As a person who considers themselves empathic to the suffering of others, nonhuman included, I find PETA’s recent letter to The MV Times [“PETA reflects on rise of alpha-gal,” August 29] to be one of the most uninformed, ignorant, and honestly cruel takes on what is clearly an emerging public health crisis on Martha’s Vineyard.
The lone star tick is not a savior of innocent animal life. Getting alpha-gal syndrome is in no way “good news,” and if you think that it is, you show your true ignorance of this condition and the effects on people who suffer — yes, suffer — from this affliction. Your choice to not eat animals is a noble one, but is a choice. When you go out to eat and choose your favorite vegan option, perhaps you are unaware that the cook may use the same utensils to plate your “Enchanted Broccoli Forest” as he/she uses to plate the steak for another table, or stir the Alfredo. You go home, blissfully sated, with your cruelty-free belly full. If the same scenario happened to me, at best I would suffer severe gastric issues; at worst, I’d be in the ER with an EpiPen hanging out of my leg, struggling to breathe and potentially dead. What “good luck” I’ve had.
Perhaps you can breathe the air while you walk among the food trucks at some park while you look for your vegan option. I am not able to enjoy such a walk, because I am so “lucky” to have been bitten by a lone star tick, and cannot breathe the air where any mammal is being cooked, or I may get “lucky” and go into anaphylactic shock.
I’m sure you spend countless hours studying how humans cause great suffering to the animal kingdom. Perhaps you should spend one or two of those hours studying how AGS causes great suffering to your fellow humans. You freely choose to not eat animals. You sure are “lucky” you can choose. I and all others suffering from AGS have no choice. If you have any empathy left after all your hard work ensuring animals don’t suffer, please attempt to use what is left for your fellow human, as “lucky” and flawed we all may be.
Andrew Keenan
Edgartown
Andrew – spot on. I am lucky not to suffer from AGS, but I have been through a larvae bite situation three consecutive summers…almost a 100 bite situation as I write this.These bite attacks can take months, or longer, to heal…no one really seems to know. In the meantime, lost time at work wondering if long term effects are underway, is by no means, “good Luck!”
Poor choice of words Heather.
I must agree with the writer. AGS have disrupted friends and a member of our family. although they have learned to cope with the various symptoms. Allergy to mammalian products is indeed the most common symptom but there are other symptoms, more insidious, having nothing to do with PETA’s crusade. Extreme fatigue is another symptom, as are hives. I’m not sure this is a punishment for being a carnivore, and I doubt seriously that the number of people who become (temporary) vegans because of AGS is going to make even the slightest difference in the killing of animals for meat to eat.
Thank you for so eloquently expressing how distasteful and cruel that article is. My husband has AGS and it has turned our lives upside down as we try to navigate what he can and cannot have. He is “lucky” to not have so severe a case as it seems you have. Wishing you the best as you try to get through this.
Thank you Andrew.
Well said. Some people have a mild allergy, but for those who have a sensitivity so strong that they cannot use pans or utensils that have been in contact with mammalian meat/ meat products, and must carry an epi pen, it is a daily challenge. Luckily they can still enjoy fish, shellfish , and chicken. To the people who celebrate the vegan diet, good for you. Perhaps the person who wrote the original letter has learned a lesson.
So very well put Andrew. Thank you
I’m going to go eat a lobster. 🦞
Maybe some steak 🥩 too.
PETA, no thanks. You do you.
Leave everyone else alone.
Thank you Andrew for pointing out that the original letter was at best, distasteful, and I hope a followup apology letter is printed. However, I put some of the onus the editor of this newspaper. He/she is not required to print letters, and when reading this one, they should have recognized that it was distasteful and should not have printed it. Calling a serious illness, one that could kill, “good news” should have been the first clue not to print the letter, no matter what your politics or choices. I am so glad that Andrew pointed this out and next time I hope the editor uses their editorial skills and choses not to print such an inconsiderate letter.
“Heather Moore” should, but likely will not, be ashamed of herself. To celebrate so joyfully the pain and suffering of other people because she cares about the pain and suffering of animals is an act that boggles the mind. It really places PETA now firmly amongst the lunatic fringe. Anyone who believes that such a letter is going to turn any rational person to their cause must be clueless. You want to be vegan, fine-but don’t push your “religion” on others.
I have to start by saying that i agree with every comment here up to sept 5
7:30,about this letter to the editor from a representative of the “PETA Foundation”.
The writer of the letter is callous, cruel, and emotionally anesthetized
to anyone afflicted with this, as well as ignorant.
The ignorant part is most disturbing to me. Not necessarily because she
does not know the facts about this disease, but because she is apparently
ignorant and clueless about the predictable reaction to such a callous letter
on a “political” level. I am amazed that a person who is dedicated to a cause
would be so be so clueless as to the predictable backlash of such a radical
letter. I agree with the efforts of this organization to increase awareness of
the cruelty and unethical treatment of animals. Peta has done good work and
made significant progress in raising awareness of this issue.
Ms. Moore has done a discredit to the cause by foolishly throwing a radical virtual
hand grenade into the conversation and alienating reasonable people.
Your letter, Heather, was over the top and “radical” and did much more
damage to the cause than promote it.
Don, Temple Grandin has done excellent work with animals, maybe more, single-handedly, than any other person or organization on the planet. She’s absolutely amazing!
My husband had MS-4 programme about 4 months ago. he sleeps soundly, works out frequently, and is now very active. It doesn’t make the MS go away but it did give him better quality of life. we got the treatment from naturalherbscentre. com
Comments are closed.