January 16. 2009 01:16

Thanks for elaborating on this last night at Sarah Lawrence College Gene. It was fantastic to see you speak in person.

I've got my fingers crossed that the top down appointment will aide your grassroots approach.

Gary Ploski

January 16. 2009 01:27

Thank you for providing this easy-to-use form letter to spread this message. I hope our community does not lose their activist spirit now that Proposition 2 has passed and Barack Obama is in office. We should be emboldened and continue to act as watchdogs for the animals, whose lives continue to be nickel and dimed by big agribusiness.

Catherine

January 17. 2009 00:20

Hi Gene,

I agree with you that we need a USDA Secretary who will challenge the status quo, and that our tax dollars should promote more humane and sustainable agricultural practices. A key point I think animal advocates (and environmental and public health advocates) need to emphasize in our letters is that we’d like to see more of our tax dollars invested in plant-based agriculture and less in animal agriculture. The biggest gains in “humane and sustainable” are going to come from reducing animal agriculture rather than just changing how it’s done.

Thanks for all the wonderful work you do, Gene.

FYI – below is a copy of the letter I sent to President Elect Obama.


There is one very simple change that Americans can make, which would help solve several serious problems, including healthcare costs, childhood obesity, and global warming. That change is to move from an animal-centered diet to a plant-based diet.

I am writing to urge you to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture, who will lead the Agency in a new direction that supports a move towards plant-based diets and sustainable, organic farming. For too long our food policies have been influenced by the interests of the meat and dairy industries, and subsidies have favored them. In addition to the health and environmental problems caused by America’s animal-centered diet, the institutional animal cruelty inherent in large-scale, intensive animal agriculture can no longer be tolerated by a society that aims to be humane, ethical, and peaceful. The treatment of animals matters to Americans and it should matter to the USDA as well.

Please appoint a Secretary of Agriculture who truly cares about the greater good over industry interests – someone with a vision for improving agriculture to support public health, the environment, and compassion for animals.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Eileen M.

April 28. 2009 00:34

Hope that you can write more articles in the future. I will be one of your loyal readers if that's happen. Thanks for this useful information webmaster!

Mountain Tour Sports

May 3. 2009 06:29

Well, I am confident that Obama will make the right choice in this case. Obama's policy on freedom of the internet, on internet speeds, on the wars, and other contienous topics have fallen to the liberal side. So with any luck, the treatment of animals etc should follow in stead!

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