In response to your article "Tech dining services pushes for sustainable dining," (CT, Feb. 23) it was encouraging to see that Mr. Sarjahani and the rest of the university staff are working to reduce our collective impact on the planet by promoting sustainable foods on campus.
While it is a positive thing that Sarjahani uses organic and free-range animals, it's important to note that raising and killing animals for meat is inherently unsustainable. According to a recent United Nations study, raising animals for food contributes more to global warming than all of the cars, trains, boats, and trains combined. If we really want to make a difference, the first step would be to cut out the meat.
Across the board, animal agriculture squanders the limited resources we have by funneling them through animals raised for meat and other animal products. For example, we currently feed more than 70 percent of the grains raised in this country to animals raised for food, rather than eating the grains directly. Similarly, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of agricultural land consumed in this country is used for livestock, when it could be used to grow food directly for human consumption. This wasteful use of our resources has a devastating effect on our local environments as well. Currently, farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire U.S. population, much of which finds its way into our local waterways.
Thankfully, it's never been easier to find delicious and "green" meals on the go. With local grocery stores stocking the shelves with products such as vegetarian BBQ "riblets" and vegan pizza, not to mention chain restaurants such as Denny's and Burger King adding veggie burgers to the menus, there's never been a better time to eat sustainably and cruelty-free. For more information about the impacts of animal agriculture on the environment, visit peta2.com to request free stickers and a DVD.
Ryan Huling
College Campaign Coordinator,
peta2.com