The enthusiasm over the opening of a new slaughterhouse in our area comes at a time when many are questioning the wisdom of consuming animals. To quote The River Reporter (October 17-25), “... no matter how much the community supported the idea of a slaughterhouse, almost no one wanted it to be built in their backyard.”

Could it be that no one wants to be near the horrific river of animal fecal waste and the environmentally destructive pollution produced by such “facilities?” Perhaps they don’t want to hear the heart-wrenching screams of animals being electrically prodded, as they are forced to the kill floor where they are hung upside down from one hoof as their throats are cut? The lucky ones might be shot in the forehead at point blank range with a metal bolt. The truth is, if people witnessed what animals go through on the kill floor, the operators would likely be out of business because people would stop eating meat.

Could it be the meat industry wants us to worry about our so-called “protein intake” so we’ll continue believing that killing animals is a necessary evil? Don’t they realize the animals they think they need for protein get their protein from the greens of the earth?

Why does the care and love we show our privileged cats and dogs go out the window when we think of farm animals? How many of us realize that pigs are much more intelligent than dogs? How many of us realize that if we treated young farm animals with the same love we shower on our pets they would most likely respond with affection?

Studies show that a plant-based diet is far healthier than one based on meat consumption. Furthermore, an acre of grain can feed more people than the cows that graze on it.

It is our hope that eating animals and their slaughter will become a thing of a misguided and uninformed past.

Anna and Vincent Gallo

Bethany, PA