I am a Roman Catholic. My decision to become a vegan came in my early twenties when I accidentally walked into a place advertising "fresh eggs" and I expected to see chickens running around. Instead I entered a stinking, filthy dark industrial unit with cages piled on top of each other row upon row. Hundreds of featherless, pitiful chickens struggled, staggered and moved in futile effort to gain some comfort. I had never imagined a hell like it. I began to search for information and was shocked and outraged by what I read. It began my journey to vegetarianism and later to become vegan.

In October this year 2010, I am doing a talk for the Union of Catholic Mothers. None of them are vegan, however, they are interested to know why I am. So people do learn from your example.

I used to go on protests. I have done school talks. I have brought my family up as vegans and my granddaughter is a vegan child who has never eaten any meat or dairy. We say "If it has a face, we don't eat it". I sometimes fall into the comfortable feeling that I am doing enough. AND THEN I look again at the truth of the horrendous, pain, suffering and fear of my brothers and sisters, the innocent animals who are unfortunate enough to be caught up in the meat and dairy industry and my heart breaks again. I wonder how human beings can become so desensitised as to carry out the attrocities I see in your pictures.

In our sermon last week our priest talked of compassion and the acronym WWJD "What would Jesus do?" I know what Jesus would do. Like me, My Lord must weep. But my Lord Jesus would not sit around. He would be active. We must all be as active as we can and do His work here on earth. It surely has to stop.

I am determined that when I have researched and constructed my talk, have all my answers ready and have my DVD and timing perfected, I am going to beg and plead to be allowed to take it round to as many of the churches in the diocese as I am allowed. I am going to approach all our local schools and I just hope that in my lifetime I can make at least some people understand. I pray that they will tell their children and on some wonderful day in the future, this barbarity will stop.

I am in my sixties and think now that it will take a miracle for me to see an end, as I had once hope, in my lifetime. But there is too much greed and sadly, in fact, worldwide, I only see it increasing. I have just seen that one of the richest families, immigrants to Lancashire, England, have made their rapid fortune from chicken meat. It is revolting that this money grubbing is allowed and there is no legislation at all to protect animals in factory farms.

I must now put my faith in the young people who visit your site and pray that they will continue to fight and battle throughout their lives and never forsake the animals who need them so much. God bless.

Keep the faith.

Love Lynda

Reply from Frank and Mary Hoffman

Dear Lynda:

Thank you very much for telling us more about yourself and what you are doing. We wish there were a lot more people like you in the world, and hopefully the young people will fill in and multiply behind us to help bring true and lasting peace to this world, and that peace must start with the animals.

If there's anything we can do to help, please let us know.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary