Do farm animals merit compassion, respect?

We are a nation of special observances. There is even a World Day for Farm Animals, observed on Oct. 2 (Gandhi’s birthday). Apparently it’s intended to memorialize the tens of billions of animals abused and killed for food.

Like most others, I always thought of farm animals as “food on the hoof.” But when a friend sent me an amazing, endearing Facebook video (www.facebook.com/LeoJuniorBulldogFrench/videos/1198548160234565/), it dawned on me that farm animals are much like our family dog, fully deserving of our compassion and respect.

My internet search showed that they get neither. Male baby chicks are routinely suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground up alive. Laying hens are crowded into small wire cages that tear out their feathers. Breeding sows are kept pregnant in tiny metal crates. Dairy cows have their babies snatched away immediately upon birth, so we can drink their milk.

It was enough to drive someone to drink. Instead, it drove me to replace the animal products in my diet with a rich variety of plant-based meats and dairy items offered by my grocery store. I have since learned that a cruelty-free diet is also great for my health and for the health of our planet.

Milton Silva

Meridian

Graham-Cassidy would hurt seniors

As a healthcare provider and family member and friend of many with health issues, I’m concerned with the Graham-Cassidy bill.

The Graham-Cassidy bill is an extreme proposal that would increase costs for older Americans with an age tax, cut coverage, and price gouge people with preexisting conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

The Graham-Cassidy bill would jeopardize older Americans’ ability to stay in their own homes as they age, and threaten coverage for people with disabilities and people who live in nursing homes.

Policy advocates, doctors, hospitals, and all agree that this bill is the wrong path forward on health care.

Dr. Spencer Blalock

Decatur