In response to your piece “Vegan students start grass roots campaign” (2/10/09), I would like to compliment Mr. Swanson and the rest of Veg Life for speaking out about the lack of vegetarian options available on campus. Vegetarian options are more popular than ever, particularly among college students, for reasons ranging from health and environmental concerns, to the clear cruelty to animals involved in raising and killing them for food.

In fact, a recent study by Aramark, a leading food service provider, concluded that 1 in 4 college students are actively seeking out vegan options when they sit down to eat. For the university to disregard the concerns of that large a segment of their student body would be a regrettable error on their part.

Most students are horrified to discover that chickens have their beaks sliced off when they’re only days old, and that cows and pigs are often skinned and dismembered while still fully conscious.

If these kinds of abuses were inflicted upon cats or dogs, it would result in felony cruelty to animals charges. Yet these practices are standard in an industry that refuses to make even the most basic improvements in the way their animals are treated.

Thankfully, with so many delicious and cruelty-free dishes, such as vegetarian BBQ “riblets” and vegan pizza available at most grocery stores, and with chain restaurants like Burger King and Ruby Tuesday’s adding delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes to their menus, it’s never been easier to boycott this kind of cruelty.

Hopefully the Dining Services department will follow suit as well. For more information, visit peta2.com to request a free vegetarian starter kit, as well as stickers and a DVD.