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Stop the Cow Industry!

The Cow Industry has got to be stopped. And I promise, you don't have to be a full-on animal-activist, vegan, hemp-wearing hippy to agree with me.

Think of the last time you passed by a dairy farm. The land seemed to spread out for miles, right? More than 800 million acres of US land (more than a third), and approximately 24% of the entire planet, is grazing ground for cattle.

Think you're only adding a cup of water to that Hamburger Helper? Think again. Twenty-five hundred gallons of water are used to produce one pound of beef. Yup, you're adding one cup and 2500 freaking gallons of water to that beef stroganoff.

And if the water consumption isn't enough of a deterrent for you, think of how much land is used to produce enough grain to feed the world's cow population: one cow eats 90 pounds of grain every day. One acre of land can produce enough grain to feed about 25 cows for a day. That same acre could be used to produce enough grain to make 2600 loaves of bread. The entire cow population consumes more calories than is required to support the entire human population. Yikes!

I don't mean to just shoot a bunch of statistics at you here, but they really do illustrate my point well. My problem with the Cow Industry isn't inhumane treatment, or health concerns. It's a misuse of resources. One acre of land used to cultivate cattle produces enough protein to meet a 70-gram per day level for 77 days. One acre of land used to cultivate soybeans produces enough protein to meet a 70-gram per day level for 2224 days. Hell of a difference. I don't have a problem with cows as animals. They have some of the most soulful eyes in the animal kingdom. But the Cow Industry can take its crappy ethics and shove them up its collectively resource-hogging hiney.

So now that I have you on my side, I know you're just dying to make a lifestyle change to accommodate your new awareness. What can you do? Start transitioning to a cow-free diet. Drink soymilk, eat chicken, turn to veganism or vegetarianism. Stop buying leather shoes. Copy this for your friends. Read. Learn. Share your knowledge. Anything you can do to turn your back on this exploitative industry, short of criminal activity (although that may work for some as well), is well worth your efforts.

--Sonia Atchisson, via e-mail

It's Like This Everywhere

"We want an end to poverty, exploitation, imperialism, militarism, racism, sexism, heterosexism, environmental destruction, television, and large ugly buildings, and we want it fucking now."

That sounds good to me!

Citizens of York, England are campaigning against the awful plan to build a tawdry unsustainable shopping mall in the most sensitive historically-charged area in York. The people of York were never properly consulted about this and the only independent poll in the Yorkshire Evening Press produced a 5-1 landslide against the development. It seems that the City Planners have made a cosy pact with the developers and contrived to push the plan through with the support of some forceful Council Members arm-twisting others to go along with it.

The Public Inquiry into the shopping mall proposal at Clifford's Tower ended in blackmail and intimidation when the City of York Council's barrister threatened citizens of York with punitive costs if their objections were not withdrawn.

Legal avenues of protest have now closed with the end of the Public Inquiry. We await the Inspector's ruling, but in the meantime, we fight on.

Please see the new online petition linked from this page, which was set up by some American supporters of our campaign to stop the building of this tawdry shopping mall at one of York's most sensitive historic locations. It's at http://www.geocities.com/cliffordstower/pages/petition.html. Please add your voice to the international body of protest.

There is a vast catalogue of the events over the past two years on our News Page. Just scan down this to get a real idea of what has been going on in York: http://www.geocities.com/cliffordstower/pages/news.html.

--Dave Gorman, Castle Area Campaign Group, York, England

Changing Her Mind

I take it back.

I jes' LUV Dubya.

He's doing so much to wipe humanity off the face of this planet--and human beings so desperately need to be extinct.

Here's to GWB--the leader of our generation's Dinosaur Comet. The sooner we're gone, the better.

--Donna Barr, Bremerton

Not As Enamored

You forgot to mention that we also shot down an airliner full of Iranians in Iranian airspace on a scheduled flight. George I was so upset about this "mistake" that he pinned a medal on the captain of the ship that fired it. I believe the outcome was to convince the Iranians to make peace with Iraq. Also we wrote off a mistake by Iraqi aircraft when they attacked one of our ships and killed 27 sailors. What a wonderful bunch of guys we have for leaders.

Good article.

Cheers,

--Dan Leyde, via e-mail

More Screwed Workers

What you said about the whole UPS thing was almost right. I work for UPS and am a member of the union. The reason UPS has so many part-time positions is due to the industry. The cars are loaded, then there is nothing else to do, so it is only part-time. But better wages are coming: the average driver is making 23-24 dollars an hour while a new hire is making a cheap $8.50.

--Joe Gray, via e-mail