It is hard for some of us to understand why people eat meat. Meat is not a necessary part of the human diet, and in fact, tends to do more harm than good to the human body. Meat from animals shot with hormones is definitely not recommended for one's health.

For some of us, the idea of killing creatures so that we may eat or wear them is shocking. Unfortunately, our culture is such that animal parts cannot be avoided. I have narrow feet and cannot find any type of human-made shoes that fit me, and I would be willing to wear ugly ones. Most of the drugs we take are tested on animals (some medical labs are more humane than others, it should be pointed out), and animal parts are hidden in practically every product we buy.

Some people say "What's wrong with leather? The cow has already been killed for food." The obvious response to that is "What went wrong went you learned logical reasoning?"

For people who do believe that it is morally acceptable to eat meat, I still do not understand how they can eat meat that is not from free-range animals who were humanely slaughtered (a term that troubles me). If an animal is to be slaughtered for food, and if people think that is morally acceptable, that is one thing. But for animals to go through what they go through before they are killed, and for people to eat that meat is--to me--morally unacceptable, no matter what.

There is no longer any question about the horrific practices of livestock farms and the livestock industry in general. Hogs are kept in small crates and cannot even turn around. Veal calves are kept in tinier crates and overfed so that they will get fat. Laying chickens are kept in tiny compartments that are often filthy. The chickens raised for meat are kept in similar conditions (their living "space" is about 8 by 10 inches), their bones break easily, and they are often alive when they are thrown into scalding water to remove their feathers.

There are laws in the United States and throughout the world to protect farm animals from cruel slaughter, but the laws are neither obeyed nor enforced. It is not unusual for cattle to be kicked, beaten, and skinned alive. They are prodded with electric prods and de-horned without anesthesia. Mishandling of them in transport often results in broken bones. The cows who are injured are not treated, but just thrown down and left to suffer until they are slaughtered. During slaughter, animals are frequently left to bleed to death.

There appears to be no movement in the churches to stop the cruelty. Indeed, you can usually find some supermarket fried chicken at a church supper. But there is no movement in any secular groups (save the animal rights organizations) to address this horrible cruelty, either.

Leonardo da Vinci called people's bodies "burial places; graveyards for the animals they eat."