The James Logan Courier

By Laurel Brodzinsky, Courier Staff Writer

Next Week, October 25-31 is Vegan Week. People are encouraged to try being vegan and be conscious of the food they eat. Veganism is not just about food however, it includes being aware of clothing items and beauty products as well.

Most people become vegan because of their feelings about animal cruelty. This is one of the reasons that a large portion of teens become vegetarian or vegan for a short time. For example, chickens are forced to live in horrid conditions to satiate our craving for meat and eggs. They are de-beaked (their beaks are cut off0 so they do not peck themselves to death, and are cooped up in tiny cages with barely room to move, amongst their own defecation. The meat industry is also detrimental to the environment because of the deforestation and soil issues it causes.

College campuses are often more open about having vegan and vegetarian options for their students because of the larger population and greater income. Cal Berkley was voted as the third best college campus for vegan by PETA, after Northwestern and Yale. Logan does provide some vegetarian options.

All next week during lunch (in room 421 for fifth lunch) the Sustainability Club will be showing “Earthlings”, a movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. Amazon says the movie chronicles “humankind's absolute economic dependence on animals raised as pets, food, clothing, entertainment and for scientific research.” It delves into the procedures of animal-reliant industries and exploits their practices. There are graphic images shown, which may be disturbing to some.