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Animals suffer too

The tragic loss of life and wanton destruction caused by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 has raised my consciousness of other global tragedies.

Every day, 24,000 people worldwide die of hunger for lack of grains and legumes fed to animals raised for food. Another 18,000 die of chronic diseases linked conclusively with the consumption of these animals.

Every day, 125 million innocent, sentient animals are butchered, frequently still conscious, after a lifetime of caging, crowding and deprivation in the world's factory farms. For every human being who dies of warfare, crime or terrorism, 10,000 innocent, sentient animals die a violent death.

This is why, on Oct. 2 (Gandhi's birthday), I will be observing World Farm Animals Day, launched 18 years ago to expose and memorialize the daily human and animal suffering wrought by the relentless international network of animal agriculture. I will be asking my friends and neighbors to help alleviate this suffering by reducing their consumption of animal products.

Sincerely,

Steve Dunlop