An activist does not necessarily make a terrorist
by Lidya Hardy
The Daily Utah Chronicle - Letter to the Editor
Issue: 09/14//04

Editor:

Judd Nielsen (Sept. 9 edition's "Are eco-terrorists on par with al-Qaida?") attempts to make a correlation between environmental/animal rights activism and terrorism.

It is true that increasing numbers of cases occur where activists have used direct-action tactics in the war against the animals, but it is also true that activists have become more active in a more conservative fashion.

For instance, on the free speech area west of the Union building, the Student Organization for Animal Rights just finished the Encampment Against Exploitation, where during the past two weeks they camped out, rain or shine, to promote education about the current animal holocaust.

America's reliance on a meat- and dairy-based diet progressively destroys our world.

Raised for food, the animals consume more water than all of our other uses, and causes 85 percent of the soil erosion in the United States.

It causes more pollution than the factories and SUV emissions of which we always hear about.

In the United States, we eat more than 72 million animals a day.

We need to remember not only the incredible suffering of these animals raised for consumption, but also the largest cause of deforestation is the land specifically cleared for grazing livestock and for the development of their feed.

Environmentalists and animal-rights activists are not terrorists. We love our country.

So much, in fact, that we are willing to sacrifice our time, our money and our comfort to educate others, promote awareness and do everything we can to save our world and all of the creatures living in it.

We are students, parents and citizens trying to make this world a better place.

Next time, before condemning an activist as a terrorist, maybe you should stop by a table, or even a tent, and talk to these activists, and hopefully you'll realize that these are just people attempting to save our world from destruction.

Lidya Hardy

Senior, English