The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

Letter: Recognize problems with eating chicken

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

Environmental studies and journalism

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.