The meat industry is scary
The meat industry is scary
Dear Editor,
I have no fear of all the goblins, the witches, or even the evil clowns lurking on Halloween. What really scares me are the latest reports about the meat industry.
Like news of pig farms dumping millions of gallons of pig feces into North Carolina’s water supplies during Hurricane Matthew. Or of saturating their neighborhoods with windborne fecal waste spray. Or of animal farming accounting for more greenhouse gases than transportation.
Like recurring media exposes of horrific atrocities against animals on factory farms. Or of subjecting slaughterhouse workers to crippling workplace injuries at slave wages. Or of exploiting farmers by controlling prices.
Like repeated reports of studies linking consumption of animal products with elevated risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other killer diseases. Or reports of the meat industry bullying health authorities to remove warnings from dietary guidelines.
Now, that’s really scary.
I fought back by dropping animal products from my menu, and my local supermarket has rewarded me with a colorful display of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as a rich selection of plant-based meats, milks, cheeses, and ice creams. I am no longer scared, though I still fear for my friends and neighbors.
Lewis Frederick
Los Alamitos
Measure GG, what is it all really about???
Dear Editor,
Consider a house in Cypress built in 1965. A house on Newman Ave. in Cypress is a traditional-style home with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1,394 square-feet of living space. This property sits on 5,663 square-feet of land.
In 1995 around the time that the race track and property under Measure D [Measure D is the voter approved initiative that passed in 1987 and changed the zoning to the worst possible zoning for development; PS (open space), which is what Measure GG is attempting to change] was purchased by Dr. Allred and Mr. Bartis the residence on Newman Ave in Cypress was sold for about $185,000 and has a current estimated sales price today of $636,000.
Now let’s look at the property under consideration in Measure GG. The property was purchased for about $71 million for 300 acres and a running multi-million dollar income producing business. Over time portions were sold off for permitted uses, portions were zone changed and then sold off for much more money, and the entire time an active profitable business was operated on it by the land owner. If Measure GG were to pass and the property owners were to sell off the property at maximum value under the new zoning their end income from the property and the operating business that they purchased will be in excess of $1,000,000,000. Over 14 times what they invested.
Let’s return to that homeowner from 1995 who could sell their home for $636,00 today and see what they could get if they got the same type of sweetheart deal the two guys that own the Measure GG property are getting. Rather than $636,000 their payday would be $2,590,000. Wouldn’t it be nice if every homeowner was able to buy their home for about $180,000 and then sell it for over $2,500,000 less than 30 years later?
Clearly the GG stands for “Greedy Guys” because we all know that no house purchased in that time period is worth that much today. The Greedy Guys purchased land that had a very low cost value because it was tied up by the people of Cypress in a low value zone by Measure D. They get the zoning changed and make a financial killing with their Measure GG. Another case of the 1 percent using their power and influence to make lots of additional cash at the expense of the people who fought for open space, and now will end up with more traffic and more congestion from thousands of new homes and businesses.
JM Ivler
Los Alamitos