Meat is murder

Who is this ignorant and uninformed Alexander Marra? His commentary on Food Not Bombs [‘No (meat) soup for you!,’ Feb. 20] illustrates finely how little he knows about the organization, its aims and who it serves. First of all, there is no meat for a number of reasons. No. 1: FNB works largely from donated food, therefore, serving food such as dairy products and meat can prove to be dangerous, as it spoils quicker than vegetables and rice. No. 2: Many of the volunteers are vegetarian or vegan, therefore, the preperation of meat is sort of out of the question. No. 3: With the increase in factory farms, the grazing of livestock, which produces the meat on your plate, is wasteful and has a deleterious effect on the world and its environment. Not to mention the animals are treated poorly and often suffer in these animal concentration camps. No. 4: Meat is gross.

Secondly, the purpose of FNB is not to feed the homeless. The purpose is to feed the people, under the notion that food is a right, not a privilege. The bombs part comes from the fact that the government spends X amount of dollars on bombs while there are still hungry people in the world. If that money from bombs were taken and put into food, then there wouldn’t be so many hungry people in the world.

The food does not consist of “ground up soy and raddish burgers.” The food prepared usually consists of rice, vegetables, tofu, spices, potatoes, fruit, salad, etc. The tofu offers plenty of protein and the vegetables and fruits offer a wide variety of vitamins and nutrients. I have eaten FNB food for the past three years, and although at times it does lack the wonderful taste that it sometimes has, I have never been unsatisfied or ungrateful.

As for the supposed quotes, it is possible people are ungrateful, nevertheless they come back every week. Not only do they come back, on several occasions, while serving bread or drinks, or just walking around, I have been told or have overheard hungry people praising FNB for their services.

So, my friend Alexander, I request that you get your facts straight next time you go on a rant about something you obviously don’t know about. Don’t get me wrong, I saw your attempt at a humorous portrayal of stupid hippies. It’s just that it wasn’t funny, nor is FNB a bunch of hippies. And one last note, before you criticize in such a negative way, why don’t you ask yourself what you have done or what you could do? If you don’t like the way something’s being done, then do it the way you would like it to be done.

Peace,

Michael Wyatt