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

Going vegan is easy

The Oregonian
May 15, 2010

Thank you for "Going Vegan: Veg 101 classes offer plant-based basics" (May 11). Grant Butler's vegan column is a wonderful reminder of how easy it is choose healthier and more humane foods in Portland, from dozens of fantastic eateries with veg-friendly menus to vegan cooking classes to an all-vegan grocery store.

As more people begin to ask where their food comes from, they're discovering the horrors behind the meat, milk and egg industries. Most animals raised for food in the United States spend their lives in misery on massive, mechanized factory farms where they are intensively confined inside sheds, cages, or stalls and treated like unfeeling machines before being shipped off and slaughtered for us to eat.

Thankfully, we can stand up for animals every time we sit down to eat, simply by choosing from a wide variety of vegan options available in Portland and increasingly all over the U.S. VegPortland.com is a great local resource if you're looking to get started.

Christina Tacoronti, Washington, D.C. Tacoronti is campaigns director for Compassion Over Killing.