Vegetarian Law Finds Fertile Ground
To The Editor:
I'm guessing you won't print this letter because, while I'm a faithful reader, I'm not yet a member of the King County Bar Association. But I promise I'll join at least for a year if you print my letter. I'm not quite a vegetarian, (I'll eat Vietna-mese Pho noodle, without meat, on a date) but 'thoughtful eating' appears to be the faith that's chosen me.
In her most recent article, Sarah Kaltsounis said, in part: "Most vegetarians and vegans who are politically active are busy ... supporting organic farming..." I would appreciate it if someone could sit Sarah down and explain to her that, as far as labels go, 'organic' is just about as animal friendly as 'natural flavoring.' Take for example the popular, 100% organic fertilizer, 'blood meal,' which is often used by 'organic' farmers. Blood meal is dried, powdered blood gathered from cattle slaughterhouses. It is 100% 'organic.' Unfortunately, Sarah Kaltsou-nis' readers might finish reading her article thinking that vegetarians should support 'organic' farming, where in truth, vegetarians should be the very last people supporting yet another label, like 'natural flavoring,' that hides the miserable truth of animals treated like blocks of gelatin. No labeling scheme can be complete if it leaves out the fact that slaughtered animal product was used as fertilizer. '100% organic, 100% vegetarian' actually means, in some instances, 100% fertilized by dried, powdered blood gathered from cattle slaughterhouses. Even my bottle of 'vegetarian, 100% organic' flax oil is suspect. Vegetarians should be delighted with the use of chemical fertilizers.
To get more information about compassionate eating practices, I recommend visiting www.christianveg.com.
Tom Youngjohn
