Published Letters and Op-Eds from
COK’s Writers Group

Don’t Eat Meat

Published in The Salt Lake Tribune on December 28, 2003.

The article “Utah beef industry fears mad cow panic” (Tribune, Dec. 25) contained several misleading assumptions regarding meat consumption. It is incorrect to assume that turkey, chicken and pork are safe and healthy alternatives to beef.

In reality, many of these foods contribute to heart disease and various cancersâillnesses obviously more rampant than the human variant of mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Additionally, it is possible that mad cow disease is in chickens and pigs, as it is legal for these animals to be fed the remains of their own species. Shoppers choosing to replace their steak dinners with turkey or ham should think twice. The wisest decision is to simply not eat meat at all.

Laurel Long
Sarasota, Fla.