In his letter describing the ways that Paradise City Cafe is a green business, Norman Lent says, “My greatest green commitment is in reducing soy as much as possible”. Mr. Lent then explains that planting of soy causes deforestation. This argument contains a serious error. It is important to realize that all this soy being grown is being grown to feed livestock, not people. When plants are fed to animals whose flesh, milk or eggs will be eaten, the amount of animal food produced is far less than the amount of plant food fed to the animals. The feed to meat ratio varies depending on species and location, but on average it is 4:1. 80% of the crops grown in the US are grown as livestock feed. Therefore, the way to protect the rainforest is not to avoid soy, but to avoid animal foods. More than 90% of all Amazon rain forest land cleared has been cleared for meat production.

Animal agriculture is the world’s largest source of water pollution, emits 2/3 of the world’s acid rain causing ammonia, contributes more to global warming than anything else, and uses huge amounts of water and energy (1/2 the water and 1/3 the petroleum in the US ). The negative impact of animal agriculture on the environment cannot be overstated. Mr. Lent could best demonstrate his commitment to the environment, by serving up only plant based foods. Now that would truly be green. – Nettie Schwager, Corvallis, Oregon