TO THE EDITOR:
I commend recent columnist Hannah Jones on her “overwhelming sense of social awareness,” as she describes it. Many of the points Jones makes about income inequality, self-actualization and subjugation of people of color align with my similarly progressive views.
But one small detail of the column seems out of place among the rest. Jones decides on a $3.99 pound of chicken salad for her cheap lunch, an appalling selection for someone who claims to be hyper-conscious of her choices.
In the United States, 9 billion socially intelligible “broiler chickens” are killed every year for human consumption. Automatic blades meant to slice throats often miss their mark, maiming the birds and causing unconscionable suffering for a sentient being.
Factory farms often exploit undocumented workers who are abused by their superiors and, according to one Huffington Post article, “suffer a repetitive motion injury rate 30 times the national average.”
Now that we know the facts, it’s time to feel rightly about them. I would hope that Jones and other self-described socially aware people would abstain from causing suffering and achieving a higher state of social awareness by choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet. Trust me, Med Deli’s $7.50 two-item vegetarian sampler will not leave you unsatisfied, especially if you try the pomegranate mohammara.
Brian Vaughn
Sophomore
