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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2006)
TO THE EDITOR DITCH THE CAGES LOSE THE PHOTO Thank you for the 5/18 article covering the cage-free egg campaign by the UO chapter of Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I am writing to voice my support for the UO Food Services to stop using eggs farmed from industrial battery cages, and switch to the use of cage-free eggs. The idea that what we eat, or are served to eat, affects the world around us is not radical, extreme or even particularly unusual. The European Union has pledged to phase out the use of eggs from hens kept in battery cages by 2012. Also a number of other universities across the country have made similar moves, including the universities of Wisconsin-Madison, New Hampshire and Iowa, George Washington University, Dartmouth and MIT. I hope we could add the UO to that list. The mission statement of the UO states the university’s commitment to: “helping the indi- vidual learn to question critically, think logi- cally, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically.” Part of an ethical teaching envi- ronment is to live yourself by the ethical stan- dards to which you hold your students. The suffering experienced by animals, particularly egg-laying hens, produced by industrial farm- ing techniques is well documented (www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/wel- fare/egg_industry.html). Part of thinking criti- cally is to make the logical connection between what we eat, where it comes from, and the methods used to produce it. I would like to see the UO make the ethical choice to utilize exclusively cage-free eggs. Timothy Sutton UO GTF Smug, coy, trite — BORING. If I want to encounter this kind of sophomoric self- indulgence (Living Out, 5/18), I'll go find a high school newspaper somewhere. I do not give a shit whether it's Sally's or Wifey's turn to pick out the video. Please get rid of Ms. Sheklow — or at least lose the photo of her self-satisfied simper. Thanks. Tim Baxter Eugene THEY EAT HORSES I marvel at the duplicity of the American people who lavish huge financial and emo- tional capital on injured Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, while subsidizing the abuse and slaughter of billions of horses, cows, pigs, and other sentient animals for their dinner table. Although we don’t eat horses, we slaughtered 88,000 last year for export to countries that do. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503 and S. 1915) would permanently ban U.S. transport and slaughter of horses for human consump- tion. Similar congressional efforts have been thwarted by the USDA earlier this year. It makes no ethical sense to cherish our horses, dogs, and cats while paying for the abuse and slaughter of billions of similar animals that are not part of our family. With the great abundance of soy-based meat alternatives in every supermarket, it makes no practical sense either. Edward Newland Eugene JUNE 1, 2006 7
