It has not been a banner year for the meat industry.

Extreme drought has doubled the cost of animal feedstuffs. Undercover investigations documented male chicks suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground to death, their female counterparts crammed for life into tiny wire-mesh cages, pigs clobbered with metal pipes, and assorted farm animals skinned and dismembered at the slaughterhouse while still conscious.

A study of more than 120,000 people by the Harvard School of Public Health confirmed once again that meat consumption raises the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Director General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan, warned that routine use of antibiotics to promote animal growth in factory farms is causing “the end of modern medicine.”

No wonder U.S. per capita meat consumption has been dropping by nearly 4 percent annually.

October offers excellent opportunities for dropping animal products from our diet. The month kicked off with World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day on Oct. 1 and 2, respectively. It continues with World Food Day on Oct. 16 and Food Day on Oct. 24.

Entering “live vegan” in a search engine brings lots of useful transition tips.

Fred Hanley

Florence

Drawing a line the in the sand

Ann Coulter was a guest panelist on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

For those who are not familiar with Coulter, she is a sharp-tongued conservative who rubs many the wrong way with her abrasive style.

As a conservative myself, I do not always agree with her and I don’t like her style either. With that said, I did agree with her point on the show. The Democrats have taken their loyal black vote for granted in the 2012 election and have focused on the newer Hispanic vote because of their ever-growing numbers in our country. She wasn’t that polite.

The truth is some black pastors have withdrawn their support from the president because of his support for late-term abortion and gay marriage.

These pastors have drawn a line in the sand over these two sensitive issues alone. Good for them.

They also want voters to get their heads out of the sand and clearly see where the president stands.

Jeff Godwin

Florence