Dear Editor:

I was appalled by the opinion section, “Healthy eating leads to a healthy person, “you truly are what you eat'”. Having an opinion is fine, but misrepresenting facts and presenting incorrect information is unacceptable. People not directly involved in agriculture may not be aware of all the benefits/uses of animal products and by-products. Due to this fact, I would like to correct some of the erroneous information presented.

* Vegans use animal derived products everyday called plastic

* Fertilizer comes from animals

* State and federal animal cruelty laws protect animals (including livestock)

* There is no such thing as a belly ripper

* Animals are NOT alive when processing takes place

* Farms provide animals with climate control, decreased predation conditions, balanced forage delivery, disease prevention, routine healthcare, & treatments for infections that could kill them in the wild

* Cows will produce more milk when they are comfortable and happy

* Pregnancy is not forced: wild/domestic animals get pregnant every year, even multiple times per year, year after year on their own initiative

* Assisting difficult birthing is routine

* Weaning is a natural part of life

* There is no such thing as uninterrupted milk production. After a certain period of time the cow will stop producing milk. She will need to become pregnant and calve again to initiate additional lactation.

Words have meaning, and as such you should choose your words carefully. Authors need to do proper research for writing and supporting with facts, even when writing opinion pieces.

Sincerely,

Lyssa Seefeldt

SDSU Graduate Student, Animal Range Sciences