To the Editor:
Good news! Lone star tick bites are increasing in Martha’s Vineyard, with more than 149 cases this year. That’s “good news” because when someone is bitten by a lone star tick, they usually need to stop eating meat, a move that has only positive consequences. When you eat vegan foods rather than animal-based ones, you’re less likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses.
So, lone star ticks are helping to save countless lives, both human and animals. The ticks are saving humans from meat-related diseases by prompting them to go vegan, and then each vegan spares about 200 animals a year, just by not eating them.
If you’ve been bitten by a lone star tick, or if it just “ticks you off” that the meat, egg, and dairy industries cause animal suffering, and contribute to the climate catastrophe and other environmental problems, see peta.org/vsk for a free vegan starter kit.
Heather Moore
PETA Foundation
