LettersLetter from Brianna about Health, Veganism, and Animal Exploitation - 19 Jun 2005
Letters From All-Creatures.org and The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation

Letter from Brianna about Health, Veganism, and Animal Exploitation - 19 Jun 2005

Hello.

I recently saw your website after a long debate whether to go vegetarian or not. Now I'm sure I want to go vegetarian. Vegan actually. But, I have one major problem. Don't eat animals or their by-products (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, cheese, milk). The only other things that are left to eat that I can think of are vegetables, fruits, and bread. I don't like and cannot eat many of the fruits and vegetables out there because of food allergies. So, I really don't think I can make a healthy diet out of just bread. So I need some help. What else can I eat?

Also, I was just wondering. You said Support only cruelty-free entertainment with no animal acts, rodeos, or racing. I don't support animal acts and never have. I used to support horse racing, but that was before I learned that horse's bones aren't even finished growing when they are raced at 2 or 3 years old. At what age do horse's bones stop growing? Do you know? Because I know that some races are for 4 and 5 year old horses that have never raced before. I was just wondering if it still hurts their bones then.

Also, I just have to say, I've been to races before (before I knew better I should say) and watched them on TV. And never once did I see that whip actually touch the horse. I've seen the jockeys wave it next to their faces and crack the air with it, but never have I seen it actually whip the horse's body.

Onto the rodeos. I used to support rodeos as well.

Don't ask me why though because I don't even know. The bull riding and calf roping and bronc riding are so horrible. But do you think that the barrel racing and pole bending events in the rodeos are wrong as well?

Those are used with older horses that are trained and cared for properly and know their job, go out and do it, and enjoy it. I don't see a problem with those two things even though they are sports in the rodeo.

And one last thing. Are you against horseback riding?

Most all horses are started to ride at 2 or t3 years of age. But, besides racing horses, most 2 or 3 year old horses are only ridden on light trail rides or pleasure rides until they are at least 4 or 5 years old. I love my horses and I take care of them properly and would never hurt them. Of course, I am against slaughter, Premarin and abuse, but I don't see anything wrong with riding horses or any of the sports involving horses except for racing and bronc riding. I was just wondering what your stand on that was.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I'm very sorry it was so long. But, if you could please take the time to reply to this message and answer my questions, it would be such a big help.

Thank you so much and I'll be awaiting your reply in my inbox.

Reply from Frank and Mary Hoffman

Dear Brianna:

Thank you very much for your encouraging comments and questions.

From our personal experience and from what we've learned, most food allergies seem to go away once all dairy products are eliminated from the diet. In this regard, you may want to look at the Baseline Diet article we have on our web site: http://www.all-creatures.org/health/baseline.html 

Another cause may be overly refined and processed foods, which has led us to eliminate most of them. You might enjoy looking at our recipe section www.all-creatures.org/recipes.html 

We have seen jockeys whip horses on the rump. We are generally against commercial horseback riding, but we know several people who have rescued horses and ride them for exercise and seeming for mutual enjoyment. There is also a sanctuary near us that give rides to handicapped young people, and where the horses seem to sense that they are helping.

We hope this helps.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary


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