated when they are alive, they are all systematically eliminated. That’s what we really don’t like — the killing of another living being. Because, if we rid ourselves of the end product, the means will disappear as well.

Scott M. Myers

Faculty

Sociology