Louis Corrigan made a few good points in his letter of Nov. 4, in which he listed offenses of the meat industry. Inhumane practices, exploitation of workers and irresponsible pollution are valid criticisms of industrial agriculture. His further accusations about greenhouse gas emissions and diversion of grain to livestock feeding need another look.

As we all know, greenhouse gas emissions are generated by any fossil fuel use. Less widely understood is that wherever land is plowed, for instance to grow corn and soy, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere at rates rivaling transportation. Properly managed agriculture that supports grasslands and its grazing animals will actually sequester CO2, not release it.

Feeding corn and soy to livestock is an economic decision that has nothing to do with the requirements of farm animals. Cattle thrive best on grass. Pigs and chickens do very well on waste products from other aspects of the food industry.

There seems to be an implication that anything fed to livestock is wasteful but, in fact, people require animal protein for proper reproduction and growth. We would do better to work toward ways to raise animals respectfully, rather than trying to live on corn and soy.

Corrigan’s accusations about pollution apply to CAFOs and not to responsible farming practices. Current land use that supports industrial agriculture and biofuels would result in dead zones in the ocean whether the crops are fed to humans or animals.

Joann S. Grohman, Carthage