To your health

To the editor:

A significant — and overlooked — contributor to greenhouse gases is factory farming of meat. Factory farming consumes gallons and gallons of water and produces tons of gases.

If you visit the website of People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, you will see the brutal conditions under which the animals used for meat are raised, kept and slaughtered. 

I have personally witnessed other brutality. Two live animal stores are within a mile of my home. Chickens and turkeys delivered to the stores are stored in cramped, filthy cages. The smell is horrible and they cannot move. On a freezing December day several years ago, I witnessed a crate of live chickens fall off a truck. Their horror and trauma is unimaginable. I wonder how healthy it is to eat birds under these conditions.

The majority of the lunches my father (RIP) ate were greasy strips of bacon and eggs. He lived to 89. He'd be 92 if he'd lived and probably would have with healthier lunches. 

I am not perfect but I am trying. I love bacon and sausage but try to eat oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast and salads for lunch and dinner.

This is a civil service issue for two reasons. First, civil servants who work outdoors (and indoors) are affected by global warming. Second, healthier eating can cut down on health care costs, which many letters to the Chief recently have dealt with.

I urge my union brothers and sisters/neighbors to gravitate toward vegetables, fruits, and nuts if possible. Consult your physician first, of course.

Nat Weiner