Stop eating animals and save planet

THE EDITOR: I read a well-written article by David Benatar last week in the NY Times.

For years, many well-known vegans have been highlighting the plight of animals in the meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and egg industries. They are (to name a few) Joaquin Phoenix, Ellen De Generes, Woody Harrelson, Albert Einstein, Coretta Scott King, Leonardo da Vinci, et al.

There are three primary reasons why people choose a vegan lifestyle (veganism is not only a diet, but also a way of life). The first, and most important, is to protect animals from industries that raise them for food. Second is for health reasons. And third is the ravages animal agriculture inflicts on the environment – land, oceans, rivers, and air.

As the article so eloquently pointed out, there has been a myriad of zoonotic diseases that jump from animal to man; the existential example we are facing today is not one of a kind. We, the ethical vegans (those who chose veganism for the morality of animal protection), have been voices crying in the wilderness. Sadly, the majority of humanity chose to ignore us; they even ridicule our moral and ethical stance.

Will things change now that we have seen first-hand how significantly destructive eating animals have become? While the coronavirus is estimated to cost the global economy trillions of dollars, we could have saved thousands of lives, the destruction of the economy, the trillions of animals killed annually, and the ecosystem of the planet by adapting to a plant-based economy.

REX CHOOKOLINGO

president

Trinidad Animal Protection Agency